<p>I got accepted to Michigan State University and got classified for in state tuition. The school told me it was because I put I lived in MI my whole life and graduated high school there (which is all true). Someone else from the school told me tuition is determined by your parents info. </p>
<p>My dad has lived/worked in California since 2011 and mom just moved out there in July 2013. I am afraid that if I put my parents state of residency is California on Fasfa that the school will then switch my tuition on me. I have tried finding answers to this question on the schools website but found nothing. </p>
<p>Hopefully someone can help!</p>
<p>Your dad moved to CA in 2011 and your mom in 2013. They do not reside in MI. You Haven resided in MI either for at least a couple of years. You need to contact Michigan State and ask THEM this question. </p>
<p>I am not sure about MSU. I know it has different criteria to define in state students as UMich. I have a neighbor with E2 visa who is determined to be in state student at MSU but not UMich. Anyway, even for UMich which is more stringent, you are considered in state for tuition purpose if you attended at least 3 years high school in Michigan and graduated from it. So even for UMich, you are considered in state. This is a new policy effective since Jan 2014 due to a revision of policy last year mainly for undocumented students.
It seems MSU is using the same criteria for you (attended and graduated from HS in state).
For UMich, there are 3 pathways to gain in state tuition status. First is being Michigan resident that requires your parent to live in Michigan. Second is by this high school graduation requirement. Third is by military services.</p>
<p>You need to read the rules the Mich State has for instate qualification for tuition. Then you need to find out exactly who makes the determination at the school and directly contact that person and make sure you do not go out of compliance to what the exact rules are for the status. This can differ from state to state. In NY, I know that anyone who has been here 3 consecutive years and other stipulations gets in state rates but what happens if, say a parent moves out of state? I don’t know. In some schools, many schools, that’s a deal breaker. But if a kid graduates from a high school, spent 3 consec years in state, AND his parents were out of state even while he did so? That is a whole other category that could fall between the cracks.</p>
<p>In the last few years, in state status has been redefined for those kids who are illegally here and/or whose parents are. When wording those changes in status, a lot of other kids fall into that category,when that was not the intent of the new rules. It also creates conudrums where those who are legally doing their thing get penalized while those who are illegal don’t. A lot of these things are still in the process of being sorted out.</p>