My daughter is in a 2+4 pharmacy program out of state. She will enter the first year of the doctorate program next year. She is staying in that state this summer and has worked in that state all year. She also pays (through scholarship and working) well over 50% of her expenses. She has an instate scholarship for the next two years so we are wondering if she continues to work, pay for over 50. % of her expenses and stays in that state will she qualify for in state in her 5th year?
The University should have a published policy on this that you can likely find online.
Yes, every state school is different. You can also call the school and ask to speak to someone about residency. I found the woman at UT-Austin to be very helpful. They don’t mind answering questions.
I’ll punt. Your kiddo enrolled at this school in a 2+4 pharmacy program as an out of state student. If I were a betting woman, I’d say she will remain OOS.
In the very vast majority of cases, you cannot establish instate residency WHILE enrolled in college.
Looks like your daughter is at U of South Carolina (or is that a different daughter?).
Read this if USC…
http://www.sc.edu/bursar/doc/ApplicationforClassificationasaSouthCarolinaResidentForm.pdf
Is there a possibility of her becoming a graduate TA or RA? At some universities, those jobs come with a waiver of the out of state portion of tuition.
I am familiar with several graduate schools that have policies to grant in-state residency after the first year. I agree with the other posters that each school handles this differently and that policies should be readily available online or via your daughter’s department’s grad school office or via her FA office. My most recent grad student’s department (the grad school portion) actually handled those matters.
In fact, I know of several schools that require their grad students to apply for in-state residency prior to beginning their second year. My oldest had to. It’s somehow cheaper or better for the school (cannot remember how), and the student benefits, too. (Is it simply because their scholarships, grants, and fellowships go farther with in-state rates? Can’t remember right now.)
My daughter’s grad program wants her to apply for in-state after the first year and provided instructions on how to do so. Getting a state license or ID, change of address w/PO and all contacts, registering to vote, paying bills, getting health insurance, bank account, keeping a lease going over the summer, not leaving for more than 6 weeks, etc. The school is waiving OOS tuition for first year, but if she doesn’t establish residency for the following year(s) she will have to pay it.
When my son was a graduate student at a state university, he was asked to get a driver’s license in that state immediately to establish residency, even though he was a research assistant and wasn’t paying tuition. His department wanted him to do this so that the research grant that sponsored his assistantship would be able to pay his tuition at in-state rates.
I think he was only considered out-of-state during his first year.
I imagine it is easier for grad school than undergrad. In some cases the rules are set statewide. In states with the best public universities, they often have the strictest rules for gaining in-state status. Other states are trying to encourage OOS students to come to their state to live over the long-run, and may have more flexible rules.
When I was at graduate school, I paid the same tuition as in state student even I was international. So graduate school policy is different depending on the school.
This student is part of a 2+4 pharm program…which is a little different than a student who is a first year grad student at a new OOS university. This student was accepted to the 2+4 program as an OOS student.
The only way for this student to find out the answer about her situation is to talk to the folks at HER college. They will tell her if she can qualify for instate tuition, and if so, how to do so.
My own kid went to grad school in NC. He could have established residency for his second year if he had gotten a license, worked, had a lease, registered to vote, changed car registration, etc. he would have needed to do this just prior to the start of his first year of grad school (he was OOS the first year). So…it is possible in a traditional grad program to do this at some schools.
But this is a 2+4 program…the OP needs to contact their school…and ask.
Here is an example for one state:
Generally, a student who enters Wisconsin to attend any educational institution will continue in the nonresident status until the student’s reason for being in Wisconsin is clearly shown to be non-educational. Twelve months after the change in the student’s reason for being in Wisconsin, the student may wish to inquire about appealing their nonresident status.
Maybe she can find the answer on the school’s website.
What is the difference in tuition?
Here is another one:
*As a state-assisted institution, preference will be given to in-state applicants. In-state applicants are defined as South Carolina residents and any non-South Carolina residents attending a South Carolina college or university. In-state status as defined here only applies to the admission process. Residency for the purpose of tuition will be based upon the South Carolina Code of Laws.
Thanks for everyone’s responses. My daughter does go to South Carolina. She has signed a 12 month lease, will stay in South Carolina over the summers, works at the university, will get a South Carolina drivers license (because she can not come home to get her license renewed at her 21st birthday), has a South Carolina bank account, could easily register to vote. We did check the information and the only thing in question is the " supporting the majority of their expenses". She is definitely doing this with her scholarships and working during undergrad. She has in state tuition the next two years plus more with her original scholarship so we are just thinking ahead if possible. She could still earn more scholarship money. She still has time to ask too.
You say she HAS instate tuition for the next two years. If it’s just the last year, then she should inquire now about that…and also plan to save some money towards that last year.
The 6th year is pretty much all practicum rotations so I doubt she would be able to be a TA or RA at the university.
I don’t know if the independency proof depends on parents claiming student as a dependent on taxes. If they can because student doesn’t provide more than 50% of own support, then student can’t claim themselves. For the dependency test (IRS) scholarships don’t count in figuring support as far as I know.
You can call the university and clarify with them if she would qualify for residency and when.
From what I have seen they want you to establish a domicile in the state, not just live there for the purpose of education.
Now that your daughter will enter pharmacy school, does she have a requirement for getting intern hours? Will she be able to do them all in SC?
In response to Madison85’s helpful comments… I completed a PhD in at UWMadison, many years ago. I never established residency in the state, which would have required my dropping out of school (or completing school) and working for a year in Wisconsin. But I always paid tuition at an IN-state rate, because while enrolled in my program I was either paid as a TA or on fellowship. Thus I continued to vote absentee in California but for tuition purposes I was treated as an in-stater. This isn’t just a matter of university policy but is often set by the states.