No, if you were declared homeless and independent by your school district, then you qualify for in-state tuition in Texas. That doesn’t apply to other states. You’re considered a domiciled resident of Texas.
@Cooguy40 Can you state definitively that an independent student who moves out of TX for UG and never resides in TX during those 4 yrs will be considered instate in TX post UG graduation?
I’m not sure that “Texas” declaring him homeless in 2017 wouldn’t require a review in 2021+ when applying for grad school. Having instate status doesn’t last forever. If he doesn’t return to Texas for 4 years, doesn’t vote, doesn’t file taxes in that state (Texas doesn’t have state income taxes), would they still consider him a resident? I doubt it.
I got the impression from the question that OP would b interested in another state, not Texas, accepting his ‘homeless’ status for instate tuition. I really doubt it.
And as others indicated, it looks like the OP will have some unearned income to declare, and it will need to be filed in some state.
Texas would be a nice state to file as it doesn’t have a state income tax.
@twoinanddone @Mom2aphysicsgeek thank you for the response.
ack autocorrect again. You are welcome to ignore the helpful advice, OP, but most of us, with a lot of experience, can predict that your opinions and choices will likely change many times between your freshman and senior year of college. And where you declare residency (eg for tax purposes) will likely make a difference. It’s also quite possible you won’t be homeless all 4 years of college. You’re welcome to put your fingers in your ears if that’s what helps you, but we are all trying to provide information based on experience and knowledge.
If you have income from those summer programs or the extras they provide, you may have to file taxes (as others have already told you). Selecting Texas is wise as it has no state tax, but whether or not another state would consider you homeless for instate purposes may vary by state. And who knows in 4 years if the policies will change. Relax for now.
NO–you are a homeless resident of your state --apparently with a computer and electricity and some lovely travel plans . Be careful you are not intentionally gaming the system. You can be charged with fraud if so…
Now that I’m thinking this through…did your GC/high school have to declare you homeless to get instate tuition? Were you not eligible through attending your high school for 1-3 years? I’m sure it was helpful to you to file FAFSA as independent and get a Pell grant, but that’s not an issue for grad school (once you graduate, you can file as an independent but there are no Pell grants).
If you did need the ‘homeless’ status to get instate tuition in Texas, I don’t think it will still be there 4 years later, especially if you have been OOS for those 4 years, at least not without review. Very few people are homeless for 4 years and go right back to where they were squatting, couch surfing, checking into homeless shelters. What will your ties to Texas be at that time?
Graduate school is different. Whether you were declared homeless or independent in undergrad is completely immaterial, because at least under the federal guidelines for aid, a student is automatically considered independent when they are applying to graduate school.*
Your state ID also doesn’t really matter that much. There’s much more to being a resident of a state, especially for in-state tuition purposes, than simply having a state ID. Lots of students retain IDs from states they don’t live in anymore, and colleges know this. Most universities require other signs of making their state your permanent domicile, such as having a home address that you regularly return after time away (usually very key), voter registration, vehicle registration, utilities in your name in the state, etc.
Every state has residency requirements and different ways that they ask students to prove residency, and every public university will have residency requirements on their website. Here’s an example: https://students.ucsd.edu/finances/fees/residence/criteria.html There is usually documentation you have to submit when the time is right, so don’t worry about this too much now.
As for your specific question - again, you’ll have to check the public universities’ rules in state X, but if you are from state Y and were a resident of state Y and you’re only in X to go to school, then you are most likely considered a resident of state Y and not state X. You would most likely have to live in state X for a year after graduating from undergrad before you would be considered a resident of state X and could pay in-state tuition for state X’s public schools.
*There are two caveats to this. One is medical school, which is why whether or not you are interested in med school is relevant. There are lots of medical schools that have different requirements for financial independence for medical students, and simply being a graduate or professional student doesn’t make you qualify. You’re going to have to check with each school individually on this.
Two, some states may have slightly different requirements for their in-state residency, which they are allowed to do. For example, the UCSD reference I posted above requires that the graduate or professional student ALSO not have been claimed as a dependent on anyone’s taxes, or you work at least 49% at the university.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Closing thread, since the OP is no longer a member.