<p>Ok, here is my situation. I'm sure you have all heard this a million times. I'm 18 and I am currently enrolled in a community college in PA. I have always wanted to move to Florida. From what I understand, you can go down there and work for a year, pay taxes, register to vote etc and gain residency (If you are independent). However, If you are a dependent, what I'm reading on here is that it doesn't matter what you do, you are a resident wherever your parents reside. I think this is total bs but that is besides the point.
I'm not looking for someone to bash me about how I am doing this to cheat the system or how I don't pay taxes in the state to support the school blah blah blah. I will be living down there until I die. Not to mention I'll also be paying taxes for a year before hand. Are there any ways around being restricted to having residency where your parents reside? I want to go down for a year and work, pay taxes, register to vote, get a driver's license, put utilities in my name and whatever else I can do by myself. I WILL NOT BE RECEIVING SUPPORT FROM MY PARENTS---0 SUPPORT. Would a Fin Aid officer grant me in-state tuition/independent status if I do everything stated above? I will have all of the documents to back my self up such as a lease, utilities, voter registration, car insurance, paychecks, and anything else that may help my case. Any help is appreciated, thanks!</p>
<p>Also, my parents ARE NOT claiming me on their tax return.</p>
<p>From what I read, it looks to me like 1- you may want to call the individual school and 2- these things might be helpful:</p>
<p>“full-time employment (minimum of 30 hours a week), immediate relatives currently living in Florida for the previous 12 months, purchase of home, or part-time enrollment in a Florida higher education institution during the previous 12 months”</p>
<p>Also, it is usually easier to get classified something than to get a classification changed. So ask the individual college but it may be easier to get a job, an apt, driver’s license, voter’s registration card, etc… and then, after a year, enroll at the local college (or community college). But call and find out first because you don’t want to spend a year waiting to go to school only to find out they will classify you as out-of-state anyway.</p>
<p>From what I read below, it looks like once one in-state public classifies you as a Florida resident, the others will not revisit the issue so if a 4-year school gives you a hard time, you may want to check out the cc and, if they give you residency status, take a few courses there before transferring.</p>
<p>Your parents not claiming you on a tax return has no impact on residency. The actual $ amount of support received is irrelevant as well for residency.</p>
<p>Contact Admissions of the schools that interest you and ask for their specific rules (for instance, a private college might have slightly different rules than the State Colleges). </p>
<p>Also, if you will be applying for Financial Aid, you will have to fill out the FAFSA. Check out the FAFSA dependency worksheet. It is very hard for a student under the age of 22 to be considered financially independent (no matter what the parents say or pay). This, to me, is outrageous – if you are 18 or 18+, then you are an adult – not a dependent. But that’s not the way the fin aid game is played.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s the financial aid officer’s decision. Financial aid officers work with you on your financial aid awards. They do not make residency decisions.</p>
<p>You need to contact EACH school where you plan to apply. Even within a state, the public universities can have very different requirements for determining your instate residency status.</p>
<p>As you noted, in most cases undergrad students are residents of the state in which their PARENTS reside. It’s not easy to gain instate residency for tuition purposes in a different state. BUT it is possible at some schools in some states. So…check EACH school.</p>
<p>As noted above, the amount of money your parents contribute to you really doesn’t have any bearing on this. </p>
<p>I guess I’m curious how you plan to earn enough money to pay ALL of your living expenses, rent, car costs, health insurance, car insurance, food, utilities, clothing, everything. Will you be hoping to gain need based financial aid when you apply to college if you can establish residency? If so, you need to realize that your income as an independent student had no protection and if you really do earn enough to support all of your costs, you may not be eligible for any need based aid.</p>
<p>Well, to be straight up and honest I just won a 2011 camaro. I sold it and have a nice amount of cash to fall back on if needed. I can make 1300+ a month with my current employer working 40 hrs/wk (I can transfer to a store in FL). So having money for the basic stuff like rent/insurance/food/utilities shouldn’t be hard at all. Also, if I’m making 1300/mo, I will definitely be able to receive aid. I had to claim the camaro as income this year though, so that may screw me over next year for financial aid. Either way though, I will be fine.</p>
<p>Not wishing to be a stinker…but is that $1300 a month your take home amount? If not, make sure you subtract your state, federal taxes and your social security (FICA) contributions.</p>
<p>Isn’t FL state aid the Bright Futures? I thought that was for people who graduated from FL high schools. Also, even without the windfall from the car, your income would likely put you at the very upper limits of Pell, so not much aid there either. Students have only a small income protection allowance and then 50% of their income goes toward their EFC. They have 0 asset/savings protection and 20% of your savings will also be added to your EFC. I think you should probably run some numbers through an EFC calculator.</p>
<p>My mom is solely supporting me right now and she doesn’t have a job. We have someone that helps pay rent/bills. Her income for my next school year FAFSA will likely be 0. I ran both of our numbers through the calculator and it said i was expected to provide $5,230 for school costs. However, next to that $5,230 was a message that said we automatically qualify for the auto EFC of 0. I guess it’s because she made less than $30,000 this year? If I’m understanding this correctly, since she made no money this year, I get an auto EFC of 0? My income of $33,000 (because of the car) doesn’t even count? If this is true that would be awesome!</p>
<p>There are two separate issues here. Whether you can be considered instate for tuition. And whether you can be considered an independent for FA purposes.</p>
<p>For tuition purposes it depend on the rules of the state. It is usually very difficult to establish residency in a state other than your paret’s state of residence. That is nothing to do with the Financial aid department.</p>
<p>For financial aid the answer is no. A FA officer will not grant you independent status for financial aid purposes. On FAFSA you must answer a series of questions to determine whether you are independent or dependent. Unless you can answer yes to one of the questions you are a dependent for FA purposes. The main one is age (24 or over) but also includes others such as being married, a veteran etc. Being financially self supporting and whether you parents claim you on their taxes is not relevant for dependency status on FAFSA, and they are not grounds for a dependency override.</p>
<p>So for FAFSA you will have to report your parent’s income and assets and your own income and assets. If you won a car this year it will have to be reported as income on your taxes and on FAFSA.</p>
<p>Yes, that is true. If her AGI is less than $30,000 AND she is eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ (if she is not required to file, then she “can” file either of these forms) OR someone in your household received federal means-tested benefits in the past 24 months OR mom is a dislocated worker … then YOUR income/assets do not count … the EFC is 0. (you do report them; they just don’t count)</p>
<p>But Steady…what you have pointed out for your EFC $0 is if you REMAIN a resident of your mom’s home. You can’t have it both ways…you can’t have instate status as a resident of a different state than your mom’s (Florida) and than ALSO expect to have that $0 EFC. If you receive instate status in Florida, how would you use your mom’s info…she lives in another state. Her resident status in a state other than Florida will trigger a big question on the part of any state where you say YOU live…and she doesn’t.</p>
<p>You probably won’t get instate status…and you probably won’t qualify as an independent student for financial aid purposes.</p>
<p>You seem to want to have it both ways…when it’s “convenient” to use your mom’s info (for that $0 EFC) you want to use that. When it’s convenient to NOT want to use it (for establishing residency in a state other than your mom’s) you want it that way.</p>
<p>Make up your mind. I seriously do NOT think you can have it both ways.</p>
<p>Wow!! I love this auto EFC of 0 rule :). What a relief! She has received food stamps, so I guess we are good there. I really appreciate your help, thank you!</p>
<p>Thumper, I do not wish to have it both ways. It seems like I can only have it one way and that is being a dependent. She might be moving to FL to try and find a job. So I’ll be set as long as she lives there for a year.</p>
<p>Steady…I’m not sure how this will work if you say you are NOT living with your mom. You say you want to establish residency in Florida but you want to use your mom’s financials from a different state.</p>
<p>I’m not sure this is going to work for you. </p>
<p>I think you should plan to go to a school within your mom’s state of residence where you definitely have instate status.</p>
<p>Remember that Auto 0 doesn’t mean you will pay 0. It just means that your EFC is 0. You will be eligible for a full Pell grant. Beyond that, nothing is guaranteed (except for the $5500 in Stafford loans if you have room for them in the COA after all grant/scholarship aid is offered).</p>
<p>Thumper…My mom may be moving to FL to get a new job. I will be saying that I live with her if this is the case. If she doesn’t move to FL then I will just suck it up and pay OOS tuition.</p>
<p>Establishing residency by myself and being Independent on the FAFSA just seems damn near impossible with everything I’m reading. So, I’m going to be a dependent no matter what.</p>