After we lambasted them for their recent “sky is blue” reporting, The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper got off its ass over the weekend and published a worthwhile expose on the skyrocketing tuition discounts being provided to out-of-state students by our government-run colleges and universities.
According to the report, 6,418 out-of-state students at the University of South Carolina received an average discount of $10,312 on their college tuition last year – totaling $66.2 million. Up the road at Clemson University, 3,160 out-of-state students got average discounts of approximately $5,000 – totaling $15.8 million.
Why is this a big deal? Well according to data that’s more than six years old, the vast majority of these students take the money and run – to other states. In fact a report released in 2007 revealed that four-out-of-five scholarship recipients from out-of-state were no longer in the Palmetto State five years later.
In other words we gave them all that money to go empower somebody else’s economy …
Obviously it’s hard to blame these young professionals for bolting South Carolina. The last decade was an unmitigated disaster for our state economically, and there’s nothing to indicate it’s getting any better.
Why shouldn’t they go where the jobs are?
This website has argued repeatedly that government has no business subsidizing higher education – and that our state’s costly network of thirty-three government-run colleges and universities should be set free to pursue its destiny in the private sector.
This is another reason why we’re right …
It’s also another reason why tuition increases have been so out-of-control in this state in recent years.
14 comments
We should educate OUR people first.
The whole system is designed for the Higher Ed folks to make a killing. They get larger salaries, more consulting work, more opportunities for outside employment and private business creation by having more cash from more students in the system.
“For the children” has been and will probably always be code for “for the education insiders.” I ought to know as I used to be in the middle of it.
No in-state student who is actually qualified to do college-level work is denied admission to the University of South Carolina.
Blew it this time. That money is generally targeted at high achievers who are likely to be high earners. If one out of five, heck even one out of ten, stay and live and raise a family in SC, then the state comes out way ahead financially with sales and income tax alone. Many people I know brought to this state by such scholarship money pay taxes well more than the amount they were awarded YEARLY.
And those students are paying out of state rates anyway, which are roughly 2.5 times in state rates. A few grand to get them here still leaves them paying the state college substantially MORE than in state students. In other words, the college makes MORE money granting an incremental scholarship to draw more out of state kids than by letting in state kids take those slots. Some in state parents have even complained about their kids being shut out so the colleges could make more money.
Yeah, there are different pots of money involved. And there is massive tuition inflation, partially created by availability of government loan and lottery money, and a crazy college arms race. Lots of financial issues with the way public colleges are funded.
P.S. You should make “This website has argued repeatedly” your new tagline….
In addition, when these “out of staters” become successful elsewhere and their alma maters ask them for large donations, they will be more inclined to “give back”.
Darla Moore comes to mind
Not necessarily true. Students at USC who receive out-of-state USC scholarships get a reduction on out-of-state tuition. So a scholarship of $500 a year is actually worth several thousand a year. And at one point (I think it’s the $2000 mark), the students start paying in-state tuition.
And no one gets denied admission to USC who’s in-state and legitimately qualified. They’ve taken everyone with a 3.0 and a 1000 on the SAT in the past. Those are really easy numbers to obtain.
“After we lambasted them for their recent “sky is blue” reporting, The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper got off its ass”. I am sure that there were emergency meetings held by management at The State because Sic Willie “lambasted” them. Who besides Sic Willie and his sock puppet believe that The State cares what Sic Willie does or says?
The Schools in South Carolina are allowed to discount tuition to out of state tuition by STATE LAW!!! THE SOUTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE HAS GIVEN THEM THIS CRAZY AUTHORITY.
State law permits for a measly $250 dollars per semester scholarship award to a non resident student the institution to reduce (discount) the tuition to the amount that is charged to South Carolina Residents.
The Legislature has no right to bitch as they are the ones that have authorize this BS. Only state in the Union that has such a stupid law.
Varga,
You are 100% correct.
The talking points crowd is out in force so please ignore their lies.
Folks is correct. It is a scam.
People, reread the article and you will see it is a scam!
Mr. Folks,
You seem to believe that SC is granting these discounts to keep the out of state students here. With this inch worm economy SC couldn’t provide jobs for in state students let alone out of state students. I feel that these discounts are granted because any money is better than no money and without the out of state students SC would have to scale back the schools, something the schools would abhor. If the intended purpose of the discounts is to keep those students in the state why wouldn’t they condition the discounts that way?
The tuition is so high for two reasons:
1. The state pays for roughly ten percent of the entire budgets at both USC and Clemson.
2. Lottery scholarships subsidize the tuition to bring it down considerably.
Out-of-state students pay a far larger share of tuition than in-state students, bring higher SAT scores, stay at higher rates, and graduate at higher rates. Since the schools are funded largely by tuition and private giving, those are the more relevant metrics. Out-of-state giving brings out-of-state money (read: money that was going to be spent in their home states) into SC to be spent in SC. They may not be helping the economy as much if they stayed, but the economy has much bigger problems than brain drain.
“Obviously it’s hard to blame these young professionals for bolting South Carolina.”
I guess since Sic will never be considered a professional we don’t have worry about him bolting from his small pond…alas.
“This website has argued repeatedly that government has no business subsidizing higher education…”
Put your money where your mouth is and send a check to the Budget and Control Board for the amount by which your degree was subsidised. Otherwise, you’re just another hypocrite.
I’m out of toilet paper.