Out of State Tuition...

Paying for College
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<p>No...if that was her address then that was her address. BUT in your first post your implication was that "she simply provided her aunts address on app, so she was charged as a California resident."...not that she was REALLY a resident. Having one's own address does not necessarily mean one has bought their own home. You could be sharing a place, living with relatives, or renting. What it does mean is that this home is your PRIMARY place of residence...not a temporary place to stay or an address used simply to indicate instate residency. If this relative really lived and worked (not while attending school) in the state for sufficient time (I don't know the CA requirements) then they would qualify. If not, they were not being totally honest and they were simply lucky they did not get caught.</p>

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<p>Oh, if you thought i was saying she simply put her aunts address to indicate residency, then was living for example in dorms, thats wrong. She does actually live in the aunts house full time while going to school, since UCLA is only 30 minutes away when driving from the house.</p>

<p>Now, would this be legal way in establishing residency or would she have to go a step further and contribute by paying a % the aunts mortgage? Or at least give a fixed amount each month as a gesture to the aunt, which i know she does..</p>

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<p>I knew that if you rent or share a place, that is considered a primary residence but i did not know that its considered your own primary residence if you simply are living at your relatives house. Like i mentioned before, if you are doing this- living with relatives, then would you have to show some sort of contribution?? I mean, someone could be living with their relatives for well over 1 yr. and contribute absolute nothing, they are completely depedent on relatives.</p>

<p>I understand how renting, or sharing a place is considered being a resident because you are independent- when renting, you have to pay for the rent monthy, and to pay for the rent you get a job in California, thus contributing to the economy there, i understand that but what if you have a person that lives with relatives does none of this?? But like i said, i know my cousin does hold a job and payes a fixed amount monthly.</p>

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<p>Someone from California, and certainly someone from the UC or Cal systems would be best to answer your questions. BUT if someone is working full time and paying taxes in CA then they too are contributing to the CA economy. In addition, that person, even if residing with relatives, might have things like a CA drivers license, a CA bank account, a CA license plate for their car, receive mail in CA, etc. My guess is that IF you still have the above things in the name of another state your residency status could be questioned. AND you cannot under any circumstances be declared as a dependent on your parents taxes as residents of another state (except in very unusual circumstances). SO...if your cousin was living in CA, working full time in CA, had her residency fully in CA, was not accepting money from parents from outside of CA, was not a dependent on tax returns from outside of CA, did not file her own taxes outside of CA....and these were all done for a sufficient amount of time per the guidelines of the state of CA, then she would be considered instate, I believe. </p>

<p>I guess the real thing to consider is that if ALL it took was residing in a particular state for one year and poof you were an instate resident for tuition purposes, many many students would simply do this. BUT this is NOT the case.</p>

<p>By the way, was your cousin a dependent student for finaid purposes (and there are VERY specific criteria for being independent)?? Because if not...her parent's state of residency is likely considered hers.</p>

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<p>I know several college students whose parents have purchased a condo or small house for them to live in near campus. They share rent w friends, which pays the note, and obtain in-state residency. After college, they sell it.</p>

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I do not know any states that make residency easy for undergrads. In order to get state residency, your parents often have to move there and in many states file tax forms there. It is easier if you are a grad student or over 24 as you are no longer dependent on your parents' address. Still, you have to have a primary reason for being in the state other than being a student, difficult to establish when you are a full time student. My D is going through this process for when she goes to medical school. THough she has gone to college in that state for 3, years --it will be 4 before she is done, that alone will not be a basis for her to get state residency for tuition purposes.

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<p>So if you wanted a degree out of state and moved on your own but were under 24 you are not independent??? That really makes no sense to me.</p>

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<p>Just as for financial aid a student under 24 years is determined to be dependent unless they are honorably discharged from military, have a dependent , are married or have been a ward of the state at age 18, states determine that a student is dependent and a resident of the state he and his parents reside and pay taxes in.
State residents pay a hella lot of taxes and one of the benefits is instate tuition. If you are independent and move to a state for one year before you register for classes you can be judged to be a resident of that state. Other than that, it is pretty hard to be judged a resident if you have not graduated from high school in the state</p>

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<p>If it were easy to become instate for tuition purposes, there would be very, very out of state kids at the state universities. THere are some schools and some states that are easier than others to get in-state status. However, for most states, you need to have a parent with an in-state address who has paid taxes (has filed the state tax return) for the prior year. There are ways to game the system; there always are, but they are a pain in the neck and may involve some lying. There is always that route; getting something through cheating, lying, stealing, but there are the attendent risks in going that way.</p>

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<p>This is the way it is. If you are under 24 you have to fulfil some pretty strict guidelines in most places to gain in-state status. For college tuition purposes, you are not independent unless you are married, have dependent children of your own, are over 24, have your first bachelor's degree, are an orphan, or were a ward of the state when you graduated. Oh...and you cannot be declared as a dependent on anyone's taxes or take financial support from your parents. That is simply the way it is. As I said earlier...if all it took was residing in a state for one year and you gained in-state status (or even independent student status for that matter) most students would be paying in state tuition, AND there would be a LOT of independent students. This is simply not the case.</p>

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<p>So what if you want a second bach. degree? Your parents still have to pay??</p>

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<p>no you would be assumed to be independent after you have graduated from college
However keep in mind that you would be better off by obtaining a graduate degree rather than attempting a 2nd BA in most cases.
Aid is going to be very hard to find for a 2nd BA and you may find admission difficult at many schools. Even if you are drastically changing majors ( from Poetry to Physics for example), advisors will often recommend you take the missed classes as a non matriculated student or at a community college than apply for grad school rather than attempt a BA.</p>

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<p>The standard I have heard used is that if you are in the state ONLY for the purposes of attending school there, then you're not a state resident. That would address the "second bachelors" or graduate degree question.</p>

<p>U-Michigan is very hardcore about residency. They recently relaxed one rule for married couples but they're still tough.</p>

<p>Another reason residency fraud is bad is that at some institutions, admissions is tougher/different for out of state students. So you're not just gaming the system to pay less, you're putting yourself in a different applicant pool and therefore also (possibly) gaining admission fraudulently.</p>

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<p>well being independent- resident are two different things
Your income would be evaluated not your parents for many schools post college graduation- however your residency would be assumed to be where you are living ,not your parents. ( also some schools generally private want your parents income anyway)
If your parents live in say, Indiana, and you graduated from college in Colorado, if you waited another year ( in Colorado) before you applied to school, you should be considered a Colorado resident.
The safe rule of thumb is to live in the state that you are interested in living for a year before you apply. If you live there a shorter period, you are usually considered to having moved there for the purpose of education and wont be considered a resident.
If you are not independent then you are usually considered a resident of whatever state your parents reside in ( & or you attended high school)</p>

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<p>
[quote]
no you would be assumed to be independent after you have graduated from college
However keep in mind that you would be better off by obtaining a graduate degree rather than attempting a 2nd BA in most cases.
Aid is going to be very hard to find for a 2nd BA and you may find admission difficult at many schools. Even if you are drastically changing majors ( from Poetry to Physics for example), advisors will often recommend you take the missed classes as a non matriculated student or at a community college than apply for grad school rather than attempt a BA.

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<p>But what if you don't know what field you want in grad school?</p>

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<p>I am assuming that if you were interested in a 2nd BA then it was because you have changed your field of interest from your first BA.
If you still don't know what you are interested in after obtaining an undergrad degree, most schools ( or at least the UW which I am familiar with) would recommend that you take courses as a nonmatriculated student ( without formally applying) until you decide your focus. The courses you took still should be applicable to your program whether you took them before matriculation or after.
SOme schools do have post baccalaurate programs, like in education or nursing, but typically to apply for an entirely new BA seems a little redundant unless you did really really badly the first time around.
You really shouldn't need to take freshman english again or intro to psych. Many students, even those who are intending to apply to grad school take a year or two off to work or travel before applying.
That experience may be enough to help you make a decision about getting more focused.
What is your degree in? Is it something that can cross over to many fields?</p>

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I am assuming that if you were interested in a 2nd BA then it was because you have changed your field of interest from your first BA.

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<p>No. A second degree in a somewhat related field. First degree is Anthropology; interested in second degree in Native American Studies (or at least classes in that area), although I am also interested in archaeology/forensic anthropology. The point is--I have to pick a subfield of anthro for MA/MS/PhD. I am interested in too many things though. I just started the anthro program this past spring, after debating on and off again for a long while (years) about whether to switch into it.</p>