In state

<p>Family friend is divorced and ex wife lives in Va. his D is applying to Va schools and they claim she qualifies as in state for admission and tuition even though she lives with her father and attended high school in NJ. Is this correct and if so couldn't people "game " the system.</p>

<p>It might depend on who declares the kid as a dependent on income tax returns and where that person's legal residence is. It looks like our state u app asks questions like that.</p>

<p>They claim mom is the guardian but daughter has only lived and went to school in NJ never Va.</p>

<p>It seems to vary by state. Some states, including the one where gS is going, seem to take the view that if the parent is a resident (aka "taxpayer"), that is the key ingredient. gS' school required a notarized statement that parent has been a state resident for one year, with no questions at all re where/with whom gS had been living. As it happened, he had been living with in-state parent for one year, but out-of-state parent for 4 years before that.</p>

<p>Here's the site for residency at UVA. It says that a child with a non-custodial parent living in Virginia can apply as a Virginia resident (and pay instate tuition) IF the non-custodial parent contributes "significantly" (elsewhere it says 50% or more)towards the child's cost of care and is claimed as a dependent on tax returns. If the mother is the legal, court-appointed guardian, regardless of where the girl lives, the same applies:
<a href="http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/status.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/status.html&lt;/a> Sounds like there are some forms to fill out before application though.</p>

<p>Thanks for the link, Carolyn. Would anyone know what the situation would be in the instance of married parents temporarily maintaining separate residences, i.e., Dad takes new job and resides in VA while mom and kid remain in another state until kid graduates high school? I have a friend in this situation - Dad lost his position here some months ago and is living/working in VA, providing the family's primary financial support. D is a rising senior and the family decided to live separately (while visiting frequently) so that d wouldn't have to adjust to a new school/friends for her senior year.</p>

<p>The way it works in PA state schools is you have to graduate from a state high school initially to get in-state and if you want to try for it after you must have residency in the state for a year.</p>

<p>In Georgia, any parent, guardian or spouse who has been a bona fide state resident for the preceding twelve months can serve as the justification for the student's in-state tuition.</p>