OT- In State Tuition for "illegal" immigrants [LOCKED]

Submitted by Shop Smart Sho… on

http://news.yahoo.com/u-m-oks-state-tuition-134341297.html

Not sure how I feel about this.  As someone who couldn't go to the university because I couldn't afford out of state tuition I'm a bit annoyed.  But it is nice to see that more kids have the option to go to such a great school.

MOD EDIT: Some of the comments are already over the line - the search for nice things continues, I suppose. - LSA

1464

July 19th, 2013 at 11:14 AM ^

You're right.  It's an interesting topic, but the wrong venue.  I'm not sure how "illegal" an immigrant could be if they are able to go to a public university.  More power to them.  I'd love to go deeper into this, but again - hot button topic, wrong venue.

kgh10

July 19th, 2013 at 11:35 AM ^

What, dare I ask, is the difference between a kid born to citizens who has lived in the US for all or the vast majority of his life vs. a kid who has parents who are not legal citizens but has lived in the US for a vast majority of his life?

lilpenny1316

July 19th, 2013 at 11:40 AM ^

I don't see the difference where the kid is concerned, but for the adult that knowingly is here against the rules, that's where the whole issue blows up.  I can see the school trying not to punish the kids, and they still put in some pretty tough restrictions.  You can't just move into Michigan for HS and get in-state tuition.  You still need to spend 2 or 3 years in middle school or junior high.

ak47

July 19th, 2013 at 11:55 AM ^

The difference for the kid born out of state with no choice for the kid brought to the united states and michigan with no choice is that the kids family has been paying taxes in the state of michigan for their entire life even if they are undocumented and that is the difference in tuiton.  Full disclosure here, I am pretty bias as I am one of the students who co-founded the organization that made this happen and I would be happy to talk to anyone about the issue and why we think this is the right decision, but I also agree this really isn't the right forum for it.

Shop Smart Sho…

July 19th, 2013 at 12:04 PM ^

A blog about Michigan isn't the right place for a discussion about Michigan?  We, alumni and non-alumni, pride ourselves on our ability to discuss a multitude of subjects with respect and a generally high level of knowledge.  I personally believe that the money being spent to make up the difference between OOS & IS tuition could have been used to fund need and merit scholarships for deserving U.S. citizens from other states.  Even if it isn't a large number of students, it still helps deserving kids.  Why aren't they as important as a non-citizen?

kgh10

July 19th, 2013 at 12:03 PM ^

So a kid works really hard in school, gets good grades, does well on the ACT or SAT, lives and attends school in MI at least since middle school, and because his parents are illegal immigrants, he is unworthy of attending UM at the same rate as every other kid that resides in Michigan? Did he gain acceptance into UM illegally, too? This is America we're talking about, right?

gbdub

July 19th, 2013 at 12:11 PM ^

It affects it because the supposed justifications for this move (they've been here most of their lives, their parents pay state taxes) apply equally to someone who unfortunately had to move out of state for their last year of high school.

ak47

July 19th, 2013 at 11:58 AM ^

For the record under the new guidlines he could have tried to get in state.  The new measures also mean that any military member can get in-state and it simplifies the process for everyone as Michigan had one of the strictest and most confusing guidelines of any school in the country.  If california and texas are at all guidelines of how this will impact the school a majority of the people who will benefit regular citizens benefiting from a simpler residency policy.

AA2Denver

July 19th, 2013 at 11:18 AM ^

The term "illegal" is bullshit in this context. Most of these kids were brought here by their parents as small children and know no other culture than ours. 

 

I am done. You may lock it.

FallFraturdays

July 19th, 2013 at 11:24 AM ^

Well it's great you came from  a state with a good state university system.  Most people can't get an Ivy-League level education in their home state (just throwing that out there for people who haven't lived elsewhere).  Why do you think there are so many New Yorkers?  Obviously you can still get an education... but it's more understandable as a Cornell (or SUNY) v. Michigan issue than a UVa v. Michigan issue for many.

lilpenny1316

July 19th, 2013 at 11:19 AM ^

For those who think this covers people not living in the state, there is this tidbit:

...activists criticized a provision requiring university applicants living in the U.S. without permission to have attended a Michigan middle school or junior high for two years along with a Michigan high school for at least three years. They said the middle school requirement is unnecessary, not used elsewhere and will hurt students who arrived in the U.S. later.

You still have to reside in the state and those seem to be pretty stringent restrictions.  You can't just move in a kid's junior or senior year and take advantage of in-state tuition.

FallFraturdays

July 19th, 2013 at 11:20 AM ^

Isn't the amount of funding UM gets from the state pretty much nil?  I don't have the stat, nor could I find it in a second, but I thought it was like 3-5%.  It's not like Michiganders tax dollars are supporting the school... it's federal funding and tuition (which keeps rising EVERY YEAR).  Perhaps they should address the 5% yearly increases in tuition... with no noticeable benefits.  Is the education at UM 25% better than it was 10 years ago?  

Monocle Smile

July 19th, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^

As the article indicates, there are entire states (14) that passed laws explicitly allowing this practice and a bunch of universities that already do it.

I can only offer anecdotes, but apparently getting naturalized can be a very long and costly process. I do like the prioritization of residency.

ak47

July 19th, 2013 at 12:02 PM ^

One of the member of our organization had to put of attending u of m for 2 years because getting residency took 19 years despite his father being a citizen who had come here legally when he was a kid, and he actually had his application fast tracked because the agent he talked to happened to be a u-m grad and he told him he was waiting to go to michigan.

Monocle Smile

July 19th, 2013 at 11:35 AM ^

I know three people personally who had their entire undergraduate tuition paid for by the school itself...and none of them would qualify for a full need-based scholarship.

But let's set that aside. I can offer from direct experience that perhaps the university proper doesn't offer a load of merit-based scholarships, but the organizations associated with the university (like the M Club, alumni associations, assorted specific schools, etc.) certainly offer them.