In-state residency question. Please help.

<p>I was orginally from a different state before I started at college. The summer before my freshman year I leased an apartment for the upcoming year till next sophmore year. During school days it was required I live on campus ,but on weekends,holidays, and summer time I was allowed to live in my apartment. I paid a year's rent and bills and filed state taxes. This sophmore year I believed I would have in-state since I did everything on the checklist they gave me. I received a decline which read did not have a permanent residence for 12 months . My question is should I appeal or is it a loosing battle? And even though I lived on campus during school days is my apartment not my permanent address , even as I still continue to lease it?</p>

<p>Check the guidelines for residency for tuition purposes in that state and university. Most states stipulate that the residency of a dependent student is that of his/her parents. Also, you generally must have 12 months of residency in a state for a purpose other than education. My guess is that you did not meet one or both of these criteria, but you didn’t post enough info for more than a guess.</p>

<p>Agreed with the above post. In MOST cases, you cannot establish residency as an undergrad that is different from the state of residency of your parents. So…if your parents aren’t living in the state of your college, you are an out of state resident. In addition, you cannot establish residency in almost ALL cases WHILE you are in the state for the purpose of attending college. Think if this…if all it took was renting an apartment for a year WHILE you were attending college, LOTS of students would do that and virtually no one would pay out of state tuition after their freshman year. That’s usually not how the system works.</p>

<p>What state are you talking about? The vast majority of states follow at least one – and in most cases, both – of the rules sk8ermom has referenced: (1) If you are under 24 years old, your permanent residence is that of your parents, and (2) you must live in the state for at least one full year for a reason other than just to attend school – e.g., having a full-time job there.</p>

<p>Didn’t know how I could edit post to add more information so I will just write it here. I plan to live in SC for the rest of my life. I registered to vote here and voted, I changed my license to SC, my job is here, I married my wife (she is out of state student as well) here,filed my taxes with the state of SC, bout to buy a small house. I have been independent for two years since I split from my parents. I am independent because I support myself fully. Clemson University says I am ok with the whole checklist except the one thing.</p>

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<p>so…what is that ONE thing???</p>

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<p>Wow, Clemson requires MARRIED students to live on campus?! That is odd! So, they’re saying that since you were required to live on campus on school days, then you did not have 12 months of permanent residence in SC? Or were you not married for that entire time? If you were unmarried for any of the 12 previous months and were under age 24, then you were considered a dependent student - supporting yourself, unfortunately, does not make you independent for financial aid or residency purposes.</p>

<p>My guess is that this student wasn’t married for the full 12 months prior to asking for instate residency.</p>

<p>OK…a couple more thoughts…you actually PAID for an off campus apartment (and utilities and such) AND paid for on campus housing AND you paid out of state tuition…all last school year? How did you pay those bills? Did you have sufficient income that YOU earned to cover all those expenses?</p>

<p>Sk8rmom is right about the living on campus thing. Thats all they have against me becoming a resident on the declined form. They claim that even though I have all the other requirements and have been leasing and living in my apartment on all non college days I am not a resident because I also lived on campus. To me this is a little odd and so I decided to get advice on this form. Even though I only have been married three months I am still considered independent (Clemson agrees about Independent status).</p>

<p>You CAN be an independent student (and glad Clemson agrees about that) but still be considered an out of state resident for tuition purposes. My guess is that is what Clemson is telling you…you didn’t meet the non-residency requirements for 12 months. </p>

<p>Because you were not independent for the first 9 months of your time in SC…(married for three months you said)…you were considered a resident of the state in which your parents reside for that time. You have not met the 12 month residency requirement…yet. But here’s the good news…as an independent student, you CAN now establish residency in SC…perhaps Clemson will reconsider your request for the second semester…but certainly for next year.</p>

<p>Well, it’s their decision to grant residency or not so I don’t see much wiggle room there. At least this should be the last year you have to go through this. Good luck!</p>

<p>Thanks for all the replies.That definately stinks about the whole paying out of state ting , but what can you do. This was my last idea to attmpt. I wonder though if there is a residency office outside the unniversity to recieve more information.To Thumper- I have been indepent for two years. Theres no argument for that. And yes I paid for all rent, appliances, utilities, taxes, etc… I am paying tuition with loans. I got a new job in SC as soon as I moved up here.</p>

<p>I really, truly hope that this rule will not apply to you, but you should be aware of this potential “gotcha” for next year, because it seems to exclude you from residency status – no matter what – because you came to SC to attend Clemson:</p>

<p>Under Section 62-605 (Establishing the Requisite Intent to Become a South Carolina Domiciliary):
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A. Resident status may not be acquired by an applicant or student while residing in South Carolina for the primary purpose of enrollment in an institution or for access to state supported programs designed to serve South Carolina residents. An applicant or student from another state who comes to South Carolina usually does so for the purpose of attending school. THEREFORE, AN APPLICANT OR STUDENT WHO ENROLLS AS A NON-RESIDENT IN AN INSTITUTION IS PRESUMED TO REMAIN A NON-RESIDENT THROUGHOUT HIS OR HER ATTENDANCE AND DOES NOT QUALIFY UNDER ANY OF THE RESIDENCY PROVISIONS.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.che.sc.gov/StudentServices/Residency/ResidencyRegulationApprovedJune2008.pdf[/url]”>http://www.che.sc.gov/StudentServices/Residency/ResidencyRegulationApprovedJune2008.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;