by Jake | Apr 8, 2015 | Tuition Reciprocity Agreements
Tuition reciprocity agreements allow a qualified resident from one state to attend certain colleges in nearby states for a greatly reduced tuition rate. Although not without severe limitations and eligibility restrictions, thousands of people benefit each year from such reciprocity agreements. This article will focus on the regional reciprocity agreements among Western US states, Southern states, Midwestern states, and Northeastern states—these big four agreements account for the vast majority of reciprocity benefactors. There are other more unique reciprocity agreements between states and colleges which far fewer people benefit from but which are nevertheless worth addressing in the interest of being thorough. Regional Tuition Reciprocity Agreements There are four major regional tuition reciprocity agreements all out-of-state hopefuls need to know about. NORTHEAST Regional Student Program (RSP) under the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont The New England RSP allows New England residents to attend participating out-of-state New England public universities at a reduced rate of tuition. New England’s Board of Higher Education states an average tuition break of $7,000 annually being received by a full-time RSP student. Important to know is that there are certain requirements needed in order to reap benefits of the New England RSP Tuition Break. Most important is that the student must enroll in a major that is not only approved by the RSP, but is an approved major that is not available to the student at the public universities and colleges in their own home-state. There are also instances where proximity is a determining factor in that certain schools will allow qualification to the RSP Tuition Break if the out-of-state college is...
by Jake | Apr 8, 2015 | Tuition Reciprocity Agreements
The allure of going to an out-of-state college at an in-state cost with no effort whatsoever is attractive. Tuition reciprocity agreements seem to offer just that and millions of college bound students every year excitedly stumble upon what looks like tuition salvation. But much like a vision of an oasis on the horizon when you’re dying in the desert, the tuition relief assured by reciprocity agreements usually isn’t actually there. The fever-dream: Go to any college of your dreams in a nearby state but pay cheap in-state tuition automatically. The reality: Go to your 4th favorite college in a nearby state so long as you study underwater basket-weaving (or another obscure/unpopular major). If you’re lucky and first in line, then get an un-guaranteed tuition discount that isn’t as much as you thought and which you could easily lose. Some oases are real. That’s why it’s worthwhile to look into reciprocity agreements (you won’t die of thirst after all), but don’t get your hopes up too high because severe restrictions and limitations exist. Here are 10 reasons why tuition reciprocity agreements aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. 1) Lots of Popular Universities Opt-Out For example, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington are among the 15 member states that make up the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) reciprocity program. The most sought-after schools in each state: University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Oregon-Eugene, and the University of Washington-Seattle do not participate in the reciprocity agreement. 2) Major Restrictions At participating colleges, only certain majors of study are approved for the reciprocity tuition rate (typically around 150% in-state tuition). Don’t know your major yet or is there a possibly you’ll want to...
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