Do Virginia Residents Get In-State Tuition in Massachusetts? (Undergraduate, 2026)
No — Virginia residents pay full non-resident undergraduate tuition in Massachusetts, about $40,100 a year at University of Massachusetts Amherst against $17,400 for residents. There is no exchange program between Virginia and Massachusetts; the only route to the in-state rate is establishing Massachusetts residency, which takes 12 months.
- You would pay
- $40,100/yr
- Resident pays
- $17,400/yr
- Over 4 yrs
- No saving available
Tuition and mandatory fees only, compiled from published rates and rounded. Excludes housing, books and course differentials. Eligibility is decided by the institution, not by this page.
Open this pair in the checker to switch level, compare other states, or copy a link to the result.
Virginia residents get no exchange-program discount in Massachusetts. At University of Massachusetts Amherst that means $40,100 a year rather than $17,400 — $22,700 a year, every year you are enrolled.
Seen from Virginia, this is one option among 50. 12 other states offer Virginia residents a reduced undergraduate rate, the lowest being Mississippi at about $9,900, against $22,300 for in-state study at University of Virginia.
One more angle: some public universities charge non-resident rates that are lower than another state's in-state rate. Comparing Massachusetts's $40,100 against your home options on absolute cost, rather than on residency status, occasionally changes the answer.
Every route from Virginia to Massachusetts
No exchange program or bilateral agreement connects these two states at undergraduate level, so the route table is empty.
Where Virginia residents pay less
Staying home, a Virginia resident pays $22,300 a year for in-state undergraduate tuition at University of Virginia. The cheapest Massachusetts option for you is $40,100 at University of Massachusetts Amherst, which is $17,800 a year more than staying home, or $71,200 over 4 years.
Virginia belongs to Academic Common Market (ACM) at undergraduate level, so 12 of 50 states offer Virginia undergraduate students a reduced rate. Massachusetts is not one of them.
| State | Route | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia to Mississippi | Academic Common Market · University of Mississippi | $9,900 |
| Virginia to West Virginia | Academic Common Market · West Virginia University | $9,900 |
| Virginia to Arkansas | Academic Common Market · University of Arkansas | $10,300 |
| Virginia to Maryland | Academic Common Market · University of Maryland, College Park | $11,900 |
| Virginia to Louisiana | Academic Common Market · Louisiana State University | $12,000 |
Virginia's neighboring states, compared
What a Virginia resident pays for undergraduate tuition in each state that borders Virginia, cheapest first:
- West Virginia$9,900/yr · Academic Common Market
- Maryland$11,900/yr · Academic Common Market
- Kentucky$13,700/yr · Academic Common Market
- Tennessee$14,100/yr · Academic Common Market
- District of Columbia$16,700/yr · non-resident
- North Carolina$39,300/yr · non-resident
Compare all 50 states from Virginia in the checker. Each figure is one reference campus per state, not a state average.
Massachusetts residency, in brief
Massachusetts grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (610 CMR 5.00), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to Massachusetts to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
Massachusetts residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Budget for the non-resident rate at University of Massachusetts Amherst: $40,100 a year against $17,400 for residents.
- Check whether the specific campus you want offers its own non-resident scholarship or a border-county waiver — those are institutional, sit outside the state agreements, and are the most commonly missed discount.
- If you plan to stay, price the residency route: Massachusetts requires 12 months of domicile, and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile, so the family would need to move.
- Read the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education rules in full before you enroll — classification is decided once, and re-classification later in a degree is the hardest version of this problem.
Official links
Related
Asked and answered
›Do Virginia residents get in-state tuition in Massachusetts?
No. Virginia residents pay the full non-resident rate of $40,100 at University of Massachusetts Amherst. The only route to the $17,400 in-state rate is establishing Massachusetts residency.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (610 CMR 5.00), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would undergraduate study in Massachusetts actually cost a Virginia resident?
About $40,100 a year in tuition and mandatory fees at University of Massachusetts Amherst, against $17,400 for a Massachusetts resident. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Where can Virginia residents get reduced undergraduate tuition?
In 12 states at undergraduate level. Outside Massachusetts, the lowest are Mississippi ($9,900), West Virginia ($9,900), Arkansas ($10,300). Each figure is one reference campus, and awards are made campus by campus.
›Is studying in Massachusetts cheaper than staying in Virginia?
No. Virginia's in-state undergraduate rate is $22,300 a year at University of Virginia, and the cheapest Massachusetts option for a Virginia resident is $40,100, so Massachusetts costs about $17,800 more a year, or $71,200 over 4 years, in tuition and fees alone.
Sources
Every eligibility rule on this page is checked against the operating compact commission or the state's own residency authority. Last verified 2026-08-07.
Tuition figures on this page are compiled 2025–26 published rates (basis: published compiled), rounded to the nearest $100 and refreshed each June. Eligibility rules are checked against the cited compact commission or residency authority.
- Massachusetts Department of Higher Education — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Massachusetts Amherst — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Virginia — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
How this page was made
Compiled and checked by Billy Reiner, editor of In-State Check. Last verified 2026-08-07.
- Compiled from published rate pages
- The in-state and non-resident figures are tuition and mandatory fees for one full-time year, read from University of Massachusetts Amherst’s own 2025–26 rate page and rounded to the nearest $100. Housing, books, travel and course-specific differentials are not included in them.
- Checked against the administering body
- Compact membership at this level was checked against the commission that runs the program (SREB, NEBHE). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, 610 CMR 5.00. Nothing here is taken from another comparison site.
Not advice. In-State Check is independent of every college, compact and state agency named here. Residency classification and award decisions are made by the institution you apply to. Found an error? Send the page URL and the source that contradicts it to [email protected], and the page is corrected and re-dated. Full methodology.