In-State Vs. Out-of-State Tuition
So you want to move out of your parents’ house and go away to college. No kidding.
But moving away from your hometown has a price way beyond no more home-cooked meals and laundry.
Choosing an out of state college can really impact your college costs.
For example, let’s say you live in Wisconsin, and you want to go to Universirty of Rhode Island, your college tuition is going to cost you $23,038. But if you are from Rhode Island, it’s only going to cost you $8,184.
We’ll do the math for you. That’s $14, 854 difference.
Ever wonder why public universities charge higher tuition from out of state?
Well, a large chunk of the money that public colleges get each year for operating costs is paid by the taxpayers in the state where the college is located. So, students who are residents in that state get a cost break and students from out-of-state pay more since they are essentially subsidizing the in-state students.
Colleges want to attract in-state students with a low price tag. They know that those students will often stay in state after graduation and help boost the economy. College graduates are more likely to have good jobs, pay money and contribute to the to the state’s economy.
In some cases, state schools will offer in-state prices to out-of-state students. Often, this happens when a certain program of study is not available in a given state and that state makes arrangements with the public schools of a neighboring state. It can also happen if a state has it as a priority to increase enrollment and wants to attract a broader range of students. For instance, South Dakota recently slashed tuition by almost half for all out-of-state students.
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 17th, 2008 at 1:02 pm and is filed under College Tuition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
