Cheating the admissions office...?

Applying to College
1

<p>I have a friend (seriously a friend, I'm not talking about myself in the third person) who has always wanted to go to UNC Chapel Hill. We live in New York, so she would be applying out-of-state. And UNC is very selective for out-of-state students, and her rank/test scores just aren't good enough to get in as a NY resident. But, she has an aunt and an uncle living in North Carolina. She said that she could somehow fake living in NC with them, thus allowing her to apply in state and have a much easier time with admissions...</p>

<p>Is this allowed? And could she actually get away with it?</p>

2

<p>I don't know how the process works in NC, but in VA, there are many hoops through which a student would have to jump to become a resident. Here, the aunt and uncle would have to become her primary guardian and she would have to reside in state for a certain amount of time (a year, maybe?). </p>

<p>There is usually an office that judges status at state schools and they're pretty quick to jump on cases that look iffy.</p>

<p>EDIT: Taken from</a> UNC's website:

[QUOTE]
Residency
Because we're a state-supported institution, we're required to determine whether or not each student is a legal resident of North Carolina. Because the laws governing residency can be tricky, and because residency applications are considered individually when a student applies for admission to the University, we offer the following as general guidelines.</p>

<p>Under North Carolina law, to qualify for in-state tuition for a given term for a given term you must prove:</p>

<pre><code>* that you established your domicile in North Carolina twelve months before the first day of classes for that term, and
* that you have maintained that domicile for at least twelve continuous months.
</code></pre>

<p>To prove that you've established a bona fide domicile in North Carolina, you must prove</p>

<pre><code>* that you were physically present in the state,
* with the intent to make North Carolina your permanent home indefinitely, and
* that you were not in North Carolina solely to attend college.
</code></pre>

<p>Because it's difficult to directly determine someone's intention to make North Carolina their home, we must evaluate actions taken that may indicate this "domiciliary intent." The following questions may be significant in helping us determine this intent:</p>

<pre><code>* Do you live in your parents' home?
* Where are/were you employed?
* Where did you register to vote?
* Where did you vote?
* Where have you served on jury duty?
* What are your sources of financial support?
* Where have you registered and/or licensed a car?
* Where did you get your last driver's license?
* Where do you own a home or other real estate?
* Where do you keep your personal property?
* Where do you list personal property for taxation?
* Where did you file state income tax returns?
* Where do you spend your vacation time?
* Where did you last attend high school?
* Where did you live before enrolling in an institution of higher education?
* Where do you maintain memberships in professional associations, unions, and similar organizations?
</code></pre>

<p>We weigh all the evidence furnished in an application for residence status. The preponderance (or greater weight) of the evidence must support the establishment of North Carolina domicile twelve months before the beginning of the academic term (i.e., the first day of classes) for which you request the classification. If the evidence shows a cluster of significant events occurring at about the same time (within the same week, for example), we'll start counting from that point to determine if the twelve-month requirement has been met. If instead the evidence has gradually accumulated over time, we must decide at what point a preponderance of the evidence shows intent to establish North Carolina domicile, and that is the date on which the twelve-month period will begin. If this date is after the first day of classes for the term specified on the application, we'll be unable to render an in-state decision for the term in question.

[/QUOTE]
</p>

3

<p>She is still going to be a NY resident because her parents reside in NY and she is still a dependent student.</p>

4

<p>And wouldn't the TRANSCRIPTS be a giveaway?</p>

5

<p>Obviously it's not allowed and it won't work. Her transcripts and lack of definitive proof of residency would give her away in a second.</p>

6

<p>not to mention her taxes when she applies for financial aid...</p>

<p>If I were in her situation, and UNC was truly the ONLY school for me, I'd move to North Carolina for a year and establish residency legally before/during applying.</p>

7

<p>I don't know if there could be a good way around that.
I do remember that I had a friend years ago whom I'll call Sally. Her father American, was in the army, and her mother was Korean. They lived in Washington state, but after Sally's freshman year of high school her father was stationed to live and work in Korea for a few years. He got command sponsorship and the whole family moved to Korea, which is where Sally graduated from high school. She applied to the University of Washington, was admitted, and managed (somehow) still to be considered a Washington state resident, though her family was still living in Korea...</p>

8

<p>They probably kept their house in Washington and paid taxes to the state of washington, thus making them residents of the great state of washington.</p>

9

<p>There is a precedure for military families to establish residency at a domestic post.</p>

<p>From my school:
[QUOTE]
Information for Dependents of Military Parents</p>

<p>Section 23-7.4 of the Code of Virginia governs eligibility for in-state educational privileges. The following information briefly describes the ways in which dependents of military parents may qualify for in-state educational privileges; it is not intended as an exhaustive analysis of the complex statutory provisions affecting such applicants.</p>

<p>In-state residency classifications can be made only upon receipt of an Application for Virginia In-State Educational Privileges and any requested supporting documentation. Applications must be submitted with the application for admission or, in the case of a currently enrolled student, at least thirty days prior to the term for which in-state privileges are sought. Specific questions should be addressed to the Committee on Virginia Status.

[/QUOTE]
In other words, there are lots of hoops through which to jump, but it can be done.</p>

10

<p>No, I definitely don't think your "friend" (lol jk) could get away with it.
This is because the college you apply to gets a transcript from the school you go to...so I think UNC would think she has a very long commute to school or she's obviously lying...lol.</p>

11

<p>Many people are under the false impression that if you have a relative or own property in another state you can get residency. It isn't easy to do, you have to jump through a lot of hoops & in many cases will end up spending as much money doing it as you would save on in state tuition!</p>