In-State vs. Out-of-State Colleges

Even if you don’t plan on staying near home after high school, an in-state college might be the way to go if you want to avoid spending too much on tuition. “In-state colleges” generally refer to public universities where students who already live in the state pay far less for their tuition than students arriving from out of state. Penn State University, for example, costs around $18,000 a year for Pennsylvania residents; for non-residents, it’s closer to $35,000, almost twice as much. 

It’s important to make the distinction between Penn State University and the University of Pennsylvania, a private university that charges students the same amount regardless of which state they are from. Penn State, a public university, is funded by taxes paid by PA residents; thus the cost of tuition is relatively low. Private universities like UPenn, however, rely heavily on student tuition payments as well as contributions by various donors. They also tend to be much smaller than public universities; UPenn only has 10,000 students currently enrolled, while Penn State has over 40,000. This is reflected by their class sizes as well, with private universities generally keeping classes smaller, giving students easier access to their professors. However, this isn’t always the case; at Columbia University (a private university), many courses are offered as lectures, holding up to a hundred students at a time.

While private universities do generally cost more than public universities, if you attend a public university out of state, the price may not end up being all that different. You may think you can just move to the state where you’re hoping to go to college and claim residency, but it’s not that easy.The requirements for qualifying as a state resident vary by state, but they’re very strict, and usually require that you or your parent or guardian live in the state for at least one year before applying. The qualifications for all fifty states can be found on this website.

If you want to attend an out-of-state university without breaking the bank, you may qualify for a regional exchange program. These programs allow students to attend colleges in another state without paying the full price of out-of-state tuition. They generally require students to live within the same region as the college they are attending (i.e. New England or the West Coast). One of the most popular programs is the Midwest Student Exchange Program, which allows students in ten different states to enroll in public universities across the region at no more than 150% of the cost of in-state tuition. In 2018, students saved an estimated $90.9 million by participating in this program.