We live in the Mid-West. 12th grade child wants to go to a Florida state university. We don’t live in FLA and don’t own a second house there so we qualify for out of state tuition. The child’s grandparents live in the south-west but own a second home in Florida they live in during the winter. They don’t rent it out when they’re not there. Is it possible to have the child make his/her primary residence at the grandparent’s home, to qualify for in-state tuition soph year and beyond? Asking legally and ethically. Also, is this common?
Florida residency is contingent on where the parents reside.
. . .https://admissions.fsu.edu/residency/faq/
Pay the out-of-state tuition. You don’t live there on a daily basis by shopping at the local businesses nor paying the taxes there, when you shop, or when you file your taxes. You need to select affordable schools or pay the out-of-state tuition. It’s not fair to the state residents that have been paying taxes for 18 years, for their kids to be able to use their own state public universities.
I think you knew the answer was no.
Florida OOS tuition costs are not that high compare to some. If you can’t afford the OOS costs, tell your child they either need to get sufficient need based aid or merit aid…or the Florida schools are off the table.
How much can you pay annually??
What are your kid’s SAT or ACT score, and GPA. Maybe someone here can tell you which Florida publics might come in at your price point.
Legally and ethically? No and NO.
It wouldn’t work even if YOU owned the condo. FSU does have a few scholarships and ways to qualify for instate tuition. FSU has the first year abroad program (although it is currently closed).
If this student is currently a junior, how would they apply for that study abroad first year at FSU (I’m being optimistic that these opportunities will be available).
Is this you, Aunt Becky?
This is cheating. It’s unethical and immoral.
This used to be possible in Texas many years ago. Not sure if it is still the case. But I think that many states have clamped down on this.
I expect that you can find all the info on FSU’s First Year Abroad website:
https://international.fsu.edu/FYA.aspx
The cost for that one year is pretty steep but in-state tuition after that.
And yes, FL publics just don’t cost all that much for OOS (compared to other alternatives).
I assume no NMS and Benacquisto for the kid.
New College of Florida also has an automatic OOS scholarship that knocks costs down to comparable to in-state prices elsewhere:
https://www.ncf.edu/admissions/financial-aid/scholarships/out-of-state-freshmen/
For example, OOS tuition+R&B at FSU is $30K/year. Tuition+R&B at NCF with that automatic OOS scholarship is $25K/year.
That FSU OOS price is actually less than UIUC in-state tuition+R&B for some majors. That NCF price (or FSU with FYA) is less than UIUC in-state tuition+R&B for ALL majors.
Not necessarily.
My neice got in-state tuition at an OOS flagship based on her high test scores. Two years later it was time to declare a major, but she was more uncertain than ever what she really wanted to do. She wanted to take a “gap semester” to explore some ideas. That, however, meant likely losing her scholarship. Staying in college but being directionless also had risks. So she began to look into residency. She was already renting an apartment off campus. She changed her driver’s license, filed her own taxes (broke off from being on her parents’ return), and spent the summer near campus in order to diligently meet the state’s requirements not to spend more than X days outside the state. She ended up taking a year off, and then went back to college, paying in-state tuition. She did work full time in her gap year, paying taxes to her college’s state and fully considers herself a resident of that state - and plans to live there long term. So was that illegal and unethical? No. Could it be replicated elsewhere? In some places, yes, in others, maybe not. Was it easy? She wanted the time off, but not everyone would be willing to postpone their education.
OP, I do not think it is going to be possible to avoid paying OOS tuition, at least for the first year or two, unless your son gets a scholarship. Rules permitting, at some point he may be able to move his residency and stay within the boundaries of the law. Some areas do make it easier than others.
@Groundwork2022 it is not unethical to become a resident of the state, which is what your niece did.
My son got residency in Texas, but they’ve tightened up the rules since 2011. He really did intend to live in the state long-term so we didn’t see anything wrong with it. The UT residency people were quite happy to answer our questions - they knew exactly what we were doing and didn’t have a problem with it. It was a LOT of work qualifying him for in-state tuition as a sophomore, and then he had to drop out two weeks into the fall semester due to his illness. 
At least they reimbursed his tuition with no argument.
To the original question, unless the daughter is classified as an independent student, her legal residence doesn’t matter. For dependent students, Florida looks at the legal residence of the parents. So, no, it isn’t possible to use the grandparents’ vacation home. Florida’s rules are set up to prevent these kinds of loopholes.
Moderator’s Note:
The OP has not been back since March and the question has been answered. Closing thread.