by Jake | Apr 10, 2015 | Instate Tuition Tips
Along the winding path toward in-state tuition, unseen perils lurk. An affordable college education awaits…but this sweet prize is a long way off. Mis-steps could mean starting over, wasted years, squandered tuition dollars. Seeming shortcuts are pitfalls. Assumptions are man-eaters. Hubris is endemic. Unasked and unanswered questions stalk you and ignorance, feigned or real, will not save you. Sure, get a new in-state driver’s license, update your address with institutions like banks, register to vote, do taxes, etc. But there are more fundamental questions you may have overlooked. You think you know the way; you may know much, but it’s what you don’t know that hurts you. In-state is all or nothing so getting a lot of things right is great but simply not enough. What about the lesser-known requirements peculiar to your university? How do you reconcile the illogical and contradictory? Are you focusing on the small things at the expense of the big things? Are you doing it the right way beyond reproach? Are you guessing and crossing your fingers? How confident are you? Never confuse confidence with correctness, here are 8 areas that are easily overlooked and can disqualify you from earning in-state tuition: 1) Attendance Can you even be enrolled as a student during the domicile period? Some colleges you can go to school full-time while establishing residency like UNLV. Others put a cap on the number of credits you are allowed to take while proving your in-state eligibility, e.g. 8 credits max per term at University of Oregon-Eugene. Even more strict is Indiana University-Bloomington, where taking even 1 credit-hour at any institution of higher education in Indiana irrevocably brands you as being in Indiana solely for educational purposes and therefore disqualifies you from in-state status....
by Jake | Feb 18, 2015 | Instate Tuition Tips, Paying for college
Sure, we all know the usual cookie-cutter ways to help lessen the cost of ever-increasing college tuition: you can cross your fingers for scholarships and pray for favorable loans and grants through FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). But securing a meaningful scholarship is a highly competitive affair among the cream of the crop with the highest SAT/ACT scores. And the best grants and free money? That’s reserved primarily for those with the most extraordinary circumstances. What about the rest of us? Let’s think outside the box… You don’t need to be a valedictorian to afford college. These five untraditional ways to pay for college help level the playing the field and might just help you avoid a mountain of debt. 1) RESIDENCY It’s possible to earn in-state tuition in any state; find out if it’s viable for you. This is first at bat, because (if attending an out-of-state college) you can actually combine it with a few of the other non-traditional ways to pay for college that follow below, leading to an even bigger return on investment for your time. For example, you can work toward getting in-state residency while completing a gap-year, then not only do you save money during the gap time, but you also can begin or return to college with residency and in-state tuition. Win-win! Most people do not realize that if you qualify as a resident of the state in the eyes of a university, then you are entitled to in-state resident tuition, averaging over $52,000 in total cost difference over the course of a four-year college education (reference). Do you really love the state and would you be moving there with or without the...
by Jake | Nov 20, 2014 | Instate Tuition Tips
About 17% of college students go out-of-state to college. They pay dearly for it; the typical out-of-state tuition rate at a 4-year public university is 3x to 4x more than the in-state tuition rate, that’s typically $10k to 20k per year up to $29.662 per year at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Unfortunately, that expensive out-of-state tuition rate is out-of-reach for many students despite their strong desire to transplant themselves. So many such students settle on going to college in the state where they grew up. Don’t settle, decide; you have options. You may be able to earn in-state tuition in your chosen state at your chosen college. Here are 10 tips. 1) Look in the mirror: are you sure? If getting in-state tuition were as easy as signing your name and getting your picture taken, there wouldn’t be millions of out-of-state students. How important is it to you really? There are plenty of fantastic colleges and universities in your state and you already have in-state tuition there. Is this something you really want to commit to or are you just thinking about it. If you’re going to go down this route, then you need to be committed before you start. You might be able to avoid all the hassle by just staying in-state. 2) Regional reciprocity exchanges In-state tuition might be a moot point for you; there are 4 major regional reciprocity exchanges whereby a resident of one state may attend certain colleges in certain states at close to in-state rates. For example, if you’re a resident of California with excellent grades and test scores, you could attend Montana...
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