In state vs out of State PHD admission

[GroundTurth]

Hi ,

 

Do you think being in state student give you a better chance to be admitted than out of state students for PHD programs.

[finally]

I was wondering that too....if there was some kind of policy, they should make that well understood.  But some schools went out of that way to ask "are you a resident, will you be a resident by the time..." etc.  For UConn I even had to print out a residence affidavit, check the "I am not a resident" box, sign it, scan it and upload it.  If you checked the "I am a resident" box you had to list previous addresses or some such.

 

I suspect it has to do with the subsidy they get from the state to make up the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition.  If they fund you and waive your tuition, they're waiving a larger chunk for out-of-staters because they can't include you in their attendance numbers as granting them a subsidy of 5 or 10k each year, whatever it is.  Whereas if you live in California and apply to UCLA, they can probably waive your tuition but still collect the state subsidy for you.

[squark]

Americans who attend a public school will usually become resident after one year and will thus qualify for in-state tuition for their subsequent years so you wouldn't think it would make too much of a difference. Internationals never gain residency, however, and this is a definite disadvantage in admissions, especially for UC's if the department is paying tuition.

 

 

For some purely anecdotal evidence: in my field, all PhD acceptances come with funding and the department offers to pay your tuition. Late January acceptances happen, but are somewhat rare (most occur in mid-Feb). I applied to twenty schools and have five offers so far: four of them from UC's (I'm a California resident). Make of that what you will I guess!

[finally]

Not all states allow people who are present simply as a student to become a resident.  I forget which school I applied to, I think it was UW-Madison (??) made it clear that this wouldn't be allowed. 

[bakalamba]

Often it can be difficult to prove residency, as Universities prefer charging out-of-state tuition, for obvious reasons. I don't think it affects admission, but it does affect financial support, whether the program is willing to cover regular tuition plus the out-of-state tuition. I did have one acceptance letter (Michigan State) where they delineated funding as covering both tuition and out-of-state).

 

I've heard in order to change your residency, you should start the process on your first month - like changing your bank account to a local bank, etc. Usually you have to show you've been in the state for 12 months to become a resident.

Edited January 31, 2014 by rbamattre

[Munashi]

Often it can be difficult to prove residency, as Universities prefer charging out-of-state tuition, for obvious reasons. I don't think it affects admission, but it does affect financial support, whether the program is willing to cover regular tuition plus the out-of-state tuition. I did have one acceptance letter (Michigan State) where they delineated funding as covering both tuition and out-of-state).

 

I've heard in order to change your residency, you should start the process on your first month - like changing your bank account to a local bank, etc. Usually you have to show you've been in the state for 12 months to become a resident.

 

Do people really change their bank accounts?  I've moved so many times and never bothered.  For me, this has never affected residency but this could  vary by school and I guess it's something to look out for!  I never even thought about it.

 

I do know having a local driver's license, registering your car (if you have one), and registering to vote are things that help establish residency.  Definitely having a local (off-campus?) address, too..

 

As for how it affects admissions, to echo other posters, I'm not sure it makes a difference.  A few programs I applied to state that you must establish residency ASAP, as they will only fund 1 year of out of state tuition.  After that, the difference is out of your own pocket.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Munashi

[adlittle]

In North Carolina, a minimum of 82% of admitted undergrads must be in state. There's no similar requirements for grad students. I took a graduate history course at a well recognised neighbouring institution and was the only person from NC. It did make me a little bitter, but I guess it reflects the renowned quality of the school.

[bakalamba]

That being said, one of my top schools doesn't allow change in residency during graduate study (you can't become a resident after a year or so) - they say it's "nearly impossible" to change whatever residency status one has when arriving at the University. However, they grant non-resident fee remission for students working at the school more than a 100 or so hours per semester (an amount of hours that nearly every student on a GA or TA will work anyways).