Anyway to get In -State Tuition after 1st year

Parents Forum
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<p>If you are emancipated from your parents you are accepting NOTHING from them. No gifts, NOTHING. </p>

<p>It is not easy to get designation as an emancipated person. But one of the criteria (I believe) is that there is a REASON for the emancipation (neglect, abuse, abandonment, etc) AND that the family is contributing nothing towards the financial support of the emancipated individual. If you are in a position to accept gifts from your parent...likely you cannot become emancipated. </p>

<p>But check with a lawyer who is an expert in this area.</p>

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<p>I'm in charge of in-state tuition appeals at a state school in Georgia. People frequently ask what they need to do to get in-state tuition a year hence. The answer is that it's a judgment call to be made at that time once a student applies. In general, the student needs to have been living in the state for the preceding 12 months, but they also need not to have entered the state for the purpose of going to college, they need to have had an income that reasonably supported them as an independent resident, they need not to be reliant on financial assistance coming from out of state, they need to do the typical logistical things that a normal resident of the state does when making their domicile their permanent home, etc. I've had OOS families purchase a second home in the state (often where they say they intend to retire) when their student starts as a freshman only to find that it doesn't help with tuition a year later. States try to set up their standards so that they're not easily manipulated or exploited.</p>

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<p>
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Sure sounds like trying to beat the system.

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</p>

<p>Hey Barrons - I am not doing this. I am paying one OOS tuition, and will be paying another. I am asking a simple question out of curiosity.</p>

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<p>I know of 2 different cases where students were classified or re-classified as oos even though their parents didn't move. In both cases, the young people were self-supporting and intended to stay in the state. In one case, the student was on the 6-year plan, turned 22yo (which I believe triggers independent status) and was self-supporting; the school still required copies of bank accounts from parents and him to prove they weren't sending him $. In the other case, it was a professional override for a young person who was self-supporting after her family had gone through some terrible circumstances.</p>

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<p>I'm not sure what state you are in. Perhaps each state has an age "threshold" for independent students. In the state where I live, you are considered independent either until you get your bachelor's degree or are age 25. </p>

<p>It is VERY hard to get an instate tuition decision if your family does not reside in, and pay taxes in this state...unless you are an adult student, non-traditional student.</p>

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<p>Thumper, I just looked it up myself and you're right, the FAFSA independent age is older. I don't think he was 25 though. It wasn't in my state but I do know they had a hell of a time doing it. That said, he really was self-supporting and intended to stay in the state. (Right after he graduated, he bought a house in the state and married a lifelong resident.)</p>

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<p>My understanding also is that this year, financial aid officers are being given more leeway in determining if students are independent for financial aid purposes. I wonder if this will also translate into more students being deemed independent for residency purposes? I don't know the answer to that one. The independence for finaid is very different. My understanding about the residency issue is that as gadad put it...it is determined by each school for each individual who makes a request. But regardless...I do NOT think states make it easy to establish residency...and especially for students who think they can do so WHILE they are attending the school.</p>

<p>Simply put...if it were that easy, there would be no upperclassmen paying OOS tuition.</p>

28

<p>
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My daughter is thinking about going to University of Colorado at Boulder. Is there anyway for her to get In-State tuition after a year. I have heard there are ways to do it. I also heard all states have different criteria. Is this true?

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<p>Generally no. Those subsidies for the 'in-state' tuition rates come from taxes that the state has collected. If you (your family) haven't lived there and thus haven't paid into that pool then you don't get to receive benefit from that pool either.</p>

29

<p>
[quote]
In one case, the student was on the 6-year plan, turned 22yo (which I believe triggers independent status) and was self-supporting

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I remember reading a case a while back on CC where a student in a 6 year pharmacy program discovered that in the 3rd or 4th year they were considered a professional student which meant they were no longer eligible for grants such as the Pell. I assume they were also considered independent for financial aid purposes. (it has been a while ago so it is a little foggy). I wonder if that is the type of program the student you are talking about was in.</p>

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<p>Let me address some issues</p>

<p>First, you can't make yearly gifts to your kids and still call them "emancipated." Schools will want to see the bank accounts of kids to see what deposits were made within the prior year of emancipation. This only applies once they start school and for the year before they start school. If you made gifts before that, you are fine. </p>

<p>EXAMPLE:Thus, if your kid starts school in Septemeber 2009, you shouldn't have made any gifts into their account for all of 2009. If you want to be really sure, alll fund transfers to kids should be accomplished before 2008 as well as an example.</p>

<p>Second,Schools also want to see copies of checks and other proof that the child paid their own expenses for the prior year and the y ear of emancipation.</p>

<hr>

<p>Third, someone noted,"Oh cmon. I'm sure if you want to try that hard you can beat the system however you are doing a disservice to every tax payer in that state.
In state tuition is made available to students who are in state because their parents pay taxes."</p>

<p>Response: Most of us pay taxes to our local state. It isn't our fault that some live in states that either have crappy state universities or in states that don't have programs that our kids want. I don't see that applying for instate tuition, using almost any legal means and planning, is improper in any way. I look at this as getting around a broken system using legal means.</p>

<p>Let me say again: converting to in-state status is doable! The kid usually has to be going to school for at least one to two years before you can apply for this status,but it is doable. Here are the steps that you need to take at least one and one half years before you apply for this status:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Someone needs to place enough money in the kids account in prior years so that they can pay for one solid years worth of expenses, tuition, gas, rent, utilities, fees, books etc. Parents aren't allowed to pay anything except maybe car insurance since cars are usually on a family policy. Proper documention here is crucial.</p></li>
<li><p>Kids need to register to vote in their new state
3.Ideally, kids should live off campus and get an apartment, although this might not be necessary. It is better though to show an in-state mailing address instead of a dorm.</p></li>
<li><p>Tax returns should be filed for the kid in the new state.</p></li>
<li><p>Parents need to stop claiming the kid on their tax return ( federal and state) as dependents at least one year before the year of emancipation.</p></li>
<li><p>Kids should work at least part time to show that they made some money. This could be accomplished in the summer.</p></li>
<li><p>Car registration might have to be switched to the new state.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Practically speaking: You probably won't get emancipation status during the first or even the second year UNLESS you knew in advance that your kid will be going to this other state. However, with proper advanced planning of gifts , especially before they start college, you can achieve this. Certainly, all the activities to switch to instate status noted above should begin once they become a freshmen. This way, you can apply for in-state stutus for their junior and senior years!</p>

<p>Also, even if you fail to switch their status, what have you lost? The worst that can happen is that your kids willl not get "in-state" status. Thus, there really is little downside to trying for the switch other than the "hassle "factor.</p>

<p>Finallly, if you achieve the switch in status, DO NOT BRAG ABOUT IT! You want to keep a low profile until your kid graduates from the school. You can then post on these boards exactly what you did in order to help others.</p>

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<p>Just to comment on Garland's post about UMich - My how times have changed! </p>

<p>Michigan has REALLY clamped down on their residency rules for in-state tuition. A while back I applied for admission to a teaching program at UMich and was classified as an out-of-state resident because I got my undergraduate degree in NC....... 25 years ago. It did not seem to matter that for the past 22 YEARS I had worked and owned a home in MI and had paid MI taxes. Good grief! I appealed the decision and won, of course, but it was still a hassle. I have been told since that this is not uncommon.</p>

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<p>Before you pursue emancipation, you might want to make sure you understand how it might affect things like health insurance.</p>

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<p>Agree with taxguy. S got instate after freshman year while living in dorms and followed all points listed by taxguy. It might have helped that all of his family except his parents and sibling lived in that state. He stayed every summer and holiday, has since graduated and now works in that state and intends to remain there. A friend did an exchange with same state her soph year, dropped out of school and worked in that state for a year and then reentered as instate. Can be done.</p>

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<p>Yes, Csleslie51, the easiest way is to live in the state for a year and then start the school,but my solution (posted above)will work.</p>

<p>As for health insurance, you can still keep your kids on your health and auto policy. Those items don't seem to filter into the equation.</p>

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<p>
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As for health insurance, you can still keep your kids on your health and auto policy. Those items don't seem to filter into the equation.

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Not necessarily true. Check with your own health insurance. Ours not only requires that we CAN claim them, but that we actually do.</p>

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<p>The Health Insurance thing. I discovered that the group family plan thru work is nearly as expensive than if we only had the couple plan and son (1 child) got his own health insurance, especially when child is OOS. We have one child where this works but a family with more than 1 children this will not work. </p>

<p>Learned too late and cost us and son more money. Do some quick investigation to determine single health ins for <24yo.</p>

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<p>I can only say that keeping your kid on health insurance won't affect "emancipation" status since you can easily make many reasonable claims as to why you did this. However, I don't know if you can still get your kids on your policy if you stop claiming them as dependants. That would be a good insurance question.</p>

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<p>Our health insurance is VERY clear...kids MUST be dependents or be full time students to be claimed on our health insurance. Of course, most full time undergrad students are also dependents and are claimed on the taxes.</p>

<p>We can keep our kids on our car insurance as long as they have their cars registered in THIS state. If they change their state of residency we can't.</p>

<p>Folks should check these things with their OWN insurance providers as YMMV.</p>

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<p>Swimcat, No, he wasn't in an official program like pharmacy. I just meant to say he took more than 4 years to graduate. I am pretty sure he did all the steps that taxguy said because he really was self-supporting. (Well, his parents didn't put $ into an account. He was working ft, living in his own apartment and self-supporting.)</p>