Is your child considering a school that is out-of-state? More than likely, you want to give them the ability to attend any of the schools that they are considering. However, this is difficult when in-state colleges carry far less expensive tuition fees. We’ve compiled some tips for getting in-state tuition for out-of-state students to help families solve this cost dilemma.

1. Plan ahead

The more time you give yourself to plan, the more opportunities you will have to obtain tuition benefits. It pays to research, as many of your savings options can last through all four years of college. Also, it is important to apply to many of these benefits early, giving you preference over other applicants.

2. Understand the college’s rules

Some schools have stricter in-state tuition qualification requirements than others. It is important to research the rules for each school that your child may be considering. Some colleges require students to have graduated high school in the state or have a parent living in the state. Others allow in-state residency for students that live in the state for one year and are financially independent from their parents. It completely depends on each school. Check out Finaid.org for a list of links to each school’s rules regarding in-state residency requirements.

3. Fill out forms carefully

Make sure you completely understand the rules for each school so that you do not make any mistakes or omit any information when filing for residency. Be cautious when filling out forms and be sure to look them over before submitting them. If you have any questions, be sure to utilize the college’s admissions offices by giving them a call. As a result, you can be sure to submit the correct information.

4. Avoid penalties

Try to avoid the negative consequences of making a mistake. The penalties assessed to students for inaccurate in-state residency range from expulsion from school to being charged for past tuition at an out-of-state price.

5. Research academic reciprocation agreements

There are currently four regional programs that help students obtain lower out-of-state costs compared to the full out-of-state tuition. These programs are made available to students interested in specific majors. Students must qualify and there is usually a cap on how many students can receive this benefit from each college.

The Western Undergraduate Exchange helps resident of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming gain access to out-of-state schools. Students from one of these states are eligible to receive a reduced tuition rate of 150% of in-state costs at a school outside their home state. This includes two and four-year institutions. Again, this depends on how many spaces are available for WUE students at each school.

Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia all participate in The Academic Common Market. This program offers tuition savings to students if an institution in their home state does not offer them the program that they are looking to study.

The Midwest Student Exchange Program offers students in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, or Wisconsin a similar benefit.

The New England Board of Higher Education offers a tuition break program referred to as the New England Regional Student Program. This allows students that are permanent residents in the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont to receive tuition aid. With this program, students may qualify if the out-of-state college they would like to attend is closer to home than an in-state college that offers the same academic program.

6. Hire an expert

In-State Angels helps students and families navigate the often confusing process of establishing residency in a different state. Avoid the risk of going at this by yourself and employ an Angel to help. ISA helps students gain residency in the fastest and most legal way possible, saving families like yours tens of thousands of dollars.

These tips can help you and your student by opening up as many college options as possible, even those you originally thought to be too expensive. Like we’ve been saying, it pays to do your research, so get searching and start saving!

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About the Author – Jake Wells founded In-State Angels in 2009 after graduating from the University of Colorado-Boulder with more debt than seemed reasonable. He is on a mission to prevent others from suffering a similar fate, and now advises students on how to get in-state tuition in the fastest way legally possible.

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As students begin applying to colleges, and juniors begin narrowing down their college choices, consider that there are many options available that allow your student to attend college for free (or almost free), excluding expenses like books, fees, and possibly room and board. But free tuition is nothing to scoff at. Many of these colleges cost upwards of $100,000 for four years.

Here are 10 ways your student might be able to attend college for free;

1. Get good grades and score well on the SAT

Many colleges offer free rides to valedictorians, top 10 percent, and other academic distinctions. High SAT scores help as well—where many colleges offer merit-based free tuition.

Students at Macaulay Honors College, part of the City University of New York system, don’t stress about the high price of tuition. That’s because theirs is free. At Macaulay and a handful of other service academies, work colleges, single-subject schools and conservatories, every student receives a full merit-based tuition scholarship for all four years. Macaulay students also receive a laptop and $7,500 in “opportunities funds” to pursue research, service experiences, study abroad programs and internships.

2. Be a PSAT Merit finalist

Scoring high enough on the PSAT to become a Scholar, a Finalist or a Semi-Finalist can equal big money at some schools-public and private. That means your student may only need to score high enough to make it to the last round; he or she doesn’t even have to be the last one standing.

This list of colleges was compiled a few years ago and may have some changes; but use it as a guide when you are researching the colleges.

3. Win Scholarships

With work and a tested method (How 2 Win Scholarships) your student can cruise into college with multiple scholarships. Start early with the research, register on scholarship search sites, and look locally.

4. Work while you attend

There are several colleges that let you work while you attend and pay your tuition. In exchange for free tuition, students at the College of the Ozarks work on campus 15 hours a week. Possible jobs at this Missouri college include dairy farming and custodial work.

5. Pursue a specific career path

Colleges offer free tuition to students who pursue specific career paths or areas of interest. For instance, prospective students must audition for enrollment into Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. Those accepted receive full-tuition scholarships.

6. Use your location

A number of cities, counties, and states offer free tuition to students who either excel in their studies, or demonstrate a serious need.

7. Go overseas

Believe it or not, there are colleges overseas that offer free tuition to international students. For instance, students at KTH Royal Institute of Technology can get a free technological education at the Royal Institute of Technology. At Lund University in Sweden, you will not have to pay tuition fees.

8. Attend college online

Get free tuition from these online colleges and you’ll truly get a good deal. You won’t even need to pay for room and board! Andrew Jackson University,  Trinity College of Biblical Studies and The DiUlus Institute allow you to attend college online for free.

9. Demonstrate need

Students who come from low income families can get free admission from numerous colleges and universities. Surprisingly, many colleges consider low income to be above the poverty level, so don’t think you won’t qualify. Check out each college’s income levels.

10. Serve your country

With a commitment to serve after graduation and acceptance to one of the nation’s military academies and some military colleges, you can attend college for free (and even get paid while you attend). And if you join the military before college, you can attend using the GI Bill after you are honorably discharged.

Following are some additional resources:

For an extensive list of colleges that offer free tuition, follow the link below:

http://www.advantageedu.com/blog/2008/100-free-college-rides-you-dont-need-daddy-to-pay-for/

To read a recent article about free tuition at Antioch College, follow the link below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/25/antioch-tuition_n_4339146.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

The College Solution listed colleges that provide 100 percent of need:

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/list-of-colleges-that-meet-100-of-financial-need/

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Rising college costs put the student loan debt at an all time high. Paying for college is one of the greatest challenges when it comes to securing a college education for your children. While it seems that getting accepted into a college is the biggest hurdle, once they have received the acceptance letter, you can stop worrying about that and start worrying about how to pay for it. With tuition costs rising every year (nearly 500 percent in the last 60 years), most families find it difficult to cover college expenses. Financial assistance from the college is available to a lucky few, as are private and federal grants and scholarships. However, the vast majority of students will end up taking out student loans in order to pay for their education.

Picking which loan to take out is key. A loan, regardless of what kind, is something that will need to be repaid—which means your children will be in debt before they even start working. So, before you start applying for any and all student loans, find out more about the reality of the debt management post-graduation. This infographic clearly lays out the past, present and future of student loans and consider how it would impact your children’s financial outlook.

As a parent, you are probably willing to go to great lengths to ensure that your kids make it to (and through) college. You have no doubt tried hard to instill in them an understanding of the different options available to them should they complete a degree. And if you’re like most parents, you’ve likely been contributing to a college fund and you plan to help support your kids during their time in college. But even so, you simply might not have the money on hand to cover all the bills. Between tuition, books, a dorm, and other living expenses, you’re basically supporting two households–a tall order for any parent. So your children might have to take out loans, get a job, and find a few other creative ways to get the money required to pay for their education.

Here are five creative ways to finance a college education:

1. Crowdsourcing.

Random strangers probably aren’t going to help your kids pay for tuition and books. But their loved ones might be willing to kick in, especially if they stand to see a return on their investment. The way crowdsourcing generally works is that a business presents an idea to the public, which then decides if it will move forward via their donations (talk about putting your money where your mouth is). In return, those that donate may get free product, swag, or even cash back with interest (like a loan) when the idea comes to fruition (and to market). Your kids could make the same deal with aunts and uncles, grandparents, and so on. The real upside is that they’ll likely get better interest rates and more lenient terms all around than banks might offer.

2. Grant money.

Many kids apply for scholarships offered by their school and by outside organizations, but many forget that they can also apply for grant money (like the Pell grant) as a way to get additional funds for their schooling. These offerings are generally need-based, so your earnings could play a role in whether or not kids are able to get grants. But it’s definitely worth a try since they do not require repayment.

3. Scholarships.

Most families don’t realize that millions of dollars in scholarship money goes unused every year simply because students aren’t doing their homework to find available funds that they qualify for. Although your kids may be busy with their studies, they won’t be for long if they can’t pay their tuition. So encourage them to sign up for sites like Fastweb, Zinch, and Scholarships.com. If they apply for just one scholarship each week their odds of winning greatly improve.

4. Save everywhere.

There are so many ways for students to save money that they have no one to blame but themselves if they’re paying full price for anything. Textbooks, for example, can be purchased at a discount online (on sites like Chegg, PhatCampus, and so on) or even rented for a semester at a fraction of the cost of new (at BookRenter, eCampus, etc.). They can get numerous discounts using their student I.D., as well; all they have to do is ask to get deals on travel, entertainment, and food. This won’t exactly allow them to earn more money, but it can definitely help them to save some and put it towards college expenses.

5. Consider using other funds.

Suppose you have received structured settlements. You might want to consider selling the structured settlement for a lump sum (there are companies that buy them) as a way to send your kids to college. Yes, you will lose some money in the long run, but if you’re able to avoid student loan payments (and the interest that comes with them) it may just even out.

Get creative with college funding, especially with money that won’t have to be paid back. Don’t, however, use 401K money to finance college. It’s a poor financial decision and compromises plans for your future.

How much is the average American spending on higher education? More than you might expect. This infographic goes beyond tuition and offers a comprehensive breakdown of the real costs of college, as well as what goes into financing a degree, including the realities of student loan debt. What is the true cost of college?

Did you know?

• The total annual expense of attending an in-state public four-year institution averages $22,261 (only $8,655 of which is tuition and fees, the rest is room and board, books and supplies, transportation and other expenses)
• Attending an out-of-state four-year public institution averages $35,312 and a private non-profit college or university averages $43,289 each year
•  $237 billion in financial aid was given during the 2012-13 school year; the average student received $13,218 in financial aid
• 67 percent of 2009 college graduates are in debt with student loans
• Total student loan debt exceeds $1 trillion and increases nearly $3K every second

These are just a few statistics that emphasize how important it is to understand all the expenses of college and identify potential funding opportunities while budgeting for higher education. The full infographic can be seen at VarsityTutors.com.

It’s time.

Hearing from a financial expert is great, but hearing from a parent who has been able to apply wise financial advice and help her kids graduate debt-free is even better!