

The In-State Tuition Break, Slowly Disappearing - denzil_correa
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/19/upshot/the-in-state-tuition-break-slowly-disappearing.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_up_20150519&nl=upshot&nlid=71956317&ref=headline&abt=0002&abg=0

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mhays
To cite my own experience, I pay around $30,000 a year for my instate J.D.
program. My school-appointed mentor, who graduated in 2004, paid $4,000 a
year.

I see this as unfair, not only in the sense that my generation has to take out
extraordinary loans to access education, but also in the sense that I am
forced to pay $100,000 just to participate in our justice system. And I am one
of the lucky ones benefiting from a lowered in-state tuition.

But I am not worried about me. I am worried about my friends who have accrued
crippling debt in their quest to be a high school teacher, or some other
valid, yet low paying, profession. I am afraid these people will never pay
their debt off.

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danieltillett
Well I am not sure if the USA needs anymore lawyers.

If I were in charge I would make the tuition $500,000 pa and use the money to
pay court appointed defence attorneys a decent wage and give them a reasonable
workload. Fewer lawyers and more justice.

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yequalsx
You have missed mhays' point. Focusing on what you perceive to be a problem of
an abundance of lawyers detracts from the essence of the issue. Namely,

"... in the sense that my generation has to take out extraordinary loans to
access education..."

Unless you think every field has an over supply, what is the point of your
comment?

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danieltillett
Of course I don't think every field has an oversupply of graduates (most
recent graduates do though), but I do think tuition fees can be used by
society to encourage people into areas we need rather than in areas we don't
need more people. Discouraging more people from becoming lawyers and
encouraging those that do to work in areas we need good lawyers is a double
positive from my perspective.

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hga
An _extremely_ poor article. The only examples of this reported problem cited
are a university that simply increased its size to accommodate more out-of-
state students, and UCB, the very best state university in the nation, one
that's the equal of many of the best private ones in many fields.

If that's the best the NYT can do, perhaps we don't have so much of a problem
after all....

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mc32
What amazes me is that out of state students would have to pay out of state
while someone in the state without a visa could get in state tuition.

I'm not against in state tuition for visa offenders, but at the same time
there seems to be an unfairness with regard to out of state students who would
have to pay the "full price".

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jacobolus
It’s not a kid’s fault that they live somewhere without a visa. People who
move to California as young children – who grow up going to California
schools, have parents working in California and paying taxes like every other
resident, have all their friends in California and are just as likely to stick
around and make their life/career in California as any other resident – should
absolutely get to count for in-state tuition rates. Anything less would be
cruelly punishing a group who did nothing wrong and get all kinds of other
shit for it from society.

~~~
stephengillie
What if their parents were among the lower 47%, and so did not pay taxes into
the system?

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jacobolus
They absolutely do pay taxes: especially payroll taxes, but also income taxes
are withheld from their salaries just like everyone else (often under fake
SSN).

Or if they’re being paid in cash under the table, as sometimes happens for
both undocumented immigrants and for immigrants with visas or permanent
residents, that’s 100% the responsibility of the employer.

Indeed, undocumented workers often end up paying more tax than they would if
they had authentic papers, because they’re less likely to file for tax rebates
at the end of the year.

They also pay sales tax, if they’re paying rent are ultimately contributing to
property taxes paid by the landlord, etc. etc.

If you want to see some data about this w/r/t state and local taxes, here’s a
recent summary:
[http://www.itep.org/immigration/](http://www.itep.org/immigration/)

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stephengillie
I didn't mean undocumented immigrants, but you make a great point that they're
overpaying taxes, but are receiving only minimal services. And people look
down on them as though they're a burden.

Documented workers who earn below a certain level have the entirety of their
income tax deductions returned to them by the IRS. This happened during my
first few years of working.

Workers who earn an exceptionally low amount, and have additional dependents
or are paying college tuition, can earn additional tax credits, such as EIC or
Hope.

In this way, many working households benefit from welfare and have someone
working and/or going to school.

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cmurf
It's almost impossible for out of state students to "get residency" and pay in
state tuition rates. This is due to most states setting the age of majority
for tuition classification only, to 25. Age of majority for voting and dying
in wars is 18. Age of majority for drinking alcohol is 21. But tuition? Nah,
you don't get that until you're 25, even if you're a resident of that state.
So in effect, you only get the in state tuition for the state either of your
parents live in.

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mattstreet
This screwed me over. I couldn't get any financial help because my parents
wouldn't fill the FAFSA, it wasn't until the year I turned 25 that I could get
any aid or loans.

Now I'm a computer science professional pulling down a decent salary, the
government lost out on about 7 years of taxes because of their policies.

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bruceb
One could argue because of this policy the govt didn't have to pay out for a
lot of students who parents did pay up as they should have.

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SQL2219
A very nice business model these universities have. 18 year old clueless kids
borrow as much money as they need, and hand it over by the truck-load. It's
for the children!

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beagle3
Americans should consider studying abroad. In most european countries, you
will not (as an american) qualify for free university, but the costs are in
the order of 20% or so of the US ones.

E.g., according to [0], tuition in Sweden will cost you some $10,000/year.
And, it's an adventure that you're less likely to have the opportunity for
later in life.

[0] [https://studyinsweden.se/study-information/fees-and-
costs/](https://studyinsweden.se/study-information/fees-and-costs/)

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fredgrott
What the Article missed...

It lists one Land Grant college..ie Purdue..

Is everyone ware that Land Grant Colleges are quasi-federal chartered entities
via the Morrill Act and that

they have still maintain an education mission defined in the act?

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moioci
According to Wikipedia, Auburn and Michigan State are land-grant institutions.

