Tuition waiver programs and projected awards
Tuition waiver programs are a financial benefit that reduces out-of-state tuition for domestic non-resident students. K-State’s tuition waiver programs — the Midwest Student Exchange Program, Founders Non-Resident Merit Award and Missouri Match Program, which can be viewed in scholarship/award finder — are offered to students based on merit and are a benefit that does not need to be repaid, similar to scholarships.
Tuition waiver programs are considered institutional aid in combination with other applicable scholarships and university grants. However, tuition waiver programs and scholarships do have some key differences.
How waiver programs differ from scholarships
Disbursement considerations
Scholarships are fixed awards, with a specific dollar amount being disbursed to a student’s account each applicable term. However, waiver programs discount the out-of-state tuition rate being applied to a student’s account. Therefore, with waiver programs, actual monies are not disbursed to a student’s account; a discount is simply applied.
Financial benefit over time: Projected total award
As noted above, scholarships are fixed awards with specific dollar amounts associated with them. However, tuition waiver programs have projected award totals. As tuition rates increase over time, the discount rate of waiver programs reflects any increases in out-of-state tuition. This means that tuition waiver programs carry the potential to save students more money over the course of their time at the university, as the financial benefit to a student increases alongside any annual tuition rate increases.
Given this, please note that projected award amounts are estimated and variable because:
- The amount of tuition savings will vary based on the number of credit hours you take each semester.
- The amount of tuition savings will vary if the resident or non-resident tuition rates change over the course of your time at K-State, as the projection is based on the current academic years' rates.
We estimate first-year award amounts for tuition waiver programs at 30 credit hours per year/15 credit hours per semester.
Course type considerations
Out-of-state tuition waivers can only be applied toward courses in which out-of-state tuition would otherwise be assessed in full to a student. For example, let’s say you are a domestic out-of-state student enrolled in 12 credit hours, or four classes. Three of your classes are Manhattan campus courses, which would carry out-of-state tuition and fees to you as a nonresident. For those courses, your waiver program would discount your tuition accordingly. However, one of your classes is an online class, which is charged at the university’s in-state rates. There would be no tuition discount applied to this course since it is not charged at out-of-state rates.
If you need assistance understanding how to identify courses that would carry in-state versus out-of-state tuition and fees, please contact the Cashier’s Office.
