Are residents given any benefits?

[thelost]

Do residents have an advantage over non-residents when applying to PhD programs? I assume that most departments at public universities would rather hire a RA or TA that is a resident because it will cost them less to cover the tuition.

Edited April 21, 2011 by thelost

[Tall Chai Latte]

Do you mean being a resident of a particular state?

From my experience, I don't think being an out-of-state student is any less advantageous than an in-state student. Sure, the tuition is cheaper for an in-state student, but once you pass candidacy exam, your tuition goes down a lot. At least this is true at where I go to school, perhaps other members can provide more insights.

[UBCbiograd2009]

I'm going to a private school, so there's no tuition difference between in-state and out-of-state. The same goes for the other schools where I was accepted in WA and LA

[Owlie]

The department at the public university I interviewed with won't take more students than it can fund, so if you get in, there's no preferential treatment. However, they did say (in an unofficial capacity) that they prefer to take in-state students, not because of the cost (though I'm sure that plays a role), but because they're more likely to go there for whatever reason (family, significant other, etc.)

[thelost]

Do you mean being a resident of a particular state?

From my experience, I don't think being an out-of-state student is any less advantageous than an in-state student. Sure, the tuition is cheaper for an in-state student, but once you pass candidacy exam, your tuition goes down a lot. At least this is true at where I go to school, perhaps other members can provide more insights.

Yeah, I mean being in the same state as the school. All the states I've looked at don't count going to school as being a resident. Even if you go to school for a year or more, if your primary reason for being in the state is for education, they don't consider you a resident.

The department at the public university I interviewed with won't take more students than it can fund, so if you get in, there's no preferential treatment. However, they did say (in an unofficial capacity) that they prefer to take in-state students, not because of the cost (though I'm sure that plays a role), but because they're more likely to go there for whatever reason (family, significant other, etc.)

Poor title choice on my part, I mean benefit as in better odds of being accepted.

I bet departments shoot for a certain number of in-state and out-of-state students. I doubt they take anyone without regard to location. If they accepted all or a lot of out-of-state students their costs would double or triple or they would have to shrink the size of the program to stay within their budget. Now the question is do they set the number of in-state and out-of-state students based on the demographics of the applicants? If they aim for 50% out-of-state and 50% in-state, but 75% of applicants are from out-of-state, then being in-state is an advantage.

[emmm]

The public university I applied to gives no admissions advantage to state residents. The programs pick the candidates they consider the best. There may, however, be an admissions DISadvantage for international students, due to funding issues -- I did not ask about that.

[thelost]

The public university I applied to gives no admissions advantage to state residents. The programs pick the candidates they consider the best. There may, however, be an admissions DISadvantage for international students, due to funding issues -- I did not ask about that.

Really? I assume the department has to pay out-of-state tuition for the out-of-state TA's and RA's. I can't believe they would take all out-of-state students if there were no qualified in-state students. That could cost them a lot if they pay non-resident rate for non-resident TA's and RA's. Then again maybe that's not the case. Maybe TA's and RA's tuition is the same no matter where they are from.

[Owlie]

I think it depends on the state/department. They showed us the numbers at the interview session. It costs them ~$30,000/yr for in-state students, and ~$49,000/yr for out-of-state students. Yes, they try to shoot for a balance, but it seemed to be weighted toward in-state students. (I had a number of conversations with present grad students that went like this: "Where are you from?" "Here." "Where'd you go for undergrad?" "Here." )

[ZeChocMoose]

Really? I assume the department has to pay out-of-state tuition for the out-of-state TA's and RA's.

That is not necessarily the case. For the university that I earned my master's degree, I was technically an out-of-state student, but I was reclassified as an in-state student because I was offered a graduate assistantship. If other schools have this policy, RAs/TAs/GAs are typically reclassified as in-state students. Then the department or office just pays the in-state tuition rate for the student. If that is the case, then being an in- or out-of-state student won't matter to the adcomm for overall costs.

Edited April 22, 2011 by ZeChocMoose

[Owlie]

That is not necessarily the case. For the university that I earned my master's degree, I was technically an out-of-state student, but I was reclassified as an in-state student because I was offered a graduate assistantship. If other schools have this policy, RAs/TAs/GAs are typically reclassified as in-state students. Then the department or office just pays the in-state tuition rate. If that is the case, then being an in- or out-of-state student won't matter to the adcomm for overall costs.

Interesting. I think it depends on the university's policies, then. At the one I applied to, it seems like it's next to impossible for someone originally out-of-state to qualify for in-state tuition. The TA/RA-ships at that university cover in-state tuition only. The department has to make up the difference.