This is hypothetical, and I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I move to college (apartment, dorm, etc.). But, let’s say I want to go to a state school and rather than moving into a dorm, I get my own apartment. I pay rent, have a car and pay taxes, etc., and I intend to stay in the state. While I presume I would have to start with OOS tuition, is it possible that after a couple of years, if I prove I live there, I could qualify for instate?
I was just wondering; this is merely hypothetical, and I’m not saying I’m trying to cheat the system or anything. If I were to get an apartment rather than a dorm, my main reason wouldn’t be instate v. out of state tuition, but this was something that I was just wondering about. I don’t really understand how determining residency or even everything about financial aid works, so I’m going to definitely need to look into it. Thanks:)
So, there are 50 states, and every state has its own rules on what qualifies a student for instate rates at state schools. Some states even have different rules for different state schools within that state.
As with so many things in life, the answer is: it depends.
You already know how to use the internet. You can research this issue online for any particular school you are interested in.
In most states if the reason for you being there is to attend college you cannot claim in state residence. You could move to a state, get a full time job, provide at least 50% of your own support and then apply to college but it would be easier just to go to your own state college.
Also students and parents who have tried to get around these rules have been arrested for fraud in the past.
^It’s not fraud if you follow the school’s rules. We were able to get out son in-state residency in Texas by doing that. UT was actually helpful in answering our questions and helping us to do it. Since one of my ancestors was responsible for bringing more settlers to Texas than anyone other than Stephen F. Austin, I didn’t feel too bad about it.
@momofsenior1 Yes, I am aware of the difficulty at UT Austin as OOS, and this is not a financial plan or anything, but I was wondering if I did end up living off campus rather than in the dorms (this wouldn’t influence my decision), if would end up paying off tuition-wise.
The big problem is being there, in the first place, to attend college. You need to read everything written about this, from the appropriate TX education oficials. There’s the definition of being a resident and then how that does or doesn’t apply to the universities. And the 36 month rule.
A big part of this is providing more than 50% of your own expenses (and not being claimed on parent taxes.) That pretty much precludes your parents from contributing a substantial amount to college costs, aiui.
The former rules were changed in 2016. Yes, there are some waivers, but competitive, aiui, or particular depts/scholarships. TX and CA are possibly the two most stringent about this. Gotta read it all, make no assumptions.
Our son got a scholarship, so I called the engineering school and asked about a waiver for in-state tuition. She said they have only a handful for the entire engineering school, all years! It’s almost impossible to get one.
UT OOS is so unlikely as to not even be worth applying to, let alone wasting time on worrying about in state tuition. UT is probably one of the most observed schools because so many top instate students are rejected or capped (same as rejection for most). Unless you are somehow remarkable, the UT application fee should be considered a donation. If you are remarkable, you will have other options.
