College Admissions: How to Save $50K On Grad School Costs

Saturday, June 01, 2013

Cristiana Quinn, GoLocalWorcester College Admissions Expert

If your home state's public university does not offer a graduate program, you may be able to enroll out of state but for a significantly reduced cost.

In previous articles, I have discussed the significant savings that New England residents can receive at neighboring state universities as undergrads by taking advantage of the New England Board of

Higher Education Regional Tuition Break. With college graduations upon us, it seems the perfect time to point out that this program also extends to graduate studies. New England residents wishing to pursue Masters and Doctoral degrees can recognize tremendous savings by taking advantage of the tuition breaks at the graduate level.

Breaks for RI students

Keep in mind that the goal of the program is to provide economical access for New England students to programs not offered at one of their home state universities. In Rhode Island, we don’t have a state university that offers Law Degrees (J.D.), Medical Degrees (M.D.) or Dental Degrees (D.M.D.). Therefore, Rhode Island residents, if accepted, can attend UCONN Medical or Dental Schools, and UCONN, UMASS or UMAINE Law Schools at slightly more than in-state tuition.

Breaks for MA students

Massachusetts residents can venture to UCONN to study Biomedical Engineering and URI to study Ocean Engineering or Library Studies at the Masters or Ph.D. levels. From Architecture to Wildlife Ecology, there is a vast array of more than 250 programs offered in just about every field imaginable. How much can you save? For Rhode Island and Massachusetts residents studying at U. Maine or UVM, the discount is more than $10,000 per year. Add that up over a 2-5 year Masters, Legal or Ph.D. program, and the savings could total more than $50,000.

New additions: Museum Studies, Autism Studies + more

Exciting new additions to the graduate level NEBHE Tuition break this year include: Museum Studies at UNH, Autism Studies at UMASS Lowell, Bioengineering at UVM and Cognitive Science at UCONN. Although students must usually designate that they are RSP candidates on their application, students presently enrolled in a program may also qualify. From my experience, the breaks are liberally granted. The goal is to serve as many students as possible, and the reality is that not enough students take advantage of this amazing program. For a full list of degrees and more details, go here.

Cristiana Quinn, M.Ed. is the founder of College Admission Advisors, LLC which provides strategic, college counseling and athletic recruiting services for students. www.collegeadvisorsonline.com