Out of State Transfer Students: Is it Worth It?

I recently befriended a student who transferred to my school from out-of-state, who then learned that she could have finished school sooner if she had stayed in state and ended up transferring back. I also frequent forums where I often see people ask for advice about transferring out of state. Well, I decided that I'm going to give it. There are many things to consider before transferring out of state, and you need to make sure you've considered it all.

-What state are you going to transfer to?
This is probably the first thing you should ask yourself. By knowing what state you'd be transferring to, you can properly research the situation. It's also very important to know the state of education in the state you're transferring to. California, with the budget cuts to education and the continued increases to tuition at state colleges, is probably a bad choice, for example. However, I've heard rumor that some states of some kind of partner thing going on where if you live in one state, you could still get in state tuition at another state.

-What kind of aid will I qualify for?
I always preface, or at least mention at some point, that any advice I give on financial aid should be discussed with the school you're considering, but chances are you're qualified for federal aid just the same as if you went to an in state school. However, there is the issue of state aid. I don't think that any state gives their students aid to leave the state, and I'm pretty sure most states don't give aid to students from out of state. This is especially important given that you're paying more in most cases to go to an out of state school, so you would probably need aid more.

-Can I afford it?
Now, this isn't just a question of tuition, books, and aid, and there are sub-questions in this category. You're going to have to have a budget for food, entertainment, and the like, which goes without saying. But other questions:

--Where will I live?
On campus? Off campus? With a friend? A relative? What's the rent going to be like?

--What will my mode of transportation be?
Car? Bus? Train? Any combination of the three?

--How will I get there?
Are you driving out? Flying in a plane? What are you bringing with you and how will it get there?

--How long could I live without a job?
If the answer is “not long,” you definitely need to find a state with lower unemployment rates vs. higher ones. The higher the unemployment rate, the more competition you have finding a job, and some states have tax cuts for people to hire their own unemployed first.

Now, transferring out of state may be unavoidable, such as instances in where you have a major that's only available at certain schools. There may be programs to assist in those situations, so that's something else you would have to research. However, before you transfer, you really should make sure that you can't get the same program in state and for cheaper. Believe it or not, you can still move to another state after you graduate from college; it's not going anywhere. It may be more difficult to find a job than local students, so that's where I suggest you make the best of social networking and try to make contacts. If you feel it's in your best interest still to transfer out of state, then do it. Just make sure every last detail has been considered. Why spend the expense to transfer out of state if you're just going to transfer back in state?

At the end, you will be the one who has to decide it's worth it. If it is, it could be an amazing experience.