Out-of-State Tuition University of Michigan

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>I want to start a discussion about Out-of-State Tuition, specifically at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. This is an emotionally charged issue for me and I am trying very hard to understand all the forces at work on this problem. I am determined to stay objective and level headed and not let my emotions run with this. However, I am also determined that UM hear the voices of Out-of-State Parents on this issue. </p>

<p>I intend for all discussions to be fact-based and backed up by verifiable numbers and sources. It is not OK to just vent. We all understand. Please reply with facts and figures. How has UM OOS (Out-of-State) Tuition grown versus other private and public institutions? I am researching these figures now. Here is the start:</p>

<p>The University of Michigan modestly raised in-state tuition and raised out-of-state tuition $1,270 from 2012-13 to 2013-14. Our son started looking at colleges in his junior year when UM tuition was $37,588 for out-of-state. It is now $40,392 for Freshmen and Sophomores. That is an increase of $2,610 over the number we started with. </p>

<p>Yes, First-time parents, tuition increases dramatically once a student has 55 credits which often occurs between sophomore and junior years. However, our son is coming in with 24 credits from AP courses. Tuition goes from $40,392 to $43,230, an additional $2838. So while we started out expecting tuition of about $37,588, we will be paying $43,230 very soon, an increase of $5,642. </p>

<p>To a university dealing with Billions of dollars that does not seem like much. But to one family, it is HUGE. </p>

<p>Also, be aware that tuition is different for different colleges within a university. You can pay more just for majoring in Engineering over English. All of this makes it very difficult to forecast your future bills. Maybe basic tuition doesn't go up much but tuition for your specific major can rise dramatically.</p>

<p>We are paying full freight, no financial aid, no scholarships. Our son has a very specific program that will prepare him for a specific career. We determined that UM would place him in the best position on graduation. But we cannot even now begin to forecast what the cost will be in the next 2 years. Looking at his graduation year of 2017, I'm expecting we could be looking at $60,000 - $70,000. </p>

<p>UM benefits from our student also. He will have a fine professional career and will reflect well on UM. As an OOS family, we will provide free recruiting for UM so more students will go there.</p>

<p>I plan to post more information as I research this issue. Please respond if you likewise feel that UM is taking advantage of our constituency and back it up with facts and figures. If we don't speak up, we will be paying $75,000 in 3 years time.</p>

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<p>Supply and demand.</p>

3

<p>At The Ohio State University, 2,255 people make over $100K a year. The cost of living in Columbus is a lot less that on the East and West Coasts. What incentive does OSU have to control costs? At OSU, out-of-state tuition is 2.5 times that of in-state. At Michigan, it is 3 times. </p>

<p>Our family makes a lot less that $100K and we are not eligible for financial aid.</p>

<p>Say you sign a contract for a new car in January (accept an offer from a university) and when you go to pick it up in July, they tell you that it costs $1,270 more. Universities announce their tuition increases in July for a September start date. Where am I supposed to get the extra $1,270 from?</p>

<p>Some people will say it is only a 3% or 4% increase. Over 8 years, 3% compounds to 30% and 4% compounds to 42%. A small percentage increase on a big number is still a big number. And the compounding adds even more.</p>

<p>I see new construction on college campuses and meal plans at $20 per day. I can’t plan our family’s financial future, not knowing what big increases are coming for the next 4 years. My son earned the right to attend his university. I cannot tell him to drop his dream and everything that he worked for. But we have to get these tuition increases under control.</p>

4

<p>For information about Higher Education Salaries in Ohio, go to the Buckeye Institute website: [Buckeye</a> Institute - Home](<a href=“Page Not Found » Search » The Buckeye Institute”>http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/) It is an eye-opener.</p>

5

<p>I was the eldest of five kids in our family. My father waited until after I was admitted to an ivy league school to let me know he wasn’t going to pay for anything. I didn’t want to be saddled with debt, so I ended up at our flagship state school. I did well in my career and as many have pointed out, the choice of college is not the determining factor for success. </p>

<p>I earned my dream school, just as your son earned UM. But that doesn’t change the fact that I couldn’t afford it. I think you need to take a hard look at worst case financial scenarios and make sure you and your son can afford the school. All the analysis and railing against these tuition practices aren’t going to change a thing.</p>

<p>It doesn’t take all that long hanging out on CC to hear the heart break of kids that worked for their dream school but in the end can’t afford it. My heart goes out to you and your family and I hope you can find a way to make it work.</p>

<p>luck,</p>

<p>p.s. you should probably post this on the parents forum.</p>

6

<p>U-M has been good to me. My COA as an OOS Student for 2013-2014 is $56,328. They met the COA. My financial aid award only includes $5,500 worth of loans so the cost for me to attend is very little. In fact, it costs me more to go to a community college than go to U-M out of state. My dream school was Columbia, but when I was admitted and found out it was going to cost me $40,000 in private student loans a year, I chose U-M. Hard to say anything bad about U-M financial aid after everything they have done for me.</p>

7

<p>I think there are a few forces at work.</p>

<p>One is the market. As allyphoe said, the market will bear these prices.</p>

<p>Another is the fact that the state of Michigan is more or less dead, flat broke. The state is hurting for money. Families within the state have, on average, been hit harder by the economic downturn of the last 5 years than Americans have, on average. Out-of-state tuition for public universities is a source of revenue that’s painless (for Michigan government). It’s rather like hotel taxes. They’re high almost everywhere because tourists don’t vote. Michigan can raise the tuition on out-of-state students because non-residents don’t vote in Michigan.</p>

<p>If I kept paying higher and higher tuition, I might be irked by this fact. (Although, come to think of it, when my wife was an out-of-state medical student and the Commonwealth of Virginia did keep raising her tuition much faster than that of her classmates who were Virginians, we kind of figured, dem’s the breaks.) But, having no skin in the game, I can’t really see any compelling reason why Michigan should cost a non-resident student any less money than Northwestern would.</p>

<p>And I do not find it problematic that Ohio State has over 2200 employees who earn over $100,000 per year. One of them, obviously, will be the president. Many will be deans. Many will be professors in the law and medical schools, particularly in the lucrative specialties of medicine. Actually, I’m surprised it’s only 2255 people. How many employees does the university have? (What outrages me, really, is what big-time college coaches earn, not what well respected professors and deans earn.)</p>

8

<p>In a different vein (and so I will put it in a different post), I quite agree that something has to be done about the skyrocketing costs of college.</p>

<p>I have said this before, but when my wife was an undergraduate in a private college, her father was a physician who worked for the federal government. Four years of private-college tuition, room and board totaled about as much as her father earned in six months. A generation later, my wife is a physician who works for the federal government. Four years of private-college tuition, room and board for our daughter costs about the same as what my wife earns in twelve months. In other words, she has to work twice as long as her father did to pay for essentially the same thing. That’s unsustainable.</p>

9

<p>Michigan is one of the schools that considers becoming a private institution because of its lack of state funding. It stinks when tuition goes up so quickly, but is not unexpected, IMHO.</p>

<p>Following along with what Sikorsky said…A family saves and lives frugally for all of their working lives and manages to save $1 million. A private education for two kids uses half. Seems incredible to me.</p>

<p>My kid got into Michigan, Chicago, and Georgetown, but followed the money to Pittsburgh, which was a way down in the prestige rankings.</p>

10

<p>I object to the blank check that universities demand that parents sign. If I buy a house, I know what my monthly mortgage payments are going to be for 15, 20 or 30 years. </p>

<p>I don’t mind paying more than in-state tuition because I understand that in-state parents pay taxes to that state. But I do mind paying 3 times in-state tuition. </p>

<p>I object to college presidents making $802,125 like Gordon Gee at Ohio State who was then fired for his ‘verbal miscues.’ That alone tells me that he should not have been at that pay grade. If he only made $300K with additional benefits and pension, he would be living rather well in Columbus, OH and think of how many students would be helped by that $500K. </p>

<p>The 2,255 people at Ohio State making over $100,000 represents $225 million dollars! Looking at all the state colleges in Ohio from the Buckeye Institute, there are 5368 people taking home over $100K before benefits and pensions (which will be paid for by Ohio tax payers in the end). That represents a minimum of $536 Million = half a Billion dollars. Presidents make anywhere from $200K to $800K. </p>

<p>Maybe these administrators are so insensitive to costs because they got theirs. </p>

<p>I find it hard to believe that there are not a few $200K positions that could be eliminated upon retirements. Again, what incentive does any state university have to contain costs? None. </p>

<p>It’s time to put the brakes on. Freeze salaries and tuition.</p>

11

<p>My parents worked in blue collar jobs so my 3 siblings and I could go to college. Same with my in-laws. They put 2 kids through private colleges on blue collar jobs. College costs were not easy but it could be done. </p>

<p>Now if my spouse and I hadn’t worked so hard and saved so much, my son would be getting ‘need based’ financial aid. Instead, he feels guilty for draining the family savings as he sits next to other students who are paying a drastically different price for the same services. I support financial aid to needy students but the model has changed so that those who worked hard and saved are further behind.</p>

12

<p>Very verbose whining. If you can’t afford it, send him to an in state public or tell him to take out loans. Sending your kid OOS without serious scholarship dough is something WEALTHY people do. Stop trying to keep up with the Jones. Him going to Michigan isn’t a right. If you don’t like their tuition policy – here’s a novel idea – DON’T SEND HIM THERE. If a PREDICTABLE pop in tuition is impacting your family’s finances you should have never pushed him to attend an OOS college in the first place.</p>

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<p>I am a Michigan grad who has lived OOS for 30 years with 2 kids around college age – neither attending Michigan, but that is not for reasons related to cost.</p>

<p>My D2 (college freshman this fall) was initially looking at 17 schools. I tracked the tuition increases over a two year period from 2010-11 to 2012-13, and the average increase each year was 3.95%. The increase you cited was actually less than that, so you actually got a better deal than students at the top LACs & a few Ivies on her list. Also, if your son is coming in with 24 credits, I assume he will be graduating early? So you have a semester or so less to pay than many families. And if you didn’t notice that there is a tuition differential depending on credits or college, then I assume you didn’t read the website very carefully before sending in your son’s deposit.</p>

<p>State universities in many states are increasing OOS tuition dramatically (California and Minnesota come to mind, but I am sure there are more). They can’t justify subsidizing out of state students, especially given the recent recession and political pressures to cut spending. Michigan as a state certainly has bigger financial fish to fry at the moment than some disgruntled OOS parents who did not realize that tuition goes up every year and did not carefully evaluate the possible costs ahread of time. If you can’t afford OOS tuition, then you should look at having your son enroll in your state university or a less rigorous school where he can receive merit money. It feels like you are taking out your anger on the university for things that you could have known ahead of time if you had done some due diligence – none of this information is hidden away.</p>

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<p>Thanks to the higher OOS tuition, they can keep the in-state tuition at a reasonable level disregarding the lack of State fund. Even with much higher oos tuition, the percentage of oos state student is a lot higher than other public schools. So, the market definitely play a key role there.</p>

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<p>OutOfStateParent, as an OOS alum myself, I think Michigan is charging OOS students fairly. In fact, I think the University is a bargain. Many of Michigan’s academic peers are charging their students significantly more. Michigan costs $56,000/year for upperclassmen. Schools below costs as much, if not more:</p>

<p>Boston College: $61,000
<a href=“http://www.bc.edu/offices/stserv/financial/finaid/undergrad/how_aid_works/cost_of_attendance.html[/url]”>http://www.bc.edu/offices/stserv/financial/finaid/undergrad/how_aid_works/cost_of_attendance.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Brown University: $60,500
<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/financial-aid/cost-attendance[/url]”>http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/financial-aid/cost-attendance&lt;/a&gt;
Carnegie Mellon University</p>

<p>Columbia University: $64,000
<a href=“Columbia College Bulletin < Columbia College | Columbia University”>Columbia College Bulletin < Columbia College | Columbia University;

<p>Cornell University: $62,000
<a href=“http://www.finaid.cornell.edu/cost-attend[/url]”>http://www.finaid.cornell.edu/cost-attend&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Dartmouth College: $63,000
<a href=“Cost of Attendance | Financial Aid”>Cost of Attendance | Financial Aid;

<p>Duke University: $59,000 (2012-2013, likely to be in the $62,000 range now)
<a href=“http://admissions.duke.edu/application/aid[/url]”>http://admissions.duke.edu/application/aid&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Emory University: $60,000
<a href=“Apply for Financial Aid | Emory University | Atlanta GA”>Apply for Financial Aid | Emory University | Atlanta GA;

<p>Georgetown University: $63,000
<a href=“http://finaid.georgetown.edu/cost-of-attendance/undergraduate/[/url]”>http://finaid.georgetown.edu/cost-of-attendance/undergraduate/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Johns Hopkins University: $62,000
<a href=“http://finaid.georgetown.edu/cost-of-attendance/undergraduate/[/url]”>http://finaid.georgetown.edu/cost-of-attendance/undergraduate/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>New York University: $64,000
<a href=“http://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/financialAid/documents/financialfacts.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/financialAid/documents/financialfacts.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Northwestern University: $63,000
<a href=“http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/financial-aid/tuition-fees-and-expenses.html[/url]”>http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/financial-aid/tuition-fees-and-expenses.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Rice University: $54,000
<a href=“http://financialaid.rice.edu/main.aspx?id=46[/url]”>http://financialaid.rice.edu/main.aspx?id=46&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Tufts University: $59,000
<a href=“Financial Services | AS&E Students”>Financial Services | AS&E Students;

<p>University of California-Berkeley: $56,000
<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm[/url]”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>University of California-Los Angeles: $55,000
<a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm[/url]”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>University of Chicago: $64,000
<a href=“http://collegeaid.uchicago.edu/costs/cost.shtml[/url]”>http://collegeaid.uchicago.edu/costs/cost.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>University of Notre Dame: $60,000
<a href=“http://financialaid.nd.edu/undergraduate/cost_of_attendance/[/url]”>http://financialaid.nd.edu/undergraduate/cost_of_attendance/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>University of Pennsylvania: $62,000
<a href=“Submit My Documents | Penn Student Registration & Financial Services| Penn Srfs”>http://www.sfs.upenn.edu/paying/cost-of-attendance.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>University of Southern California: $62,000
<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates2/costs.html[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates2/costs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>University of Virginia: $54,000-$60,000 (depending on major)
<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/financialaid/estimated.php[/url]”>http://www.virginia.edu/financialaid/estimated.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Vanderbilt University: $61,000
<a href=“http://www.vanderbilt.edu/financialaid/costs.php[/url]”>http://www.vanderbilt.edu/financialaid/costs.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Washington University-St Louis: $64,000
<a href=“Cost of Attendance - Financial Aid | Washington University in St. Louis”>Cost of Attendance - Financial Aid | Washington University in St. Louis;

<p>If you look at the total cost of attendance (including room and board etc…), Michigan’s cost of attendance, even for upperclassmen, is one of the 5 cheapest universities among those 25 universities listed above. Most of the universities are a good $5k-$8k to attend.</p>

<p>And the increase in tuition for OOS students has been reasonable. Under 5% annually to be sure. While several of Michigan’s peer public institutions, such as UIUC, Wisconsin-Madison, UNC and Texas-Austin are cheaper to attend, their tuition increases for OOS students have been far more significant, and with good cause. Universities are non-profit organizations, but they require a great deal of money to operate at the level Michigan and its peers do. In order to attract the right size and caliber faculty, build and maintain world class facilities and provide students with the opportunities that top universities do, a great deal of money is required. You should see the state of Canadian and European universities. Great research faculties, but given their size, unable to effectively teach students, pathetically dilapidated facilities etc… When I came out of high school, back in the early 1990s, I have a choice between top US universities and two of the top 5 British universities. After visiting the campuses in both countries, I immediately saw where the money was going. There was no comparison whatsoever. If people want universities like Michigan to exist, they must accept that there are costs involved. </p>

<p>That being said, I strongly feet that Michigan needs to improve significantly in three major ways:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Increase the OOS:IS ratio. Michigan used to be 65% IS and only 35% OOS. I firmly believed that Michigan should be at least 50:50, preferably 40:60 in favor of OOS students. In the past 6 years, Michigan has steadily increased its OOS percentage. We are now at 58:42. Not quite there yet, but inching closer.</p></li>
<li><p>Provide better financial aid support to middle income and lower income OOS and international families. In state families are well taken care of for the most part. This has been one of Michigan’s major flaws over the years, but with the new fund-raising campaign underway, Michigan will likely improve in a very significant way on this front as well. While the particulars have not yet been shared with us, the University has announced that starting this fall, it is launching a new multi-billion dollar campaign aimed primarily at improving financial aid assistance to students. I expect that in the next 5 or 6 years, Michigan will meet 100% of the needs of all its students. </p></li>
<li><p>Why charge upperclassmen more than underclassmen? That makes no sense and makes it difficult to help parents manage expectations. Michigan should have one tuition rate for all students. Hopefully, the university will amend this odd practice in the near future.</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>As a parent about to pay OOS tuition to Michigan thinking of it as a “bargain” is hard to swallow. I do get the point - relative to its peers it may be fair. I think this is a college cost problem not specific to Michigan. Except for Alexandre’s point #3 above. My god does that drive me crazy.</p>

<p>To the OP I won’t be harsh as others but did you really not realize you are at a schools whim? They can increase tuition as much as they like and you can either transfer or deal with it. Same almost everywhere (although my older D goes to a private that locks in the year one tuition for 4 years - god is that nice and helpful). </p>

<p>This is hardly a Michigan only problem, its a cost of college across the board problem…and I agree something has to give someday.</p>

17

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<p>But you don’t seem to mind it enough not to do it. Which explains why Michigan’s out-of-state tuition costs as much as it does. I find that so many things–my house, our cars, electronics, etc.–cost about 15% more than I’d be willing to pay without a second thought. But when I go ahead and buy things at the higher-than-I’d-like price, I’m essentially telling sellers that they can get away with demanding the price they’re demanding.</p>

18

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<p>Why should a STATE university do these things? It is not a private college – as much as OOS students and parents would like to be treated equally with in-state students, they are not residents of the state. It is right that the college charges more for OOS students and provides better aid to in-state students. Also right that it gives admission preference to in state students. Students who want to be treated equally across the board should apply instead to one of the private colleges listed in Alexandre’s post (I think Berkeley, UCLA, and UVA may be the only public universities on the list).</p>

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<p>The higher cost for upperclassman is ridiculous. Many students with AP credits end up paying more because of that. UIUC has a fixed tuition if graduated in 4 years. That means no surprise, not even for inflation adjustment.</p>

20

<p>^^But there is no surprise. Every student applicant knows that tuition goes up after their sophomore year. Furthermore, the model has remained the same for many years, including annual tuition raises. Perhaps Michigan should just charge a higher price for freshman and sophomore students to even things out?</p>