<p>I was wondering if someone could tell me whether I can change my state of residence (to get in-state tuition) after I have been accepted. I was waitlisted and rejected at most of the uni's that I applied to so I had to settle with my safety. Unfortunately, I didn't plan on having to attend my safety so I didn't worry very much about the cost. They are giving me a scholarship that will cover a chunk of my expenses, but I will still be expected to cover about $10k/year. I am not a state resident, but my sister is. Is it possible for me to somehow claim that I am a resident and I reside with my sister?</p>
<p>I know this question may seem stupid, but I am totally clueless when it comes to financial aid. </p>
<p>The short answer is NO (but that’s not ten characters). You cannot just “claim” that you are a resident…by residing with your sister (unless, of course, your parents die and she becomes your guardian). If you are an undergrad, your state of RESIDENCE for tuition purposes is the state in which your PARENTS reside. That is the state where you would get the instate rate (gotta ask why you didn’t apply there?).</p>
<p>In virtually ALL cases, you cannot establish residency for tuition purposes if your reason for residing in the state is to attend college…AND you cannot establish residency based on your year of attending college either. Think of that…if that were the case NO ONE would be paying OOS tuition/fees after their freshman year.</p>
<p>The only way to be sure to get instate tuition, would be for your PARENTS to move to this new state and for you to wait 12 months to enroll as a college student.</p>
<p>I’m sure someone will point out the one or two exceptions to this rule…but really…in the VAST VAST majority of cases, becoming an instate resident once you have enrolled in a college requires verification that your FAMILY has resided in the state for 12 months. In some schools…your residency status will NOT change after freshman year regardless of what happens.</p>
<p>If this school looks unaffordable, why not consider a gap year, and then next year apply to a list of schools with better acceptance probabilities AND better financial support.</p>
<p>Look at residency details on the college’s web site. They’ll lay it out for you. Lerkin is right. It’s not just your parents’ address either- it can include where they pay taxes, are registered to vote, etc. Your residency follows them when they list you as a dependent.</p>
<p>And somebody’s going to tell you: safeties are never schools you can’t afford.</p>
<p>Your tax filing status has very little to do with this. The reality is that many undergrads file their own taxes for a tax advantage. They are STILL considered residents of the state in which their PARENTS reside for tuition purposes. Tax filing status also has nothing to do with financial aid status (but that is not what the OP is asking about).</p>
<p>Example…if a student earns over a certain amount of money, their parents might actually NOT be able to declare them as dependents on their taxes…or might not choose to do so because of college tax credits that are more beneficial for the student to take. STILL…the residency of the student would be where the PARENTS reside.</p>
<p>In MOST cases, if your parents reside in state A…and you attend college and work in state B…you would file taxes as a NONRESIDENT in state B in most cases…because your permanent address is in State A.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great quick responses guys. </p>
<p>I applied to GATech (instate), and I thought I had a great shot at getting in. My SATs scores were higher than the 75th percentile at tech, my GPA was in the 50th percentile, and I had instate advantage. Unfortunately, I was waitlisted. I was thinking about applying to more instate colleges/unis but I really don’t like most of the public colleges/uni’s in Georgia. I also want to get out of Georgia.</p>
<p>@lookingforwaard Well, it’s not that I can’t afford it, it’s just that I don’t want to take out too much in loans (5k/year max). Especially not for a tier 2 school.</p>
<p>On another thread you mention that your family EFC is about $5000. Trying to cover $10,000 a year is double that amount. </p>
<p>How are you planning to pay for the 2012-2013 school year? </p>
<p>GTech is not the only good school in Georgia. You might want to reconsider your options if you cannot afford to attend this OOS school.</p>
<p>Again, I’m going to suggest that if you really aren’t thrilled with your option AND it is not affordable…take a gap year and apply to different schools next round. Pick ones where you likelihood of acceptance is higher…and where you the price is affordable for you and your family.</p>
<p>@thumper My EFC is about $3000-4000. However, the EFC is not exactly accurate for us (long story, so I won’t explain). My parents will be able to contribute about $3000-4000 a year. I forgot to mention the $2k I will be receiving for my Pell Grant. I also forgot to mention that the school offered me loans as part of their FA package. Overall the package offered me $16k per year, with about 4k of that in loans. I should be fine financial, I just needed to know about the residency thing so that I could know whether. I could call the, and change my status to instate and save a couple thousand dollars.</p>
<p>I plan on transferring after a year to a “needs-meet” uni anyways ( I want to pursue a career in IB so I need to get into a school with a good business program or an Ivy league).</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for all your help. Btw about the gap year idea, I have been putting actually thought in it but I am wondering whether or not colleges look at it negatively. Also I can’t think of anything to do during a gap year that would wow college admission officers (other than a lot of community service). </p>
<p>@ crazy My SAT score is 2160. If you can know any good schools on the east coast, I will happily look into them.</p>
<p>You don’t like the University of Georgia or Georgia State? What about Southern Polytechnic, since you seem interested in engineering/tech? There’s also Kennesaw State, which is one of the biggest universities in the USG, and Georgia College & State University. A lot of my friends from high school also went to Georgia Southern or West Georgia and enjoyed it. I mean, there are 35 public universities in Georgia. I understand you may want to get out, but most college students attend college close to home.</p>
<p>I want to pursue a career in IB so I need to get into a school with a good business program or an Ivy league</p>
<p>You don’t have to go to an Ivy League program to have a career in international business. The University of Georgia and Georgia State both have decent programs, and especially if you are planning to get an MBA your undergrad school won’t matter as much anyway.</p>
<p>^lol by IB I meant Investment Banking. While it is possible to get into IB from a lower ranked, non-target school, it is very hard to accomplish. I would rather not take that risk, which is why I want to attend a top school. I honestly don’t care very much about prestige, I came from one of the worst schools in the USA (bottom 5000), yet I managed to do good. </p>
<p>I wish I applied to UGA at this point, but it is too late for that. I really did think I would get into GA Tech, so I didn’t apply to UGA. I am currently looking to apply to Georgia State & College, and Kennesaw.</p>