Out-of-State Tuition Waiver

[Rita]

Looking for advice on how to go about trying to get Univ. of Illinois to waive the o-o-s tuition.

I figure we may have only one shot at it so want to get our "ducks in a row" and not mess it up.

If anybody has any comments to share, I would love to hear them.

Jackie is a senior and U of I and UT are at top of her list.

* Parents are alums
* Her SAT & ACT scores are very strong
* active in lots of stuff
* #2 rank in class
* undecided in a major

We have a relative who couldn't get them to waive out of state even when the only year spent outside of IL was his senior year. So that is discouraging.

Anybody been through this?

 

[Rudyjohn]

We've spent this last 18 months going thru all of this. My son was offered in-state tuition to FSU on a music/academic scholarship. That came at the 11th hour, literally. That was the only "state" school he applied to. All others were privates.

I can't say that I"m able to offer any tips on how to exactly secure in-state tuition. UofI is notoriously stingy. They have no reason to offer in-state tuition to OOS students because they already have so many kids who apply that there's a waiting list. Almost all kids end up graduating in 5 years instead of 4 because of the back-log.

I guess you have already visited and have established rapport with a particular Admissions Rep. If so, I would have your daughter keep in touch with this rep throughout her senior year. Have her ask a few question every now and then and also have her express how eager she is to attend UofI, expressing that this is her #1 choice.

Has she already placed her application early? Not sure when UofI begins accepting but the earlier application session, the better. That way she will be at the top of the heap when it comes to them handing out $$.

UofI is an excellent school, 2nd to Northwestern.

And when it's all said and done, and she gets accepted, you can always ask for in-state tuition. Never hurts to ask!

 

[Rita]

We've spent this last 18 months going thru all of this. My son was offered in-state tuition to FSU on a music/academic scholarship. That came at the 11th hour, literally. That was the only "state" school he applied to. All others were privates.

I can't say that I"m able to offer any tips on how to exactly secure in-state tuition. UofI is notoriously stingy. They have no reason to offer in-state tuition to OOS students because they already have so many kids who apply that there's a waiting list. Almost all kids end up graduating in 5 years instead of 4 because of the back-log.

I guess you have already visited and have established rapport with a particular Admissions Rep. If so, I would have your daughter keep in touch with this rep throughout her senior year. Have her ask a few question every now and then and also have her express how eager she is to attend UofI, expressing that this is her #1 choice.

Has she already placed her application early? Not sure when UofI begins accepting but the earlier application session, the better. That way she will be at the top of the heap when it comes to them handing out $$.

UofI is an excellent school, 2nd to Northwestern.

And when it's all said and done, and she gets accepted, you can always ask for in-state tuition. Never hurts to ask!

.
Can't apply yet but on your advice will get it in as soon as can. Took an organized, scheduled tour this summer but no rapport w/Adm. Rep. Guess we should do that? I'll put her onto it.

She has a friend who visited Northwestern and will go there if he can get a music scholarship. One of her cousins is there in PHD program (after U of I).

Jackie likes the bigger school - go figure!

.

 

[Rudyjohn]

.
Can't apply yet but on your advice will get it in as soon as can. Took an organized, scheduled tour this summer but no rapport w/Adm. Rep. Guess we should do that? I'll put her onto it.

She has a friend who visited Northwestern and will go there if he can get a music scholarship. One of her cousins is there in PHD program (after U of I).

Jackie likes the bigger school - go figure!

.

If you can remember the name of the rep who gave the tour or shpiel, have Jackie email them with a question and then have her keep contacting this one person, but not to the point of being pesky but you get the picture. It's almost as if the reps are on "commission" and the more prospective students they can "groom" who will eventually apply, the better. They especially want the ones who are #2 in their class. ;-) Most will clamor to tend to your inquiries.

This is important more so for the schools that have enormous enrollments & candidates. Some of the other schools that aren't as sought after, you don't need to do as much pre-preparation.

Also, have Jackie prepare her resume with all her activities for the last 4 years, her extra curricular activities, any jobs, and her volunteering hours, etc. Make sure it is perfect w/ no misspellings or grammatical errors. (I have a boy who is always in a big hurry so it was imperative that I check his work before it went out - ha!)

Good luck.

 

[Miss Kitty]

My Sheltie is smarter than your honor student!

JK, Rita...what an impressive resume! Good luck on the tuition-scholarship!. You might think about getting her up there to work and gain residency (some of the boy's friends did this at Mizzou).

For us, after paying private school tuition since the kids were 2, the out of state tuition at Mizzou was a breeze. ;-)

 

[Rita]

.
Miss K,

How did they do the work (to create residency) thing?
We could probably work something out for the Sophomore year & beyond but not for that first year.

I hear ya on the private school costs conditioning you. I'd likely loosen up on the $ easier if she had a PASSION for something, but that first year of general studies - I have a hard time paying double the money for that. I'm cheap! ;-)


Oh - and I met a Sheltie once!! mwhahahaha ... too hyper to concentrate on anything! But MOLLY is a "bird of a different color" I'm sure!

.

 

[Rita]

We've spent this last 18 months going thru all of this. My son was offered in-state tuition to FSU on a music/academic scholarship. That came at the 11th hour, literally. That was the only "state" school he applied to. All others were privates.

I can't say that I"m able to offer any tips on how to exactly secure in-state tuition. UofI is notoriously stingy. They have no reason to offer in-state tuition to OOS students because they already have so many kids who apply that there's a waiting list. Almost all kids end up graduating in 5 years instead of 4 because of the back-log.

I guess you have already visited and have established rapport with a particular Admissions Rep. If so, I would have your daughter keep in touch with this rep throughout her senior year. Have her ask a few question every now and then and also have her express how eager she is to attend UofI, expressing that this is her #1 choice.

Has she already placed her application early? Not sure when UofI begins accepting but the earlier application session, the better. That way she will be at the top of the heap when it comes to them handing out $$.

UofI is an excellent school, 2nd to Northwestern.

And when it's all said and done, and she gets accepted, you can always ask for in-state tuition. Never hurts to ask!

.
JR,
Your advice was very worthwhile. Jackie contacted the media/communications department and set up appointments with Director of Media and Director of Advertising.
They gave us much good info and showed Jackie around during Thanksgiving break.
In the end she landed 2 academic scholarships, which would take care of the out-of-state tuition difference, so playing field was leveled.
One weekend she just decided she wanted to be closer to home and friends, so declined the scholarships. She is going to UT Austin in the college of communications.
I am sure that the personal contacts she made gave her an edge. It has been a good learning experience for her.

.