<p>Hi, </p>
<p>I am a 22 years old American citizen who grew up abroad. I have applied to some state school and I was wondering if there is any way to get residency quickly to be able to pay In state tuition?</p>
<p>For example, if I have family in a state could they claim me as their dependent and then I will be able to pay in state tuition? Or can I get in state tuition when I become an independent student next year (when I will be 23 and considered independent)? Is there any way to expedite the process of becoming a resident (other than my family moving to the state)?</p>
<p>Also, I wanted to know, if I stay at a state university for one year, am I able to become a resident (usually takes a year) and then become a in state student the following year?</p>
<p>Right now I am wondering about the states of Indiana and Illinois.</p>
<p>If it matters, I am not moving to the US just to study in a university for 4 years and move back, I intend to stay and live in the United States.</p>
<p>It can vary by the specific school. Generally it’s not possible to get residency while attending school and very difficult if your parents don’t live in the state.</p>
<p>Google the school name followed by the word residency and you can generally find the residency requirements for each school you are considering.</p>
<p>Do your parents pay state tax even though they are abroad? What state are they registered to vote? This would at least help to show a connection with a specific state even though they are working outside the us. </p>
<p>You are expatriates. It is very likely that you do NOT have instate residency for ANY state at this time (expat family members are in this same situation, and they DO own a home here, and pay taxes here…doesn’t matter…they do not LIVE here). </p>
<p>In the very vast majority of cases, your residency in undergrad schools is determined by where your PARENTS live. As you note, the year you will be 24 years old, you will gain independent status FOR FINANCIAL AID purposes. This is very different than gaining instate status.</p>
<p>Once you are independent from your parents for financial aid…you could move to the state of your choice and work there, supporting yourself, for a full year PRIOR to enrolling in college. It would seem that this would gain you instate status. You need to check the colleges to be sure.</p>
<p>Dadoftwingirls, just because a person pays taxes in a state does NOT mean they are entitled to instate tuition status. Think of how many folks own vacation homes at the Jersey Shore, or on Cape Cod. Unless,they have a permanent residence in those states, they wre NOT entitled to instate tuition simply because they pay taxes there.</p>
<p>My husband worked in a neighboring state, and believe me, we paid them a TON of income taxes. But we did not RESIDE there. Our kids did not have instate residency there because our domicile was NOT that state.</p>
<p>You need to read the policies at each of the places on your list. They vary greatly from one state to another, and even from one institution to another within the same state. For example, if you were to move to my county in Maryland, get a job, and support yourself, you would be qualified for in-county rates at the community college after only three months provided that you could demonstrate that you had covered more than 50% of your own costs for the previous 12 months.</p>
<p>I think Utah also actually encourages the student to gain residency so check out Utah colleges.</p>
<p>You have to look for schools that make it easier to get state residency. They tend to be schools that do not get a lot of OOS students. It’s the school, not the state that makes that decision as to whether or not you qualify for state residency FOR TUITION PURPOSES. It’s very easy to become a state resident for tax purposes, driver license and ID purposes, voiting purposes, but many schools have much more stringent criteria for tuition purposes, and they often have to do with where your parents are living/paying state taxes, which makes sense. </p>
<p>Here in NY, for example, if you want to take a course at the community college or as a non matriculating student, I believe is what they call it, at a local SUNY, they don’t seem to care. You have an address that’s local, you get the local price. But to enroll as a matriculating student for a degree program, that’s a whole other story. You have to meet much more specific rules in order to get in state rates, and living with Aunt Sally or grandma ain’t gonna cut it. You have to have spent 3 years consecutive years in state and have graduated from a NY high school , I believe, and again, that can vary from school to school in the same danged state system. Also investigation and enforcement vary from school to school too. </p>
<p>I grew up overseas though in a US schools system most of the time, but because my parents cut ties with any states paying no state taxes, maintaining no US residence, I had no state school. It was not an unusual situation for ex pats back then, and I’m sure the same still applies.</p>