Minnesota Residency Rules

 Difficulty

How to get in-state at Universities in Minnesota:

Minnesota state regulations are tough while individual university regulations vary in difficulty.  Because of this, the overall state difficulty of earning in-state status can be generalized as medium-difficult.  For all universities in Minnesota, you could take some big actions prior to applying which can ensure your in-state status almost instantly or up to a year later.  On a university-by-university basis, there are some ways to change your residency status after 1 year of attending college.

There are a couple vastly different ways of earning in-state residency status in Minnesota.  One way involves big actions prior to applying, the other involves big actions taken after applying.

Before you apply… (regardless of university)

• Move to Minnesota, live there a year doing something of import (to demonstrate you’re not in Minnesota solely to go to school), apply a year later to a Minnesota university as an in-state resident
• Get a full-time job in Minnesota and accept said job BEFORE moving to Minnesota. Once you’ve moved to Minnesota and established your domicile, then apply to a Minnesota university as an in-state resident.

After you apply, change residency status after 1 year (depends on university)

• Establish your domicile in Minnesota
• Work part-time at least, full-time is better but not required
• Go to school part-time or full-time (part-time is better)
• Finance yourself at least half way

Please let me stress that regardless of the way there, if you want to have any hope of in-state status then you MUST move to Minnesota with the intent to remain long-term and you MUST NOT move to Minnesota primarily for educational pursuits.  Working as much as possible and attending school as little as possible can help in this regard.  But how you demonstrate this exactly can be difficult, is judged on a case-by-case basis, and varies by university so you are encouraged to please see below links to available in-state overviews for universities in Minnesota.

Minnesota Reciprocity Agreements:

Minnesota is a member state of the Midwest Student Exchange Program which is a limited regional reciprocity agreement among select Midwestern States. Favorable college tuition rates in nearby states are sometimes possible through reciprocity although many restrictions apply.

See Tuition Reciprocity Agreements Explained

See Tuition Reciprocity Agreements Overpromise & Under-Deliver

University-Specific Overviews Below:

Below please find links to in-state overviews for select universities in Minnesota. If your college is not highlighted, then please consider buying a University-Specific Nutshell Report or see all available university-specific in-state overviews.

Popular Universities in Minnesota:

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities-Minneapolis

Other Universities in Minnesota:

Bemidji State University-Bemidji
Metropolitan State University-St. Paul
Minnesota State University-Mankato
Minnesota State University-Moorhead
Southwest Minnesota State University-Marshall
St. Cloud State University-St. Cloud
University of Minnesota Medical School-Minneapolis
University of Minnesota-Crookston
University of Minnesota-Duluth
University of Minnesota-Morris
University of Minnesota-Rochester
Winona State University-Winona