<p>Is there a different standard for the definition of 'In-State' if one is a grad student? Friend of a friend is starting a MA/PhD program in the fall and he has been told he will qualify for IS classification by the second year of the program provided he changes voter registration information, gets a local driver's license, opens local bank account, etc. --basically he needs to sever all ties to the old state. I don't believe this is not acceptable for IS status as an undergrad. He will have income ( a small stipend) in that state, if that makes a difference. Is professional school/grad school different? Just curious if this is the case in other states. Any Experience/Insight??</p>
<p>I found this for Cal:</p>
<p>[Tuition</a> Costs & Fees](<a href=“http://www.grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/cost_fees.shtml]Tuition”>Tuition Costs & Fees - Berkeley Graduate Division)</p>
<p>“If you are not a resident of California, you will need to know the current requirements for establishing legal residency. In most cases, graduate students can qualify for legal residency by their second year of graduate school, thereby significantly reducing their tuition and fees.”</p>
<p>You’re right, UG residency for CA is much stricter, depending on age and whether or not the student is a dependent.</p>
<p>When I was in grad school (not in CA), my assistantship came with an OOS tuition waiver, I think this is still pretty common.</p>
<p>I was just looking at residency requirements in WA, while UG takes at least a year to gain residency, it was 6 mos for Med school applicants.</p>
<p>My son came from out of state to attend graduate school at a UC. He has a research assistantship. He was asked to take steps to establish California residency as soon as possible – by obtaining a California driver’s license and registering to vote in California. At some point, this will bring his tuition down to the in-state rate. This change in tuition rate has no effect on his personal finances because the assistantship pays his tuition. But it means that his advisor’s research funds will be depleted to a lesser extent.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the steps he took toward becoming a California resident almost immediately resulted in a summons for jury duty! But then, everything has side effects.</p>
<p>The main difference between grad and undergrad is graduate school is a job. You’re expected to be in for (at least) eight hours a day, and you’re paid for it.</p>
<p>When I visited UCSB after being accepted for grad school they made it quite clear we’d have to change our residency immediately upon starting school. Private schools, however, don’t care.</p>