I am following up on my post on the top public universities and their low tuition prices. I wanted to show people that there are ways to get the cost of a resident’s tuition even if you are not a resident.
Every state treats residency differently. However, there are some unique situations that you can leverage to get reduced tuition prices. There is even a website dedicated to this situation. The blog hasn’t been updated in 10 years, but the concept still exists.
There are many resources for schools providing reciprocity across state lines:
Unfortunately, none of the top public universities are members of these programs.
In recent years, Illinois has removed itself from the MSEP, and Wisconsin-Madison no longer has reciprocity with Minnesota.
Top Public Universities
| Rank | University | Flexible Out-of-State |
| 11 | UC – Berkeley | No |
| 15 | UCLA | No |
| 16 | University of Michigan | No |
| 18 | UC – San Diego | No |
| 19 | University of Washington | No |
| 26 | North Carolina (UNC) | No |
| 27 | Wisconsin – Madison | BANNER |
| 28 | University of Illinois (UIUC) | No |
| 29 | UC – Davis | No |
| 31 | Georgia Tech | Waivers |
| 32 | Texas at Austin | Limited |
| 34 | Florida | No |
| 37 | Virginia | Neighbors |
| 39 | Minnesota | Neighbors |
| 40 | Purdue | No |
| 41 | UC – Santa Barbara | No |
| 42 | Ohio State | No |
| 43 | Texas A&M | No |
| 44 | Maryland | Military & Employees |
| 46 | UC – Irvine | No |
| 47 | Michigan State | Few |
| 48 | Rutgers | Military |
| 50 | Indiana – Bloomington | No |
Wiscon’s BANNER program is probably the only hope of receiving reduced out-of-state tuition, but it doesn’t seem much different from the financial assistance most universities provide. It would be best if you had military or employment connections. Otherwise, these programs aren’t any different from other schools using FAFSA.
I continue to struggle to find affordable college options, especially for Illinois residents outside of the University of Illinois.
