So I live in Massachusetts and was wondering if there were any colleges out there that offered discounted tuition or even in-state tuition for Massachusetts residents. The only one I can name of is UMaine. I also hear that New England has a program where you get discounted tuition if you choose a major your public universities don’t have (quite honestly, the second part of that sentence is pretty stupid). Are there any other OOS public schools that can give me discounted or in-state tuition?
Some give instate rates to scholarship recipients. Some have OOS rates that are already lower than Mass public university rates (with fees). South Dakota for example.
Other New England states will give MA residents in-state tuition for majors not available in MA. http://www.nebhe.org/programs-overview/rsp-tuition-break/overview/
A discount. Not sure if it’s actually in state rates. But you must have a major your state doesn’t offer a
nd stick with it. There’s also a provision for when the nearest college is in the next state.
Why should another state give you a discount for a major you can study at UMass? That is not stupid at all.
@lookingforward I am fully aware of the NEBHE tuition break; but never heard of the provision thing. I’m just wondering about something. I’m much closer to UConn Storrs than the flagship UMass Amherst campus. Would I get a provision in this instance or would UConn Storrs need to be the closest one of ALL the public universities?
Forget the question above. Just learned that UConn doesn’t use distance proximity.
You would most likely find this at an out-of-state school that was located close to the Massachusetts border. Sometimes state schools located near state boundaries will offer “in-state” rates to students on the other side of the line.
For example, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), which is a small state college in western MA, heavily discounts tuition for New York State residents. The NY rate is almost as low as the MA rate. http://www.mcla.edu/Admissions/financial-aid-and-cost/index
The MCLA example obviously doesn’t help you, because you want an out-of-state school that offers discounted tuition to MA residents (not a MA school that offers discounted tuition to out-of-state residents). But it shows the general idea. So I would check for any state universities located near the MA line in NY, VT, NH, RI, or CT.
Estimated cost of attendance, UMass-Amherst, in-state, before financial aid:
$29,090
https://www.umass.edu/umfa/undergraduates/costs
Estimated cost of attendance, University of South Dakota, out-of-state, before financial aid:
$21,472
https://www.usd.edu/admissions/tuition-and-fees
Another approach would be to consider states where it is relatively easy to qualify for state residency, like Utah. You can become a Utah legal resident after living there for 12 months. So you could take a gap year in Utah, and then pay in-state rates at Univ. of Utah or Utah State. Or pay out-of-state rates as a freshman in Utah, and then in-state rates after that.
https://www.usu.edu/admissions/residency/
What’s stupid about an agreement between states to offer such a discount? Is it stupid that your state doesn’t offer the major that a small handful of students want? Of is it stupid that they offer the discount? The purpose of the state university system is to make college accessible to the residents. It is cheaper for each state to offer 1 or 2 majors to all of the interested students in the region, than for all the states to offer all programs to the small number of students within their own state.
Your guidance counselor should have that information readily available.
Also some state schools give large merit awards to high stat candidates (UAlabama is a common example).
Rhode Island College, which is in Providence, charges a rate that is in between instate and OOS for students from nearby MA towns. I wish I could remember what the program is called!
@simberry2 What is it about Massachusetts public universities that makes you want to look elsewhere? Are you looking for something smaller than U.Mass Amherst and U.Mass Lowell, or for some other difference?
How far from Massachusetts would you want to look?
Looks like it is known as the “Metropolitan Tuition Policy.” List of qualifying out-of-state towns here:
http://www.ric.edu/bursar/Pages/Metropolitan-Tuition-Policy.aspx
They are usually called something like a regional tuition policy like mentioned above. NEBHE is a consortium so all the states must agree to the terms. A colleague of mine has a son going to URI for ocean engineering as we don’t offer that program in state. It is something like 150% of the in state rate. The UMaine program has been popular, if of course, Orono is where you want to be.
I graduated from Rhode Island College if OP has any questions.
UMAINE - Applicants from New England qualify for Maine resident rate