By Celia Richardson

Tuition at the University of Maryland, College Park, has increased dramatically over the past decade, more so for out-of-state students than for in-state students, university statistics show.

According to university records, from 2018 to 2019, in-state tuition increased by two percent, or $170, whereas out-of-state tuition increased by five percent, or $1,584. Tuition increases vary depending on the year, but out-of-state increases were larger than those for in-state students for seven of the past ten years and were equal for two of the past ten years. 

“I didn’t ask to be born in Virginia,” said Emily Riley, a sophomore journalism major. Riley knew she wanted to study journalism, but felt there was a lack of good journalism schools in her home state. 

Although she said money was a huge issue, she decided to not let it hold her back from going to her dream school: “I’ll be in debt for a good part of my life. It just doesn’t seem right.”

While higher out-of-state costs may not be a burden for all students, some are upset that tuition for out-of-state students is increasing at a higher rate than in-state tuition, continuing to widen the already-large gap between the two prices. 

In the past decade, tuition for all students has increased by thousands of dollars, but the growing prices are much more substantial for out-of-state students, tuition reports reflected. 

“[Out-of-state tuition] does limit the student’s opportunity to study at the school they want to,” in-state junior applied mathematics major Omar Farooqi said. 

In 2009, in-state tuition cost $6,566, and in 2019 it cost $8,651. In 2009, out-of-state students paid $21,637 in tuition costs compared to $33,272 in 2019, the report showed. These statistics reflect that over the past decade, in-state tuition has increased by almost 32%, or $2,085, while out-of-state tuition has increased by nearly 54%, or $11,635.

“The difference is too big,” said in-state sophomore Clara Longo de Freitas, a government and politics and journalism double major, explaining that the difference in tuition increases did not seem fair because all students were receiving the same services. “In-state and out-of-state students have access to the same education, the same dorms, the same diners.”

The approved 2020 schedule of tuition and mandatory fees show tuition increasing at the same rates as it did in 2019, which was two percent for in-state students and five percent for out-of-state students.