Despite budget crisis, Penn State offers in-state tuition to illegal immigrants
Penn State’s tuition and fees amount to $19,284 for Pennsylvania residents, out-of-state students are paying more than double this amount, at $38,651.
Foreign students who legally immigrated to the United States to study at Penn State paid more than even out-of-state students, as tuition and fees amounted to $40,151.
Amidst a budget crisis, Pennsylvania State University offers in-state tuition rates to qualifying illegal immigrants while American citizens across the country are charged out-of-state tuition.
An admissions page on the university’s website states that “Undocumented students, with or without DACA, can be eligible for in-state tuition if they meet Penn State’s residency requirements.”
Penn State’s tuition page shows that while tuition and fees amount to $19,284 for Pennsylvania residents, out-of-state students are paying more than double this amount, at $38,651.
Moreover, foreign students who legally immigrated to the United States to study at Penn State paid more than even out-of-state students, as tuition and fees amounted to $40,151.
Anthony Ditizio, a 2022 graduate of Penn State, told Campus Reform that “it isn’t fair that American Citizens from out-of-state are having to pay more for tuition than some illegal immigrants,” and that “learning about this was definitely a bit of a shock.”
While Ditizio understands “what the school is going for,” he stated that American citizens “deserve to have a chance at an affordable education, especially if their tax dollars have gone to funding the American school system.”
Penn State’s current budget crisis –– despite being one of the most expensive public universities in the nation –– has been highlighted in the Wall Street Journal, noting that spending increased 36 percent from 2002 to 2022, while enrollment only increased 14 percent in that time.
“Total tuition and fee revenue from both undergraduate and graduate students increased 72% over the past two decades, far faster than enrollment grew,” the article noted.
Earlier this year, Campus Reform reported that Penn State’s budget plan, which prioritized supporting institutional leadership needs, included “expanding Penn State’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) capacities.”
[RELATED: Penn State decides not to follow through with plans for ‘Center for Racial Justice’]
Ditizio told Campus Reform that it’s “definitely a bit frustrating that tuition is rising if the money is being spent on things that are unnecessary.”
“I believe that these criticisms are important because it is our responsibility to constantly pressure the organizations we care about to do better and better, and hold them accountable, but I also think that there is a lot of good that they do,” he concluded.
Campus Reform has covered other universities offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, including the University of North Texas, where the Young Conservatives of Texas filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the university.
Penn State did not respond to Campus Reform’s request for comment in time for publication.
Follow Travis Morgan on X.
