By Aleta Shaffner
It’s quite amazing how colleges will nickel and dime students for everything.
But here’s something even more astonishing: out-of-state students who are admitted to University of Louisville’s School of Dentistry program are required to sign on as out-of-state students for the full four years. Even if they uproot their family or only themselves from say New Mexico, and live in Louisville the full four years, they are required to remain classified as out-of-state students for their whole stay
Maybe it is more impressive in numbers. The School of Dentistry charges $20,548 plus an extra $6,000 every year for four years to in-state students. That’s $106,192 to become a dentist (no extra special programs or residencies). For the program, out-of-state students, who are living, eating, breathing, and studying in Louisville are charged $48,072 plus $6,000 every year. This comes out to $216,288 in the end. This more than doubles what in-state students are charged.
So, what constitutes being a Kentucky resident? According to statutes KRS 164.020 and 164.030, “an undergraduate student whose admissions records show the student to be a graduate of an out-of-state high school shall be presumed to be a non-resident unless the person demonstrates Kentucky domicile and residency.”
Are other schools like this? Depends on where you look. Calling around to other dental schools reveals both similarities and differences. University of Michigan charges the same way; University of Alabama also charges this way but the tuition gets more expensive in the 3rd and 4th years. New York University has one flat rate for all students with no in-state or out-of-state increase.
So, what’s the real need for U of L charging these dental students so much? Isn’t it enough to ask them to move their lives here, without charging them another $110,096? I understand that they’re studying to become dentists, but is U of L prestigious enough to charge double to out-of-towners?
