Hello, guys. I am a U.S citizen but have lived abroad all my life in Pakistan. Therefore, i don’t hold a residency status in any state for tuition purposes, though i was born in N.J but i know that it’s because for residency you at least have to live in a state for a year and i haven’t even done that. My parents are also not U.S citizens. Currently, i am in the last year of my high school and have been accepted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I’ve gone through all the normal procedures i.e. filing for FAFSA as a dependent student etc etc. However, as an out of state resident, the tuition costs are really high and there’s still $25-30,000 left after accounting for all the aid per annum. As the university requires that to be considered as an in state resident (that would exponentially lower the tuition costs), i must have lived there for 1 year prior to my enrollment at the institution and have worked full time (like not studying, renting an apartment, paying state taxes etc etc). Now, i want guidance on a few things;
Would the university grant my request for deferral if i tell them that it’s not financially possible for me to attend the university so i want to be financially independent and then i’ll join the university from the following year when i become a state resident? Most importantly, would they consider me for in-state tuition (seeing that i’ve become a state resident) or continue with the out-of-state which they initially admitted me for?
I also need some guidance on Wisconsin laws. Is it possible that if i do everything right (as ive mentioned), that i become a state resident after one year?
Right now, i have filed my FAFSA as a dependent student. Obviously, my parents not being u.s citizens, couldn’t come and live there with me so they wouldn’t be able to support me. Naturally, i would’ve to change my FAFSA to the independent student status. So, would that pose any complications or affect anything when i file FAFSA the following year as an independent?
@MTK007 for FAFSA you will still be dependent until you are age 24 even if your parents provide zero support and live in a different country. You need to talk to the university about your plans but keep in mind that you may have been accepted because you would be a full pay out of state student.
Let’s start with the most important question. Are your parents moving to Wisconsin NOW also? If not…don’t count on getting instate tuition status at Wisconsin. The domicile of your parent is what is used.
They aren’t going to grant you instate status based on YOU living here. Your PARENTS need to.
No. If you come to Wisconsin to attend college then you have demonstrated that your reason for coming to Wisconsin was for education. You cannot establish residency in Wisconsin while attending college.
And “do everything right”? What would that mean? I can’t think of a way for you to get instate status given your parents live elsewhere.
You cannot file your FAFSA as an independent student simply because you live here and your parents do not. You need to satisfy one of these: are you an orphan, ward of the state, veteran of the armed forces, married, supporting a dependent child, or over the age of 24?
You satisfy NONE of the above so you cannot be independent for financial aid purposes. Those are the FAFSA questions that determine this.
If your parents have their residency in another country…it’s going to be mighty hard for YOU to gain residency in Wisconsin. Instate status is for students whose parents pay taxes to help support the Wisconsin public universities. Your parents do not do this.
@twoinanddone could you tell this student the names of the colleges/states where it IS possible to get instate status while being a student…Utah?
Residency requirements to vote, get a driver’s license etc. are different than the rules to be eligible for instate tuition rates and can even vary among the state schools themselves. Some require you and your parents to live in the state for 24 months and even then, if the move was motivated by wanting to attend a state university you won’t qualify.
Other states (like Utah, for now) have schools that only look at student residency and encourage students to move to their state and allow students to change their residency status even after starting school. (This is an outlier to the vast majority of how residency for tuition purposes works in most of the US)
A few state schools don’t have an out of state surcharge like Bemidji https://www.bemidjistate.edu/ and Minot State http://www.minotstateu.edu/. There are a handful of others, but again there are very few state schools like that.
Your residency doesn’t matter at private schools. Have you applied to any private schools?
If your parents support you, then you are not financially independent.
For most state universities your residency depends on your parents.
You might be able to get instate status at some after living and working fulltime there, but then you would have to wait to apply to college until after you are a state resident.
Did you apply to UA or UAH where you might get enough merit to make the school affordable?
Found this on their web page, they specifically say you can not do as you plan. https://registrar.wisc.edu/residence/
[qoute] Individuals who come to Wisconsin primarily for educational purposes do not automatically qualify as Wisconsin residents for tuition purposes, even after living in Wisconsin a year or more.
[/quote]
Since you’ve already applied they know you are coming “primarily for educational purposes”.
OP, something you may not realize is that your financial aid at UW was figured based on your higher Cost of Attendance as an out of state student. UW has in effect waived the oos fee for you through its aid package, but you still can’t afford it. Even if you suddenly qualified for in state tuition, that would not cover the gap because they would rescind the financial aid award portion that is waiving the oos surcharge and you would still need the 26k/yr that in state students are paying. Without 26k/yr UW is not an option for you.
Hello, guys. I am a U.S citizen but have lived abroad all my life in Pakistan. Therefore, i don’t hold a residency status in any state for tuition purposes, though i was born in N.J but i know that it’s because for residency you at least have to live in a state for a year and i haven’t even done that. My parents are also not U.S citizens. Currently, i am in the last year of my high school and have been accepted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I’ve gone through all the normal procedures i.e. filing for FAFSA as a dependent student etc etc. However, as an out of state resident, the tuition costs are really high and there’s still $25-30,000 left after accounting for all the aid per annum. As the university requires that to be considered as an in state resident (that would exponentially lower the tuition costs), i must have lived there for 1 year prior to my enrollment at the institution and have worked full time (like not studying, renting an apartment, paying state taxes etc etc). Now, i want guidance on a few things;
Would the university grant my request for deferral if i tell them that it’s not financially possible for me to attend the university so i want to be financially independent and then i’ll join the university from the following year when i become a state resident? Most importantly, would they consider me for in-state tuition (seeing that i’ve become a state resident) or continue with the out-of-state which they initially admitted me for?
I also need some guidance on Wisconsin laws. Is it possible that if i do everything right (as ive mentioned), that i become a state resident after one year?
Right now, i have filed my FAFSA as a dependent student. Obviously, my parents not being u.s citizens, couldn’t come and live there with me so they wouldn’t be able to support me. Naturally, i would’ve to change my FAFSA to the independent student status. So, would that pose any complications or affect anything when i file FAFSA the following year as an independent?
@thumper1@BuckeyeMWDSG No, my parents won’t be going to live in Wisconsin. My apologies that i didn’t research much on “going to the state primarily for education purposes”. i just wanted to know if there was an option through deferral that i become a state resident and qualify for in-state tuition when i enroll after a year. I just imagined somehow that this would reduce my overall cost of attendance. But now i understand that’s not the case. I’ve applied with business/economics as my major to the universities and have been accepted at UW, UMass-Amherst, Purdue University,and Ithaca College. Ithaca College, though being private, is out of the plans as the net amount required to pay is still around $20k. Purdue has also offered very little aid so it’s also out. It’s either UMass or Wisconsin. i have a twin brother who would also be going to college this year and has been accepted at both UW-Madison and UMass-Amherst. My parents would be contributing $5-7k per year for each of us. My FAFSA amounts to around $10k per year (including the Pell Grant and the loans). i have yet to receive my aid package from Wisconsin, but my brother has received one of around $23k/year, and on the assumption that we received similar packages from UMass ($25k for him and $29k for me), i am certain that my package would also be around his value. Tuition at Wisconsin is $34k and the total COA is $47k. Lets say that i receive a package of $25k, my dad pays $5-7k, that would still leave a net amount of $15-17k per year. so that leaves me that i take loans. my parents are not eligible for the Parent PLUS, so do i take loans or not? if yes, then from where?
@thumper1@BuckeyeMWDSG on another thought, as i don’t have a residency status anywhere, and i decline my admissions and then move to Wisconsin or any other state for that matter. I live there for a year, work full time and establish state residency. but the again, without my parents living there, can i establish state residency at all? And if i do, then i apply again to my state university. Would i be considered for the in-state tuition, considering i didn’t primarily come to the state for “educational purposes”? And wouldn’t that reduce the costs considering my FAFSA amount stays the same (i.e. $10k) as i am dependent on my parents?
In some states, you can establish in-state residence on your own. You need to check this separately for each institution.
However, your parents still are likely to be obliged to file the FAFSA with you until you meet standards for being independent for financial aid purposes.
I think that it is not too late to apply to UAH. Check their website, and do that if the option is still available.
You can’t borrow more than the standard student loans on your own, so you and your brother and your parents need to sit down and talk about the money issue. It might be that the two of you need to take a gap year and come up with new application lists to places that will work for your budget. In that gap year, you could move here and find work. If you do that in a state (or different states for the two of you) like Utah that do allow for establishing residency independently of your parents, you could end up with other options. But to be perfectly honest, moving here on your own would be challenging. Do you have any friends or family in the US who could help you get established? With no local work experience or contacts, it can be very difficult to land a job or find a place to live.