tuition waiver question

[sabomnim]

i was accepted into grad school

I first received an informal email stating that I was accepted with a stipend and a tuition waiver

a week later i received a letter in the mail stating my acceptance and that I am considered an "out of state" resident

I then received a letter via email with the official offer letter stating my stipend and that i receive an "in state" tuition waiver

The program website states "A limited number of in-state and out-of-state tuition waivers are also available."

how do these things generally work? should i assume my tuition is covered (not counting general student fees) or am I expected to pay the difference between "in" and "out" state residency?

Also, my permanent address on my application is "in state" but b/c i was in school so i had an "out of state" mailing address

is it comes down to paying the difference, is this typically something that can be fought?

by the time I go down there I will have an "in state" drivers license (i currently do not)

[Rachel B]

I'm not sure about the school you're applying to, but I am attending an out of state school and they've provided me with a full tuition waiver but I still have to pay "in state" fees. Anyone with a full tuition waiver, whether a state resident or not, at my school is only billed for in state fees. But your situation sounds super confusing and if you want clarification, you really should call the department or financial aid, whichever is in charge of distributing tuition waivers.

[ImGrumpy]

You need to contact the school and get clarification of your funding status. Varying rules apply to different universities and different states. I am assuming you were attending undergraduate school in this state but you did not graduate High School in this state. What was your status during undergraduate years?

In some states, you can become a state resident after one year living in the area. In some states, you cannot become a state resident even after that time period if the primary purpose of living in the area is to attend school. Some universities give automatic instate tuition (although not instate status) to teaching/research assistants in which case your in state tuition wavier will cover it all. Usually, some internal and external fellowship will also have this. Other universities will not grant this and in that case, yes, you would pay the difference between in state and out of state.

Rules vary from state to state and even universities within state. The only way to know for sure is call either your dept or the graduate office or the financial aid office and get a clarification of exactly what they are offering you. After they explain it to you, I would ask if there is a webpage where this is explained. Better to see it in writing than be verbally told one thing, accept on that basis, get to school and find that your dept didn't really know what they were talking about.

Bottom line is don't assume and don't guess. Don't rely on other grad students at the university. Go to someone official and make sure you understand exactly what your financial obligations will be. Also, it's good to know if your circumstances change (for instance you don't get a TA/RA after year two) how that will impact your status.