<p>I notice that one of the OOS universities my son will apply has, what appears to be, a simple procedure to establish in state residency. He has to live in the state for 12 months, file tax returns for that state, plus mom and dad cannnot claim him as a dependent. Getting in state residency saves approx. $20,000. per year in tuition. Claiming a child as a dependent can't possibly be worth $20,000. per year. Also, the state in mind is a state where my son would be happy to stay in after graduation. Anyone have experience trying to get in state residency today? Any states which are easier to get in state residency? I know it is hard to get in state residency for UCLA.</p>
<p>Check the rules carefully. When we looked at it for one of ours, the 12 months had to include providing their own principle support. The cost of tuition, room, and board meant we were still providing principle support and the 12 month residency did not count. He would have had to move and work for year first before enrolling.</p>
<p>It’s typically not that easy. For example, UNC stated specifically state residency was based on parent’s residency.</p>
<p>I have heard that some schools are very easy on letting kids establish state residency. Do be aware that just because your student or even the parents become state residents, it may not count for a school’s tuition purposes. UMichigan, for instance, requires a year of living there before you get state rates. Some schools require filing a year’s tax return in that state as the primary state among the necessary things to get that state rate. Some schools may have all of those rules but require no proof at all. Anyone who checks the state resident box and has a local address is considered a state resident. I know a number of SUNYs that operate that way.</p>
<p>Will you still be covering your son on your health and car insurance? Will he have his own cell phone plan? Will he really be financially independent from you during that year that he establishes residency?</p>
<p>What will he be doing during that year of waiting? Will he be working full time to support himself? Paying rent, etc?</p>
<p>Usually “not claiming child as a dependent” means that the child provides more than 50% of his financial support. That will be impossible to do if you are paying tuition, and his tax returns will clearly show that.</p>
<p>I find this all very interesting. Although most FA guides recommend that the college savings not be in your kid’s name, all of my son’s savings for college are in his name.
Therefore, he is technically paying all of his support (tuition, room and board) from the savings we have for him. Savings is diversified among savings bonds, savings account, college fund, plus a trust fund specifically set up for college. However, the sum of all these acccounts are sufficient for 4 years in state price. My husband and I are “trustees” for the trust fund, so I am not sure if this would have to be changed so that my son owns the money solely in his name should we decide to pursue this trying to get in state residency situation.</p>
<p>My son is covered under my husband’s health insurance from work. He will not have a car.
I don’t see anything under the residency rules that my son cannot be covered by my husband’s health insurance.</p>
<p>Generally, by self supporting, they mean an income not related to attending a university. (ie work-study doesn’t count.)</p>
<p>If you call the college, there should be someone there who can give you exactly what you need to know.</p>
<p>I am actually looking to hear from experiences with establishing in state residency to determine if there are any other state schools we should look at where it is easier to establish in state residency. My son will be a full time student. My older son was accepted to UCLA, did not get any merit scholarships, and saw it was difficult to establish in state residency so he turned it down.</p>
<p>Health insurance through parents often requires the child to be full time DEPENDENT student. This might change with the health care reform though.</p>
<p>However, if you decide to go the instate route, and have to drop him from health insurance, he will surely be able to get reasonable insurance through the school, which will cost well under $20,000. Unless he has some serious health issues, the school insurance will probably cover his needs well enough.</p>
<p>Back in my day, Florida was very generous with allowing out of state students who would live there a full year to qualify for state residency. No more.</p>
<p>I think most states want out of state students for their tuition money, so I think that most have a nearly impossible bar for establishing state residency.</p>
<p>That said, there are many universities that will discount or even eliminate the out of state difference with various merit based scholarships.</p>
<p>They are generally not the tippy top state Us, but ones that are trying to improve their ranking by attracting higher caliber students. Alabama, South Carolina, Clemson, New Mexico and I am sure there are others all do this.</p>
<p>mdcissp - If you’ve done due diligence, go ahead and give it a try. What’s the worst that can happen? … you end up paying the same amount you’re paying currently as an OOS? If you want better information from the CC community you really need to identify the OOS university.</p>
<p>OP, I think if you name the state, you will get better informed advice.
(cross-posted with NewHope…)</p>
<p>I’m under the impression that in many states it is hard (or impossible) to establish residency if your main purpose of being there is education. </p>
<p>I found a list of all the states and links to the residency requirements of the main universities in those states [url=<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>In-State Tuition and State Residency Requirements - Finaid]here.[/url</a>]</p>
<p>My son will apply to UT Dallas. If he gets the $1000. merit scholarship, he will automaticallly get in state tuition price. However, we have to wait and see if he gets accepted and gets the merit scholarship. UT Dallas also said my son could go to the local community college and then transfer with at least a 2.5 GPA. Under that scenario, we have a cheap community college year one, OOS tuition year 2, and maybe in state tuition years 3 and 4 should my son decide he wants to establish TX residency. Potential savings is $20,000 X 2. Or, my son could go to an in state school here (Towson or Salisbury depending upon acceptance).</p>
<p>*Under that scenario, we have a cheap community college year one, OOS tuition year 2, and maybe in state tuition years 3 and 4 should my son decide he wants to establish TX residency. *</p>
<p>If you’d be helping your son pay for that pricey OOS tuition for year 2, how would he be independent financially from you?</p>
<p>Will your H’s work still cover your son for insurance if he’s not one of your dependents?</p>
<p>I think his best bet is getting that $1,000 merit scholarship. If there are stats that can help him (like higher SAT/ACT scores), I’d make sure he maximizes his odds there by studying for the tests.</p>
<p>^ I agree that getting the $1,000 scholarship (and accompanying waiver of OOS tuition) is the preferred approach. It’s e-a-s-i-e-r to obtain residency in Texas than in many other states … but I wouldn’t call it easy.</p>
<p>The pricey year 2 OOS tuition and expenses are paid from my son’s college savings in his name. My understanding is that my son is covered with health insurance as long as he is a full time student, does not matter where he lives. Our health insurance requests proof of being a full time student. Yes…it would be great if my son got the $1,000. scholarship.
If the SAT scores are not optimal, we can get him a private tutor to prepare for the Sept. SAT taking, but I don’t know how many points extra that will yield.</p>