<p>@thumper1 I’m not attending college abroad nor will I be attend college in the US as an expat (i’ve got an American passport = US citizen). Yes, i’m positive that I’ll qualify for IS tuition - my aunt verified this as she talked to others that are in charge of such things (don’t what they’re called). My parents currently reside in KSA for work purposes but my dad previously resided in VA for 20 years. </p>
<p>If he hasn’t lived there for the last 12 months, that may not matter. If they still own a house there and consider it their residence for tax purposes, that kind of thing may help. </p>
<p>@intparent It depends on what my family’s EFC is like. My dad is willing to pay for an expensive school if he feels it’s worth while. My dad highly values education and has paid our crazy high school fees for the past 14 years, he says he sees no reason why he shouldn’t do the same for college if he’s able to pay. </p>
<p>Not every parent is able to come up with a quarter of a million dollars… that is what it costs now for those schools if you are full pay. I am also going to say… for an accounting degree, that seems excessive. Yes, you will have a great undergrad experience, but that is a degree that can be acquired less expensively and with very similar quality at other schools. Just something to think about.</p>
<p>@intparent No they don’t own a house there anymore. But it’s highly likely that my dad will buy a house in the next year or so; just haven’t found anything suitable as of yet. I don’t understand why that will help? Anyway my dad has said to not worry about the instate thing as he’ll sort it out. </p>
<p>My dad income isn’t that high. If it helps give you idea of what my EFC is like, my dad’s income is around $110K sans tax (no income tax in KSA). I should qualify for aid right? I understand that it’s not worth it for accounting to pay that much. I did mention before that i’ve got absolutely no issue with going to either UVA or College of William & Mary (just not GMU). </p>
<p>Well… he can’t sort state law. And you need to reside 12 months prior to enrolling in college per the website. I am not saying it isn’t possible, especially depending on why he has been out of the country (certain government or military jobs may have exceptions, for example), but I would sure want something in writing from the universities before I relied on it.</p>
<p>@intparent hahah that’s not what i mean’t. According to my aunt, who has looked up on this issue, the fact that my family has an address in VA, my dad has a valid Virginia drivers license, pays state tax, and will have a property there, makes me eligible for VA residency. </p>
<p>As I said… if your dad owns property there and pays state income tax in Virginia now even while living abroad, my guess is you will get instate tuition. But if that is not the case, maybe not. States are very strict about this these days.</p>
<p>@intparent Do you know if i’ll be eligible for financial aid? I mentioned my dad’s income in the other post. </p>
<p>Liberal arts colleges usually don’t offer degrees in accounting. If accounting is your goal, you might want to revise your college list based on which colleges offer accounting majors in your possible geographies. And, many accounting programs take 5 years to complete in order to qualify for the CPA requirements (though perhaps your advanced standing credits might help with this…not sure) so that adds some significant cost. </p>
<p>Are any of your relatives people with whom you can envision yourself living for four years? I’d use that as another criteria. </p>
<p>I think you need to check FOR SURE that you qualify for instate status in VA. Your family does NOT reside there. Your family doesn’t own a house there. You have lived abroad for many years, and so has your family. If your father is in the armed forces or is a U.S. Government employee working abroad on assignment, then MSYBE you would qualify for instate tuition in Virginia. If not, it’s a mystery to me why you would.</p>
<p>Simply holding a U.S. Passport does not guarantee you instate tuition. All that does in terms of college is allow you to complete a FAFSA, and apply for federally funded need based aid.</p>
<p>I agree with Intparent…I don’t think instate residency is a slam dunk for you…and I’m not sure why your aunt or you feels it is. I would absolutely want something in writing.</p>
<p>You have an uphill battle establishing instate residency in VA. You are not graduating from an instate VA high school. Your parents don’t reside in VA. Your parents don’t even own property in VA (that in and of itself would not matter anyway). Your parents are not paying state taxes to Virginia as residents. You and your whole family live abroad. </p>
<p>ETA…with $110,000 in income…your family contribution would be between $30,000 and $40,000 a year most likely. You will not receive need based aid for the family contribution part…your family will be expected to pay that amount…at least. You would not qualify for any federally funded grant money with an income of $110,000. For federally funded aid, you would get a $5500 Direct Loan.</p>
<p>@arabrab I’ve already done that. The only school on my list that doesn’t offer a degree in accounting is Wellesley. </p>
<p>I’m honestly not sure, I only know a few of my relatives in virginia, one relative in boston/minneapolis as I rarely visit the US (mostly go to Europe). But I can’t imagine i’ll have any issue living with the ones that I’ve met/know. The others, I have no clue - do know that it’ll be weird at first since I don’t know them. </p>
<p>@thumper1 I honestly don’t know >.< What I do know is that my aunt has talked to those that are responsible for this sort of stuff and they’ve come to the conclusion that I will get instate tuition. It’s highly likely that I’m missing something but I do trust what my aunt has found out. But to be certain, i’ll talk to my dad about this again whenever he’s free today. </p>
<p>@pink997 Muslim-American girl checking in 
My parents, thankfully, don’t care where I apply (though we’re relatively conservative. I wear a headscarf and whatnot). As other posters mentioned, I think you should look into whether the schools you’re interested in will actually allow you to live off campus. A lot of schools are really strict about getting all freshmen to live on campus, and you might not be able to live off campus, even if you wanted to. If a school compels you to live on campus, would your dad let you attend?
Why don’t you look into the Muslim Students Associations at the various schools you like? I’m used to living around a large Muslim community, and I know that for my own college choices, my top schools have to have a good Muslim population (now, keep in mind that the Muslim population might not necessarily be large,haha.) Look at the MSA events, and stuff they do for Ramadan, friday prayer, etc, and show all of that to your dad. Assure him that which an MSA like the one in question, you’ll always be a part of a Muslim community.
Also, I know a Muslim girl who was commuting to a school literally 15 minutes away from her house. Her classes/study groups were so late at night that her parents just let her dorm during her second semester, because they didn’t want her travelling at night/being exhausted from the driving - it was 15 minutes of driving haha.
One more thing - have you visited any of the in-state schools your dad is pushing for? (Or any of your top top schools?)
You might end up liking an in-state school more, which would totally eliminate this issue 
Well, maybe not the dorming part, but honestly, if you live <30 min away from a school, you really should just save the ~10k of dorming costs. I have a lot of friends that commute, and they love it. They get momma’s home-cooked food, save $$$, and still get to hang out on campus for most of the day.</p>
<p>Don’t talk to your dad…or aunt. Talk to the VA schools about your instate status…or not. It is very possible that your aunt didn’t give them complete information, or didn’t speak to someone truly in the know. Often that happens if you speak to the person who answers the phones!</p>
<p>Our expat relatives owned a house in MD. They filed U.S. taxes when their kids were applying to college (does your dad do this?). They paid a ton of real estate taxes to MD. They had resided in MD. Their kids did NOT have instate status…anywhere. They were residents of another country and so were their parents. They graduated from an international school abroad. No instate status…and this is the case for a lot, if not most, expats.</p>
<p>I’m not meaning to be snarky, but really, you need to know this for sure before you continue this college search. You also need a bottom line on what your parents WILL pay annually for four years of college. Ask your dad that. $20,000 a year will not be enough unless you get a really good merit tuition award (most of the schools on your list don’t give those).</p>
<p>If you are really a competitive applicant for Georgetown, would you have the stats to get the guaranteed merit awards University of Alabama offers?</p>
<p>@marshmallowpop Totally forgot to check up on that. Hopefully most of the colleges I’m considering make freshmen live in dorms - my dad won’t be able to have a say in it then. I think if it’s compulsory to live in a dorm as a freshman my dad probably will allow it. The only one i’ve looked into is the one in Wellesley. I’ll make sure to do the same for all the others. Although, for some like UMN it’s fine regardless as there is a thriving Somali community in Minneapolis. </p>
<p>If you don’t me asking, which schools are you considering? It’ll help give me a better idea of which colleges have a good muslim community. </p>
<p>Nope, however, I will be visiting the US this summer with my family for that very reason. The thing is that I do love two of my instate options but they’re several hours away (2-4 hours) from where my relatives live in the state. </p>
<p>@thumper1 Yes, my dad has filed U.S taxes every year that we have lived abroad but i’m not certain that he pays state tax. My family resides in the KSA but we’re NOT permenant residents. The only reason we’ve got residency here is because my dad’s company has provided us with temporary residence. In other word, if my dad loses his job now we will need to leave the country immediately and will not be able to return to live here again. Does that make a difference? </p>
<p>You may very well be right that i won’t qualify for instate tuition, but i’ll still to get in contact with the schools to see what they say. </p>
<p>UA offers great merit scholarships, and has an excellent accounting program. But I doubt it will pass the OP’s father’s muster because it doesn’t have a large Muslim support network.</p>
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<p>Note that CPA licensing often requires 150 semester credits, including a bachelor’s or master’s degree – this is five years worth of college course work States may vary on specific courses and majors, and whether AP, IB, A-level, or CLEP credit can be used. In some cases, the bachelor’s or master’s degree need not be in accounting, but substantial accounting and other specified course work needs to be included, which may mean that majoring in a non-accounting subject would be difficult to do to prepare for CPA licensing.</p>
<p>Many expats need to leave their country abroad if they lose their jobs. I don’t think this would qualify you for instate status in VA.</p>
<p>What DOES make you think you would qualify for instate status? </p>
<p>@thumper1 I’m directly quoting from this -> <a href=“http://www.schev.edu/students/vadomicile.asp”>http://www.schev.edu/students/vadomicile.asp</a></p>
<p>-Social ties
-Voter registration and actual voting
-Driver’s license
- My family has a VA address</p>
<p>I’m aware that only shows domiciliary intent but it’s something. I’ll ask my dad why my aunt says i qualify for instate residency and I’ll inform you. </p>