<p>My son is weighing packages from several schools, one of which is an out-of-state public. Here on CC I've heard it called a public Ivy. He's keeping his cards close, but I think he really likes this school. It would be quite pricey for us.</p>
<p>Looking at the requirements for residency, it would appear that he could gain residency in the school state in two years. Driver's license, voter registration are easy. He'll probably have a campus job and pay state income taxes. Establishing a domicile is a little trickier, but we do have close family in the new state and he could stay with them during at least one summer and get a job. </p>
<p>If it matters, I'm probably going to change my state residency sometime in the next two years. But I don't think I'll be moving to his new state. </p>
<p>To gain residency in the new state, he would have to meet all the requirements for 12 months before any semester in which he seeks the in-state tuition reduction. That's why I'm thinking it would take him two years. We would pay the out-of-state tuition for his first and second years of university.</p>
<p>Is this ethical? I don't want to encourage him to do something that's wrong! My daughter changed her residency while she was in college so that she could vote in her new community -- we thought that was fine. I do think this is different because there's a financial motivation.</p>
<p>Having “close family” in that new state won’t help. It is the PARENTS who have to establish the domicile in the new state. Read carefully and you will likely see that. </p>
<p>Having close relatives does NOT establish a domicile for YOUR child.</p>
<p>Read the rules carefully! I don’t know what state you are talking about, but most states with anything resembling a “public Ivy” essentially make it impossible for an undergraduate to establish state residency after he begins college, unless he takes substantial time off, or unless his parent establishes state residency.</p>
<p>The only “public Ivy” references I’ve heard are for UVA, UMich, UNCCH, UCLA and UCB. In all cases, establishing residency once enrolled is virtually impossible unless the parents relocate.</p>
<p>Just google {college name} residency and you should find the page with the requirements the college will use. Read them carefully. Public Us don’t usually allow students from other states to establish residency because they want the funds.</p>
<p>California makes is very difficult for those considered dependent students (i.e. most undergraduates) to establish residency for tuition purposes if their parents are non-resident.</p>
<p>Note that the criteria for residency for tuition purposes is different from voting registration, driver licensing, state income tax, etc…</p>
<p>If you do not mean California, check the rules specific to the state in question.</p>
<p>People do it all the time in WA, but you can’t be a full time student. You have to live and work for a year with an in-state primary domicile and take no more than 6 credits/quarter.</p>
<p>Most schools, as far as I know, consider “residency” to be where the parents are - regardless of who is paying the bills. As with financial aid, it doesn’t matter if your parents are paying a dime for you college, you still qualify for residency and FA based on your parents (until you are 24). Now, if the parents move to the new state, your S could probably be considered a resident in a year or two. Although I’ve heard that some schools base it on where you graduated from HS.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses. Wow. I’m feeling very cautioned now.</p>
<p>I know a neighbor who attended UVA out-of-state and DID get in-state residency after a year or two. I know she moved off campus and had a job in addition to being a student. But this was about eight years ago and it’s certainly possible that things have changed.</p>
<p>Right now we’re waiting for some final admissions decisions so will put this on the back burner for another couple of weeks. </p>
<p>I think the out-of-state Ivy where my son has been accepted would be lucky to get him – a NMF and top student-athlete. But right now, the finances are working against this school. He didn’t qualify for any need-based aid there.</p>
<p>Hmmm, hope he had some low cost safeties, like Texas A&M (NMF = large scholarship with waiver of out-of-state tuition), Alabama, etc. on his application list.</p>
<p>Even if it “looks” like you can gain in-state status relatively easily, I think the actuality of it is much harder.</p>
<p>I’m a resident of a state whose flagship is one of those public ivies. I applied to a program at that flagship and was amazed at how difficult it was to “prove” my residency - and this was after living and working here for 25 years, owning a home, and paying state taxes and property taxes.</p>
<p>It took two appeals of their residency decision before they agreed with me.</p>
<p>Yes, the school might be “lucky” in some ways to have your son enrolled there, but they do have to pay expenses. They can’t discount every good student from out of state and still pay the profs and the light bill.</p>
<p>Everybody from out of state likes to look at it as being somehow punished for not living in state, and having to pay higher costs. But the difference is not to take advantage of out of staters but to accomodate in staters who have been supporting the school all along through paying taxes.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, almost all of us have kids who would have done well at a different school, and has looked at other schools. But in the end we have to pick the best school for that kid that we can afford to pay.</p>
<p>And once they get there and find friends and activities and enjoy their classes, we forget that “might have been” school. Many times second choices (or even third or fourth) turn out to be a wonderful experience. My kid will be forever grateful that we could not afford her first choice and will always cherish the friends and the travels and many of the profs.</p>
<p>On the otherhand, my older daughter is now married to a man she would have met much sooner had we been able to send her to the school she’d wanted to attend (met him later through employment; they would have been in many of the same classes if we’d been able to send her to Ripon).</p>
<p>^^^Same thing in North Carolina. Parents have to live (primary residence) and pay taxes in NC for one year before their child can qualify for instate tutition</p>
<p>I cannot speak to what happened at U.Va. eight years ago, but this is not exactly what happened when I was a grad student there in the 1980s. Once I got a job working within my department, I qualified for a reduction of my out-of-state tuition to in-state rates, but I remained officially an out-of-state student, and if I had stopped working for the University, I would have lost that benefit. In the '80s, at least, the University’s policy was that if I had come to Virginia from elsewhere in order to be a student, I could never become a Virginian for purposes of tuition.</p>
<p>So, again, be very careful about deciding based on what you hear. Rely on the printed policies of the university you’re considering, and read everything carefully. The devil is in the details.</p>
<p>OP here. Thanks again for all the good advice. Son has been accepted into the honors program at our state flagship and has received a decent scholarship. Not a full ride, but it’s very affordable for us. It’s looking better all the time!</p>
<p>Anyway, I do understand that residents are taxed to pay for their in-state universities and the tuition charges reflect that. But I also think that attracting out-of-state students, especially high-achieving ones, adds something to the campus, call it regional diversity. If you grew up in Michigan, for instance, don’t you think there’s value in rooming/rubbing elbows with someone from California? For many kids, especially those at state schools, this is their chance to expand their horizons by interacting with kids who are different than they are.</p>