What is In-State tuition?

    When applying for college, students have to pay either in-state tuition or out-of-state tuition, depending on where they reside. Students who pay in-state tuition will pay about 1/3 of what an out-of-state student would pay.

    So let’s say that you live in California and would like to attend college in Florida. If you attend a state or public university, you would have to pay out-of-state tuition. The reason for this system is that state colleges and universities are funded in part by tax payers’ money and in this case, tax payers from Florida don’t have the responsibility to contribute to the college education of students of tax payers in California.

    Undocumented students are generally considered out-of state students, regardless of whether they would attend college in the state they live in. This is merely based on their immigration status of “non-citizens” and “non-legal residents.”

This does not seem to be fair, as the student and his or her family are tax payers of that state. Being undocumented does not exempt a person from paying taxes, because they do, through their income and the goods and services that they consume.

    Most states in the United States will enforce this rule, where, for example, an undocumented student who has lived in Florida all his life would still need to pay out-of-state tuition in that state. But not everything is bad news, there are a handful of states that have jumped over this hurdle and now allow undocumented students to attend college and pay the same rates that students residing in the state pay, granted they live in that state.

    Below is a list of the states that currently allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, so if you, or someone you know, are undocumented, this is for you.
States allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition:

•  California
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Maryland
• Nebraska
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oklahoma
• Texas
• Utah
• Washington

    If you know of undocumented students who live in these states and may not be aware that they offer in-state tuition, please share this information with them. If a person is undocumented and resides in any of these states, they should be able to apply to any public or state university and have to pay in-state tuition only.

    Having to pay in-state tuition, coupled with the possibility or receiving a scholarship, undocumented students have the chance of a lifetime to get the education that they deserve and hope for.

    If you or someone you know can be helped through this information, please share it. If you would like to leave us a message in regards to questions, additional resources or information, please do so. Until next time!