<p>So say I was accepted to, and decided to go to, a school that is not in my state. Now lets say that my sophomore or junior year, I decide to get an apartment instead of staying in a dorm. would that not make me a legal resident of the state? At that point, would it be possible to apply for in state tuition to that school?</p>
<p>In general ‘not for tuition purposes.’ Back in the dark ages, it was easy to gain residency and discounted tuition, but no more. To qualify, you’d have to become financially independent i.e., no support from the parental units.</p>
<p>This question is all over CC these days!</p>
<p>Most likely not. Most states require that in order to qualify for resident tuition, you must be financially independent of your parents, and–here’s the really tricky part–you must be able to demonstrate that you have established residency in your new state for some reason completely unrelated to attending the college or university.</p>
<p>Requirements do vary from state to state, so your best bet is to check the web site of the university you plan to attend. But I doubt you’ll succeed. This idea has been around forever. It didn’t work for me when I tried it in graduate school.</p>
<p>im playing the system with this here- but what if my parents just paid for whatever portion of the tuition that they were going to pay through me? so I would technically be paying the tuition, and just receiving “gifts” from them whenever tuition was due?</p>
<p>Then you’d be receiving a significant portion of your financial support from your parents, who are residents of another state. You’d be financially dependent on them (whether they claimed you on their 1040 or not), and you wouldn’t qualify for resident tuition.</p>
<p>alright then… looks like that wouldnt really be an option… but it was worth a shot anyways</p>
<p>Yeah, many states have made it pretty hard to get residency if you’re not actually a resident with resident parents. I know in my state, the residency determination asks not only where the student lives, but in which state the parents earn money and in which state they pay taxes, and how many years they’ve been paying taxes in the state.</p>
<p>Read the residency requirements for the state you are choosing, you may be able to take a Gap Year and move there and support yourself and legitimately apply as an in state resident for the next year.</p>
<p>What Somemom posts is possible but only in a limited number of states. SO check first. ALSO remember that if you work in that state and support yourself for a year, you will have income that will be reported on the FAFSA in your name. There is no income protection for student income, I don’t believe…so the assumption is that a goodly chunk of that money would be available to pay for your college costs. If you were anticipating financial aid, you might not get much.</p>
<p>Residency laws for in-state tuition vary widely by state, so there is not one cut and dried answer.<br>
Consider joining the National Guard. Check first but many states give in-state tuition to those who join the National Guard in thier state. You get a part time job plus some money for school.</p>
<p>Do keep in mind that National Guard members are being deployed to Iraq/Afghanistan. If you want to help defend your country then go for it! If you have some reservations, think hard first.</p>