Tuition Reciprocity
Minnesota has agreements with neighboring states to provide lower tuition for Minnesota residents to attend public colleges and universities in those states. This is called reciprocity. Typically, non-resident admission fees and tuition are reduced (or eliminated) if you're a reciprocity student.
Minnesota has reciprocity agreements with Wisconsin and North Dakota. It also has an agreement with the Canadian province of Manitoba, and a limited agreement with Iowa Lakes Community College in northwestern Iowa.
The South Dakota Minnesota Tuition Reciprocity Agreement terminated upon the conclusion of the 2023-2024 academic year.
The programs with Wisconsin and North Dakota cover virtually all students, including full-time, part-time, undergraduate, graduate, and professional (some professional programs are excluded).
Students taking distance education from a college in a neighboring reciprocity state while remaining in their home state are not covered under the reciprocity agreement with Wisconsin.
First, apply for admission to the participating reciprocity college or university. You do not have to apply for reciprocity at the same time.
Second, complete the online Tuition Reciprocity application below that corresponds to the academic year you plan to be enrolled. It is NOT necessary to complete a FAFSA or MN Dream Act application to be considered for Tuition Reciprocity.
Apply Online Now:
- 2025-2026 Tuition Reciprocity Application (Available 2-1-2025) Students with a Social Security Number must use this link to apply
- 2025-2026 Tuition Reciprocity Application for Students without a Social Security Number (Available 2-1-2025)
- Creating a MN Aid Student Portal User Name/Password and Applying for Tuition Reciprocity
- 2024-2025 Tuition Reciprocity Application
New applications are available each spring for the following academic year. Your best insurance for receiving the reciprocity tuition price at the time of registration is to apply during the spring or summer before classes start in the fall.
If you want to be approved for reciprocity for the entire academic year, you must apply online by December 31st. Applications filed after December 31st will be processed only for the remaining terms in the academic year.
The summer term is treated as the last term of each academic year. For example, if you wanted reciprocity benefits for the 2024 summer term, you would complete the reciprocity application for the 2023-2024 academic year which started with the 2023 fall term and goes through the end of summer term 2024.
Your reciprocity benefits will be automatically renewed each year if you earned credits in the current academic year from the same school. You will need to reapply only if you are not enrolled for an academic year and then decide to re-enroll. In certain cases, your reciprocity benefits will not be renewed if the Minnesota Office of Higher Education determines you are no longer a Minnesota resident.
Universities of Wisconsin Support Office
Tel: 1-800-442-6459
Hours: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm (cst) Monday-Friday
Email: reciprocity@wisconsin.edu
North Dakota University System
State Capitol Building
Judicial Wing 1st Floor, Room 103
600 E Boulevard Avenue, Dept. 21
Bismarck, ND 58505-0602
Tel: (701) 328-2964
E-mail: ndfinaid@ndus.edu
North Dakota Board for Career and Technical Education
600 E. Boulevard Avenue, Dept 270
Bismarck, ND 58505
Tel: (701) 328-2288
E-mail: cte@state.nd.us
If you're a Minnesota resident (including eligible undocumented students), you're eligible for reduced tuition at a limited number of Midwest public and private schools and programs of study in Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio.
Minnesota residents interested in a Wisconsin or North Dakota public school and Wisconsin or North Dakota residents interested in a Minnesota public school must apply for tuition reciprocity rather than the Midwest Student Exchange Program.
If you're a resident of Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska or Ohio, you're eligible for reduced tuition if you attend a Minnesota public college or university through the Midwest Student Exchange Program.
*Illinois and Michigan no longer have any participating institutions in the Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP). The absence of any participating institutions in MSEP moves the states into an inactive status for purposes of this program. The net result of this inactive status is that resident students from Illinois and Michigan will no longer be able to receive the MSEP discounted tuition rate at institutions participating in the program. Per the MSEP Council, starting in fall 2021 for Michigan and fall 2022 for Illinois, new students will no longer qualify for the MSEP discount. Residents of these states attending out of state MSEP institutions are grandfathered into their participation in the program as long as their enrollment is uninterrupted and continues to meet the MSEP participation requirements of the institutions they attend (i.e. satisfactory progress or approved leave status in the program admitted).
Students in the Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) pay up to 150 percent of the resident tuition rate (which is still below the non-resident rate) at participating public schools or receive a 10 percent reduction in tuition at participating private schools.
When applying to a participating school, students must indicate that they are seeking admission as a MSEP student. The institution will evaluate the student's request for MSEP status and respond directly to the student.
Brochures listing eligible colleges, universities, and programs of study are distributed to high schools, and are available from the Office of Higher Education or online at the Midwestern Higher Education Compact.