Cost of in-state vs out-of-state tuition
About this video
In-state public universities are often the cheapest option because states give big discounts to residents, and regional consortiums like the Western Undergraduate Exchange extend discounts across a region. Out-of-state public schools, however, can be the most expensive: you pay out-of-state prices, they often meet less of your need, and they give more aid as loans, so private colleges can sometimes be cheaper.
You'll be able to
- explain why in-state public universities are often the cheapest choice.
- give three reasons out-of-state public schools can be the most expensive.
- explain why a private college might cost less than an out-of-state public one.
Key words
- in-state tuition
- The discounted price public colleges charge students who live in that state.
- consortium
- A group of public schools in a region that agree to give students from the region price discounts.
- Western Undergraduate Exchange
- A consortium of public schools in the western US offering discounts to students across the region.
- demonstrated financial need
- The cost you can't cover yourself, which schools may meet in part or in full.
Transcript
- So, for a lot of students, public universities and colleges within their state are going to be the cheapest schools for them because states are going to give substantial discounts to students who reside within their state. And in addition, there are a number of consortiums of public universities within various regions in the United States, so there's, for instance, the Western Undergraduate Exchange which is a consortium of public schools in the west that give students in that entire region good price discounts.
However, one thing you have to be really careful about is that if you are looking at public universities or colleges outside of your state, you will not get these price discounts for in-state tuition. Therefore, public schools out of state can actually be the most expensive schools for students, because number one, you're paying out-of-state prices.
Number two, public schools are the schools, often, that are going to meet a lesser percentage of your demonstrated financial need. And number three, often, public schools are the schools that are gonna give more of their money away in the form of loans that you have to pay back at interest instead of money in the form of grants and scholarships, which you don't have to pay back.
So what's interesting is that sometimes, private colleges and universities can be a cheaper alternative for students than public out-of-state schools.
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