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Reduced Out-of-State Tuition Options

Affordable education in other states, because you live in Minnesota


 

There are two key ways to reduce the cost of college when you decide to attend a college in another Midwest state.

Reciprocity

Minnesota has agreements with neighboring states to provide lower tuition for Minnesota residents to attend public colleges and universities in those states. This is called reciprocity. Typically, non-resident admission fees and tuition are reduced (or eliminated) if you're a reciprocity student.

Minnesota has reciprocity agreements with Wisconsin and North Dakota. It also has an agreement with the Canadian province of Manitoba, and a limited agreement with Iowa Lakes Community College in northwestern Iowa.

The South Dakota Minnesota Tuition Reciprocity Agreement will terminate upon the conclusion of the 2023-2024 academic year.  No new South Dakota students may apply for tuition reciprocity benefits at Minnesota schools beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year.  Likewise, no new Minnesota residents may apply for tuition reciprocity benefits at South Dakota schools beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year.   However, students currently enrolled shall continue to receive the reciprocity rate in order to complete the degree program in which they are enrolled at the date of termination. 

The programs with Wisconsin and North Dakota cover virtually all students, including full-time, part-time, undergraduate, graduate, and professional (some professional programs are excluded).

Students enrolled in programs that charge the same tuition rate to all students regardless of state of residence are not covered under any of the reciprocity agreements. Students taking distance education from a college in a neighboring reciprocity state while remaining in their home state are not covered under the reciprocity agreement with Wisconsin.

Learn More.

Midwest Student Exchange Program

Minnesota residents (including eligible undocumented students), may be eligible for reduced tuition at a limited number of Midwest public and private schools and programs of study in, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio. Please note that Illinois and Michigan no longer have any participating institutions in the Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP). The absence of any participating institutions in MSEP moves the states into an inactive status for purposes of this program. The net result of this inactive status is that resident students from Illinois and Michigan will no longer be able to receive the MSEP discounted tuition rate at institutions participating in the program.  Per the MSEP Council, starting in fall 2021 for Michigan and fall 2022 for Illinois, new students will no longer qualify for the MSEP discount.  Residents of these states attending out of state MSEP institutions are grandfathered into their participation in the program as long as their enrollment is uninterrupted and continues to meet the MSEP participation requirements of the institutions they attend (i.e. satisfactory progress or approved leave status in the program admitted).

Learn More.