The classic quip ‘Iowa City: Chicago’s favorite suburb’ is totted as an exaggerated wisecrack about the number of Illinois students who decide to attend the University of Iowa, but there’s far more truth to the matter than many realize.
In the fall of 2023, 6,087 out of the 30,042 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students who attend the UI were originally from Illinois, according to an enrollment report to the Iowa Board of Regents.
With students from Illinois making up approximately 20 percent of all enrollments, students from the ‘Land of Lincoln’ are the largest out-of-state population at the UI.
Despite this statistic, many Illinois students don’t receive the financial help they believe they deserve.
Many choose to leave the comfort of their home state because of differences in the cost of living, higher-level program offerings, and social opportunities.
That said, if the UI wants to maintain a large Illinois student population and remain competitive with surrounding state-sanctioned universities, the Iowa Board of Regents should explore options for eligible Illinois students to receive in-state tuition.
Reciprocity tuition — as it’s better known — isn’t a new concept. Various public and private colleges in Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other Midwestern states are involved in the Midwest Student Exchange Program, or MSEP, for short.
MSEP enables students who apply and qualify to receive a highly discounted tuition rate that cannot surpass 150 percent of current in-state tuition at participating public universities. Students attending private universities are eligible for a 10 percent discount.
According to Forbes, “Out-of-state tuition at four-year public universities in the U.S. costs about 189% more on average than in-state tuition — $27,091 per year versus $9,375.”
There are currently seven tuition reciprocity agreements throughout the U.S., all meant to benefit students of bordering states who choose to attend participating universities. The goal is to lessen the financial burden accrued through out-of-state tuition costs, ultimately leveling the playing field between students.
Within the MSEP, academic qualifications vary by university. To remain eligible, many universities require students to maintain continuous enrollment and good academic standing, as determined by the university’s policies.
According to an Illinois Board of Higher Education spokesperson via the Chicago Tribune, no Illinois colleges opted into the Midwest Student Exchange Program in 2021, making former participating universities “inactive members.”
If Iowa and Illinois congruently agreed to participate in the MSEP, eligible students from Illinois would pay sums closer to $17,000 a year at the UI, which is below the starting price to attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
As the largest out-of-state student population at the UI, Illinois residents seem like the most logical community to receive reciprocity tuition.
Based on the UI’s website, the tuition cost for non-Iowa residents, excluding housing and dining, is $33,371 per year. Even though the UI, comparatively, might seem like a cheaper option for many, paying over $30,000 for a yearly education can be extremely taxing. On top of this, if out-of-state students have to take out loans, they could be looking at mountains of debt and accrued interest.
According to CNN, Illinois residents have the fifth highest average post-grad student loan debt at $38,000. Regardless of scholarships and aid, the average price of tuition can still be daunting to many.
As a result, many students find Iowa a financially feasible option because of stable tuition rates–something Illinois universities can’t offer.
According to Illinois Policy, the cost of in-state tuition for Illinois students has skyrocketed by an average of 49 percent from 2007 to 2022 with the national average increasing over 21 percent.
The rising costs of college for Illinois students have resulted in an influx of Illinois students choosing to attend the UI. In 2023 alone, the UI saw a 4 percent increase in Illinois student attendance. As an institution, the UI should continue to encourage Illinois students to trade their blue and orange for black and gold by offering a higher tuition drop.
According to UI Director of Admissions Kirk Kulver, there are some programs in place to help out-of-state students.
He said all out-of-state students are automatically considered for the National Scholars Award, which can provide students with upwards of $15,000 every year toward tuition. However, this is the primary scholarship for all out-of-state students, which means Illinois students are fighting against 11,654 other out-of-state students for the same scholarship.
If Iowa and Illinois agreed to participate in the MSEP, it would not only reduce student debt, but also bolster Iowa’s academic reputation as a university with a diverse student body.
I believe in the ever-changing world of student debt, academic pressure, and financial uncertainty, there should be some financial reward for students who choose to leave their home state of Illinois and venture west.