"In state" when out of state?

[Pen]

I was looking at dual enrollment options at our local community college and was surprised to discover that it gives "in state" tuition fees for people in three states (WA, OR, CA).  I am wondering if this is typical or unusual.

 

Do certain states have reciprocity with other states?  And if so, how can one find out which, or which particular schools give the reciprocity, short of accidentally coming to a page on a website that shows it for a particular school?

[FaithManor]

The University of Wisconsin offers in state tuition to Michigan residents. If memory serves, U of MN at Duluth was the same price for us as well. Some schools belong to the Midwest Student Exchange thus the reciprocity.

[gingersmom]

Colorado also has agreements with some neighboring states.

[JanetC]

For the states OP mentioned (WA, OR, CA), the exchange group is called "Western Undergraduate Exchange"

 

http://wiche.edu/wue/students

 

For most schools, you do not get the "in state" price, but a price between in-state and out-of-state (150% of in-state tuition). For some schools, the number of students receiving the discount is limited as well, so read the rules carefully. For other schools, it's all automatic.

 

 

[EndOfOrdinary]

Actually most all border colleges between OR and WA provide reciprocity. They used to do it in a limited number about twenty years ago - my mother going back to school at Portland State was dependent on her getting into the reciprocity lottery or we could not afford it. Now the agreement is firm and 100 percent for all community colleges and even the state U's provide it on both sides of the river. Running Start funding even goes to the closest CC for us and that is across the Columbia in Oregon. I cannot remember the exact mileage number, but it is something like within 45 miles of the river. Same tuition rate as instate. No questions asked when I attended PSU. No questions asked at WSU Vancouver for Portland residents. Obviously check with the individual school, because some private schools more than likely might not honor such, but many do.

 

We were told my son would be treated as in state by Reed when we went to talk with admissions there. He would be a scholarship candidate and residency mattered. We are in Washington, but so close that the river is within ten minutes of our house.

[Laura in CA]

WUE is great -- we know many students benefiting from it. There are also agreements among schools in the Northeast, Midwest, and South (here is one list; here is another). Sometimes a university will offer in-state tuition to children of alumni & students who meet certain academic criteria -- Utah State University is one (the links given); there are probably others!

 

 

 

We were told my son would be treated as in state by Reed when we went to talk with admissions there. He would be a scholarship candidate and residency mattered. We are in Washington, but so close that the river is within ten minutes of our house.

 

 

I'm confused -- I thought residency didn't matter for private schools ... I see Reed's tuition (one value given) as $49,640 for all students. Oh, maybe you mean Reed has certain scholarships (private or institutional) reserved for Oregon residents?

 

 

[Frances]

We were told my son would be treated as in state by Reed when we went to talk with admissions there. He would be a scholarship candidate and residency mattered. We are in Washington, but so close that the river is within ten minutes of our house.

Does Reed now offer scholarships? When my son was accepted there several years ago they promised to meet the financial need of all accepted students, but offered no merit aid. At the time, they were one of about 25 elite schools in the country following this practice. Although I believe some of the Ivy League schools create confusion around this practice by calling some of their need based institutional grants scholarships.

[Lanny]

I believe Tech (Texas Tech University) gives lower tuition to students living in certain counties in Eastern New Mexico and in certain counties in Oklahoma. It has been a long time since I read that information, so I do not recall if they pay In State rates or something between In State and out of State.

[Kathy in Richmond]

Does Reed now offer scholarships? When my son was accepted their several years ago they promised to meet the financial need of all accepted students, but offered no merit aid. At the time, they were one of about 25 elite schools in the country following this practice. Although I believe some of the Ivy League schools create confusion around this practice by calling some of their need based institutional grants scholarships.

 

According to Reed's 2013-14 Common data set (Section H2 part g), they gave out no merit aid to incoming freshman last year. They do meet 100% of need-based aid.

 

Frances is correct that many colleges use the word "scholarship" in labeling their need-based awards.

[8filltheheart]

just a few days ago I read that the University of GA regents announced that they are now offering instate tuition to AL, FL, and SC residents. (Ironically, I had posted I couldn't find which schools and the link I just googled and added has the list. :) )http://www.thestate.com/news/local/article18460841.html

 

Fwiw, we have always lived near border state schools that have reciprocity agreements with residents of certain counties. Our kids could right now attend a bordering state university as instate.

[Teachin'Mine]

Makes sense that GT and UG wouldn't be included as they're trying to raise enrollment for the state colleges and state universities.

[Pen]

This is probably going to radically change my ideas of what schools my ds can realistically consider when we get to that stage.  

 

I wish, for us, Univ. of Calif, UofOregon, UofWash, UofColorado and U of Montana were also part of this reciprocity, not just the CCs and some of the state colleges.

 

I should probably do a separate thread, but does anyone know if birth place and location of a birth parent would affect in state eligibility at all?

[8filltheheart]

This is probably going to radically change my ideas of what schools my ds can realistically consider when we get to that stage.

 

I wish, for us, Univ. of Calif, UofOregon, UofWash, UofColorado and U of Montana were also part of this reciprocity, not just the CCs and some of the state colleges.

 

I should probably do a separate thread, but does anyone know if birth place and location of a birth parent would affect in state eligibility at all?

Definitely not. You could live in a state for 17 yrs, move the middle of a child's sr yr and they would be out of state for those universities. Someone else could move in to that state, live there for 12 month and be in state. Residency requirements determine IS and OOS. Some states have different requirements than others, but they all definitely have set guidelines.

[EndOfOrdinary]

Multiquote is not working with my iPad this morning.

 

There is only one tuition to Reed, but when money is handed out it is also based on residency. They prefer to give aid to instate candidates. As such, SW Washington is considered "in state." We are a need based aid family. They refer to that as scholarship because there are some strings attached - grades for one & residency to some extent. You get more funding - the likelihood of funding is higher - when you are in state.

 

To be clear, the website does not call it scholarship, the students, advisors, and dang near everyone else on campus does.

[SkateLeft]

MN has tuition reciprocity agreements with WI, ND, SD and Manitoba.

 

There is also the Midwest Student Exchange Program, which is income restricted, I believe.

[Pen]

Definitely not. You could live in a state for 17 yrs, move the middle of a child's sr yr and they would be out of state for those universities. Someone else could move in to that state, live there for 12 month and be in state. Residency requirements determine IS and OOS. Some states have different requirements than others, but they all definitely have set guidelines.

 

 

Whose residency is generally relevant if there are different residencies?  The child's or the parents'?  

 

What if a child goes to a boarding school away from home?  Or does a year or two at a CC in a different state and lives there during that time? What if there is a joint custody agreement with parents living in two different states?

[Laura in CA]

 

I wish, for us, Univ. of Calif, UofOregon, UofWash, UofColorado and U of Montana were also part of this reciprocity, not just the CCs and some of the state colleges.

 

As usual, it is all about the money ... so WUE is an option only for schools (and for majors) that need more students. The only UC doing WUE is hapless UC Merced; only a few (well, 13) Cal States participate in WUE -- you won't find Cal State Long Beach, San Diego State, either Cal Poly, etc. handing out cheaper tuition to OOS students -- because they don't have to. :) UW doesn't; WWU does.

 

At some colleges you can apply for WUE only if you are *not* a nursing or engineering major.

 

 

 

 

Whose residency is generally relevant if there are different residencies?  The child's or the parents'?  

 

What if a child goes to a boarding school away from home?  Or does a year or two at a CC in a different state and lives there during that time? What if there is a joint custody agreement with parents living in two different states?

 

I don't know about the latter questions, and the usual advice ("Ask the college!") applies, but I do know about the first two questions wrt the UC system. As of the mid-1990s, it is the parents' residency (i.e., their "residency for purposes of tuition") that determines their child's; but a student who graduates from a CA high school and has attended for 3 or more years also qualifies as in-state (this recent policy change was intended to benefit the children of "undocumented immigrants," but must also apply to anyone, so I assume it applies to students at a boarding school -- of which there aren't many here ....).

 

My son at an in-state uni was going to room with a student whose parents were planning to buy a house in CA just so he and his sibling could get in-state tuition, but this will work (now) only if the parents are physically present, etc. The info in the link above does deal with the case of divorced parents, but I haven't looked at that section (complicated!), and of course it applies specifically only to the UCs.

[*LC]

It is definitely one of those ask the college questions. I have friends who moved to another state after their youngest started college, and their college kids all kept in-state tuition after they moved. I have another friend that is about to move to another state after her child graduates high school, and she has been told the same thing. 

 

I have another friend who has a child attending an OOS college as an in-state student, because the father was commissioned into the military in that state. 

 

My child received basically the equivalent of in-state tuition at an OOS school with scholarships. Therefore, she pays no tuition since an exchange program already gave her in-state for tuition. For her out-of-state is cheaper than in-state.  

[Pen]

Thank you.  I've now found that U Montana, Missoula does have one of the reciprocity agreements with our state.  

 

Some of those CA rules are looking very complicated to wade through in our case. UC Berkeley would be my probably top choice for him taking everything but cost into consideration if he could get in. But it looks like it may be not very cost effective even if he is considered in state,  and totally out the question if he is considered OOS.

 

I hope he does not end up in a situation where he is considered OOS for all states.  I wonder if that is possible.

[Laura in CA]

Thank you.  I've now found that U Montana, Missoula does have one of the reciprocity agreements with our state.  

 

Some of those CA rules are looking very complicated to wade through in our case. UC Berkeley would be my probably top choice for him taking everything but cost into consideration if he could get in. But it looks like it may be not very cost effective even if he is considered in state,  and totally out the question if he is considered OOS.

 

I hope he does not end up in a situation where he is considered OOS for all states.  I wonder if that is possible.

 

Yay about Montana; and I do hope your son does not end up being considered OOS everywhere. I suppose that is possible, with such complicated college rules and life situations. WUE would be a life-saver, then! :) A young man we know (homeschooled) is doing WUE at WWU from CA and it is a great value for him. He wanted to flex his wings a bit and see a different part of the country.

 

About UC Berkeley -- one of my sons is there, and it is a wonderful school. He just loves it. However, one of his apartment-mates is from Texas, and his sister will also be attending Cal next year. (Seems a little crazy to me -- paying TWO OOS tuitions in one family -- esp. since Texas has some great schools ... But now that I think about it, plenty of parents are paying for private schools at prices similar to Cal's OOS rate. So I guess maybe it just seems crazy b/c at this (public) school some/most kids are paying a lot less. If the parents think it's a good value -- well, that's their business ...)

 

 ... Anyway, my other son is paying in-state rates at a college in Utah -- as I posted above, this school awards OOS tuition waivers to all OOS students above a certain (rather low) academic threshold. Because they want to attract students. And in Utah (unlike California), an OOS student can get residency after one year living in the state, fairly easily (my son did). (Utah also gives in-state tuition to UT high-school graduates who attended 3 or more years.) So ironically (or cleverly), both of my boys are paying in-state tuition rates in different states. :D

 

 

ETA: Rabbit trail, but ~20 states offer in-state tuition for high-school graduates who attended HS in that state for 3+ years. Not wanting to start a political discussion, of course, but this may apply to boarding-school students, as was asked about in this thread. I know that a friend of my son's used this provision to obtain a waiver of OOS tuition at a UC because his parent(s) lived overseas, while he attended a California HS -- he's a U.S. citizen, but didn't meet the usual UC residency requirement, that of having parents living in the state.

[*LC]

The University of Missouri also offers in-state residency after a year of OOS if certain conditions are met. They talk of this in their literature. Here is a link http://admissions.missouri.edu/costs-and-aid/residency-requirements/documents-and-steps.php

 

It also has a scholarship for in-state tuition for kids whose parents or step-parents went to school there and meet their criteria. 

Mizzou Heritage Scholarship

Upcoming Deadlines

• Automatic

Minimum qualifications

• Biological, adoptive, or step-parent who graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO.
• Top 25 percent of high school graduating class
• Graduation from an accredited high school
• Composite ACT score of 27 or higher or a combined critical reading and math SAT score of 1210 or higher.
• U.S. citizen or permanent resident
• Non-Missouri resident
• Enrollment at MU the first semester after high school graduation

Non-ranking high schools

Rank will not be considered from high schools listed as non-ranking. For students who have attended a high school that does not rank its students, admission and scholarship eligibility will be based on grade point average in required core classes in combination with standardized test scores.

Award amount

Waiver of nonresident tuition (approximately $14,000) for nonresident students.  Waiver of nonresident tuition is for a total of 8 regular semesters (fall and spring), students are not eligible for the waiver during summer terms.

(Will be canceled or reduced if nonresident tuition is waived or paid by another source.)

Application process

No application required. Students are automatically considered once admitted to MU.

Renewal

Renewable for an additional three years. Students can receive the scholarship for a maximum of eight regular (fall or spring) semesters, or until receiving a bachelor’s degree, whichever occurs first.

To remain eligible for the award, recipients must:

• Remain continuously enrolled at MU for each regular (fall and spring) semester
• Enroll for a minimum of 12 MU credit hours each semester (fall and spring)
• Complete at least 24 graded credit hours each academic year
• Maintain a cumulative MU grade point average of 3.25 or higher

[8filltheheart]

I hope he does not end up in a situation where he is considered OOS for all states. I wonder if that is possible.

IIRC it happened to a WTM poster's dd. I think they moved from VA to NC during her sr yr, but didn't sell their VAhome. Maybe rented in the new location?? Foggy memories, but I think bc they didn't live in the VA house, VA considered them OOS. Since they hadn't lived in the new location for 12 months, they were considered OOS.. They had no IS options.

 

We have moved with high school/college students. With our oldest, he had started his freshman yr. As long as he maintained full-time enrollment, he was able to keep his IS rate even though we moved.

 

When we moved here, the rule was as long as we could provide evidence that the move was due to employment and permanent and not simply to garner IS tuition, there was no time requirement for establishing residency. (Dh's employer provided a letter stating he had been transferred and we purchased a home. That was enough.)

 

When we moved to VA.....there was zero budge to the 12 months residency.

 

You have to investigate whatever the rules are for a particular state/board of regents governing that system.

[Pen]

It looks like being OOS everywhere might actually happen pretty easily, but maybe being aware of it would make it less likely.  I have 4 states that it looks like I need to get clear about the rules for...and then hope no problems like a sick parent requiring a move half way through senior year of high school happens, or know exactly how to maintain the IS of the prior state or shift it to IS for the new one as case may be.

 

All of sudden, some universities which I'd never thought of and aren't in any of our likely IS states, but are in our WUE region, via the wue reciprocity, have started looking like interesting options.  

[*LC]

It looks like being OOS everywhere might actually happen pretty easily, but maybe being aware of it would make it less likely.  I have 4 states that it looks like I need to get clear about the rules for...and then hope no problems like a sick parent requiring a move half way through senior year of high school happens, or know exactly how to maintain the IS of the prior state or shift it to IS for the new one as case may be.

 

 

I think if OOS everywhere did happen it would only be for a year until residency was established in the next state. 

 

I think you would be okay to help with a sick, out-of-state grandparent senior year as long as you maintained a "presence" in the original state. Yes, being aware will make it less likely. 

[JanetC]

I found a list of all the regional education compact groups, for those in other parts of the country

 

Academic Common Market (south) : http://www.sreb.org/page/1304/academic_common_market.html

Midwestern Higher Education Compact : http://www.mhec.org/http://msep.mhec.org/

New England Board of Higher Education : http://www.nebhe.org/programs-overview/rsp-tuition-break/overview/

Western Undergraduate Exchange (again) : http://wiche.edu/wue/students