COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Tuition at the University of Maryland might not be in every student’s price range, but out-of-state students might not have much of a choice if they come from states with less-reputable state schools.
While the majority of students at UMD are in-state, many students come from nearby states like New York and New Jersey. Tuition and fees for the 2014 to 2015 school year were $4,713.81 per semester for full-time in-state students, and $14,860.29 for out-of-state students. The difference might be steep, but it isn’t unusual – the average semester cost of out-of-state tuition is $11,479, according to the College Board.
Students able to shell out the extra cash for out-of-state tuition, living expenses and other fees might choose to do so for the academics, big school feel or future employment opportunities. Maryland is considered 14th in the country in “best values” in public colleges for out-of-state residents, according to “Kiplinger’s Personal Finance” magazine.
“If I wanted to pay in-state tuition in New York, that’d be great, but it’s not the education that I’m getting from Maryland,” Freshmen Connection advisor and UMD graduate Tori Shay said. “As a past student, it’s been really hard for me to say that tuition is affordable, because I have been in that struggle of paying it back.”
Shay said current students might not be as concerned with Maryland’s affordability because they aren’t being faced with monthly bills. They could also think the money is worth it if they are from a state with no university as prestigious as UMD, she said.
“Just knowing that my parents were paying first and I had to pay them back, I was never intimidated by post-college pay,” sophomore Haley Regan said. “I know it’s a lot of money, but I know that in the end, even though I’m paying extra, I’m paying for an experience that I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else.”
Out-of-state students might be at-ease about high tuition rates because they feel their future career opportunities are better with a degree from UMD. For Regan, who hopes to someday work for the FBI, the connections she makes with professors and the proximity to Washington, D.C., are incomparable, she said.
“We have all of those resources that Maryland has to get you involved in things that will get you a job, like the internships, and your out of the class experience,” Shay said. “It’s so important because I always tell students, it’s not just about your major and your GPA, it’s about those experiences you have outside of the classroom. So I think that most students feel that this is worth it.”