<p>I have a general question that concerns my fiancee. I am attending graduate school either in the spring or fall of 2012. Where ever I decide to go for graduate school, my fiancee is transferring there in order to finish up her undergraduate degree. She is 24+ and considered a independent student. All of the universities that we are considering are out of state. Most have undergraduate tuition of about $20K per year for OOS.</p>
<p>She expects to pay out of state tuition for the first year, but wants in state tuition for the following years, so we are only worried about the first. She only needs aid for tuition and books because we are both working to pay for housing. She hasn't received any financial aid letters yet, but I'm wondering how schools handle independent students. My brother applied to an OOS school and was offered a pell grant, loans (parent/unsub/sub), and a work study. Because she is 24+, will they give her the option of getting parent PLUS loans? She has no contact with her father and her mother has poor credit, so this might create problems.</p>
<p>My advice to her is to wait a year to gain residency before beginning school, but she doesn't like this option. Does anyone have any experience with financial aid out of state for independent students?</p>
<p>State’s rules differ, and sometimes public universities within a state can set their own residency rules. Many (most?) states require you to be a bona fide state resident for at least one year for a reason other than qualifying for in-state tuition to attend college. The burden of proof, if it is questioned, is almost always on the person claiming the residency.</p>
<p>No, she wouldn’t be able to take Parent Plus loans…those are for parents, not students. But since she’s independent she would qualify for the higher, independent student, level of Stafford loans. She definitely needs to contact the school’s residency office and find out exactly what she would need to be considered a resident for tuition purposes…as annasdad says, it varies widely and is usually not as simple as moving to a state and going to school for a year.</p>
<p>She wrote an email to the registrar’s office at University of Alabama and received this response. After one year, she would meet all of those requirements.</p>
<p>“In order for a student to be reclassified as a resident, they must demonstrate that they have lived in the state in an off-campus address in their name for at least one year. The student must also show that they have established and maintained more substantial connections (ie drivers license, voter registration, banking, vehicle registration, etc) to Alabama than to any other state. Documentation that is submitted to prove this carries more weight if it is at least one year old from the date of issue. We also look to see if a student is filing state taxes and to what extent they are relying on their parents for financial assistance.”</p>
<p>Tennessee doesn’t have any length requirement for living in the state, just that you are residing in the state. Missouri has basically the same requirements as Alabama, they are just spelled out a little bit better and aren’t left open to interpretation.</p>
<p>However, we aren’t really worried about the residency at this moment. We are more concerned about what kind of aid she is going to get. If she gets a pell grant for 5,550 and can get sub/unsub loans up to 10,500, that still leaves quite a bit left to cover the 20K for tuition and another 500-1,000 for books. I seriously doubt that she will get any state aid from Alabama while she is a non-resident, but I can’t be sure. States with more funding towards education might be able to offer her more (maybe Missouri?). She has always had an EFC of 0 if that helps any.</p>
<p>We plan on getting married after we both finish school. That’s a good three years from now.</p>
<p>That’s what I’m thinking is the best plan, but she really wants to attend school right away. I don’t think the OOS cost and loans are worth it. I’ve only got about $5000 worth of loans from my undergraduate studies because I worked to pay for my housing and personal expenses.</p>