Spring Break
Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Forum
Out-of-state Tuition
To The Editor, I must take exception to your recent article concerning tuition costs and who has to pay for it. My son has to pay the true cost (out-of-state) of tuition because he and his parents are Washington residents and, according to the State of Oregon, we don't support the school with our taxes. However, I work in Oregon and pay taxes in Oregon - as I have since I was 16 years old. Our roots in Oregon go deep into the bedrock, having arrived before the formation of the Oregon Territory and well before Statehood. The inequity of an over-simplified test of residency sometimes leads to students (or their families) paying more than their fair cost for attending schools in the state university system. I am proud that my son has chosen Oregon State University, but it comes at a cost that may not be just. Go Beavers!
David White
Rosburg, Washington
Out-of-state Tuition
Paying the price to stay in Corvallis
Thanks for the good article today discussing out-of-state tuition. Having paid out-of-state tuition for the past three years, I'd wondered what the rationale was for charging nonresidents 3.75 times what residents pay per credit. For those of you wondering, Oregon residents pay $124 per credit and non-residents pay $465 per credit, not counting the tuition plateau at 12-16 credits.
I always found this odd, and I still do. I am from New Mexico, so my permanent address is there. When I get a paycheck from my Oregon job, I pay both Oregon income tax and a small portion of New Mexico income tax. I can't exactly live with my parents, so when I pay the rent for my apartment or dorm, I indirectly pay Oregon property taxes. There is no sales tax here, but I'd be paying that too if we ever did. How am I not contributing to the Oregon education system?
I love Oregon State and Corvallis, so I'll pay the high tuition and pray that God will continue His provision through scholarships. I also understand the need of a public university to favor the students of the state it serves, so I don't blame OSU for favoring Oregon students.
Yet I also believe that out-of-state students contribute to the diversity and culture of any university (anyone ever notice the football team roster?), and the magnitude of the tuition inequity never sat well with me. I graduate this spring, so it's too late for me, but I'd like to encourage the university to reconsider membership in programs such as the Western Undergraduate Exchange to ease the load a little.
Go Beavs!
Evon Silvia
CECOP Intern and Senior, Civil Engineering
From Washington, work in Oregon
To The Editor, I must take exception to your recent article concerning tuition costs and who has to pay for it. My son has to pay the true cost (out-of-state) of tuition because he and his parents are Washington residents and, according to the State of Oregon, we don't support the school with our taxes. However, I work in Oregon and pay taxes in Oregon - as I have since I was 16 years old. Our roots in Oregon go deep into the bedrock, having arrived before the formation of the Oregon Territory and well before Statehood. The inequity of an over-simplified test of residency sometimes leads to students (or their families) paying more than their fair cost for attending schools in the state university system. I am proud that my son has chosen Oregon State University, but it comes at a cost that may not be just. Go Beavers!
David White
Rosburg, Washington
Out-of-state Tuition
Paying the price to stay in Corvallis
Thanks for the good article today discussing out-of-state tuition. Having paid out-of-state tuition for the past three years, I'd wondered what the rationale was for charging nonresidents 3.75 times what residents pay per credit. For those of you wondering, Oregon residents pay $124 per credit and non-residents pay $465 per credit, not counting the tuition plateau at 12-16 credits.
I always found this odd, and I still do. I am from New Mexico, so my permanent address is there. When I get a paycheck from my Oregon job, I pay both Oregon income tax and a small portion of New Mexico income tax. I can't exactly live with my parents, so when I pay the rent for my apartment or dorm, I indirectly pay Oregon property taxes. There is no sales tax here, but I'd be paying that too if we ever did. How am I not contributing to the Oregon education system?
I love Oregon State and Corvallis, so I'll pay the high tuition and pray that God will continue His provision through scholarships. I also understand the need of a public university to favor the students of the state it serves, so I don't blame OSU for favoring Oregon students.
Yet I also believe that out-of-state students contribute to the diversity and culture of any university (anyone ever notice the football team roster?), and the magnitude of the tuition inequity never sat well with me. I graduate this spring, so it's too late for me, but I'd like to encourage the university to reconsider membership in programs such as the Western Undergraduate Exchange to ease the load a little.
Go Beavs!
Evon Silvia
CECOP Intern and Senior, Civil Engineering
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