<p>I am about to enter my senior year in high school and have been looking at a lot of college tuition rates. My question is do a lot of college-bound students live in the state of the college they are going to attend to take advantage of the lower in-state tuition cost, because I know in most states you become a legal resident after one year of living independently. I am asking because it seems like a good idea, but many of my college friends who are juniors or seniors in college come home for the summer, even though it would be beneficial to stay in the state of their college.</p>
<p>For college tuition purposes, in most cases, your place of residency for in-state tuition purposes will be the home of your parents. Actually for college tuition purposes it is very difficult to become a legal resident and obtain independent status. It's not as simple as "one year of living independently" in a different state from that where your parents reside. To be independent for financial aid purposes, you must be 25 years of age, or married, or a parent of a dependent child you support yourself, or a veteran, or have a bachelor's degree, or be an orphan, or be a ward of the state. And as a dependent the state in which your parents reside will be the state where you will have in-state tuition status in most cases.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, I had no idea about the requirements for independent status, this changes a lot of things</p>
<p>So if my family moved to another state, I would have a better chance of receiving the in-state tuition rate?</p>
<p>Yes, but you wouldn't qualify for in-state tuition until your parents have lived in that state for a certain period of time (i.e. one or two years depending on the state). The College Board has information on state residency status for all 50 states on its website. You can find it here: <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/about/association/international/residency.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/about/association/international/residency.html</a>. </p>
<p>Depending on your location, you can also check out programs like Western Undergraduate Exchange (<a href="http://wue.wiche.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://wue.wiche.edu/</a>) for certain colleges in the Western US. Also, if you're looking at private schools as well they have a Tuition Exchange program too (<a href="http://www.tuitionexchange.org/)%5B/url%5D">http://www.tuitionexchange.org/)</a>.</p>
<p>I appreciate the info, it has been really helpful.</p>