STATE COLLEGE — Penn State University junior Rachel Higgins lost her father in 2013. Her mother died in 2016. Ever since then, her home has been at Penn State.
But because she grew up in New Jersey — and was still considered a resident there less than a year before she enrolled at Penn State — the university recently told her she’d have to pay the out-of-state tuition rate of approximately $48,000, which she can’t afford, according to Pennlive.com.
The junior animal science major recently opened a GoFundMe page hoping to help defray the cost of out-of-state tuition, but so far it’s far short of her goal. She says she won’t be able to afford to return to school if she has to pay the out-of-state rate.
Higgins, 20, has lived in Pennsylvania since she began attending Penn State in 2015. But Penn State’s residency policy states that in order to qualify for the in-state tuition rate, a student must be a Pennsylvania resident for at least a year before enrolling.
Higgins appealed Penn State’s decree — “I gave them (her mother’s) death certificate and everything,” she told Pennlive — but the university denied it.
In an Aug. 4 letter informing Higgins of the decision, the university said “Note that it is possible to be a resident of the Commonwealth, yet not meet with requirements of residency for purposes of tuition.”
Higgins took the address of a Scranton-area relative after her mother’s death, but usually stayed on campus or with friends during school breaks, she told Pennlive. She now has a Pennsylvania address on her driver’s license and car registration.
The animal science major told Pennlive she went to the Penn State registrar’s office last spring and showed documents, including her driver’s license and other forms of identification, and her mom’s death certificate.
She says she was told “not to worry” about being still being considered an out-of-state resident. But she eventually received paperwork indicating she would be charged the higher tuition rate.
Higgins told Pennlive she can’t take a year off, because she’d have to begin repaying student loans after six months. She says she’s applied for loans to cover the out-of-state rate, but she needs a co-signer. And without her parents, it’s hard to find a relative without children who have college expenses of their own.
“If I don’t get a loan or find a way to pay I have to withdraw from school and get a job,” she says.
A statement to PennLive from Penn State said it’s office of student aid “is committed to helping students find need- and merit-based support and is interested in exploring options with her.”
