Residency Requirements - University of Florida

[Lilly5]

<p>Does anyone have any information on the residency requirements at the Univ. of Florida? We have toured a couple other schools (Univ. of Missouri and Univ of TX, Austin) that have mentioned that it is possible for a student to establish residency in their state before their sophomore year of college. This is a huge help as tuition would then drop to the in-state rates for the last 3 years. We were wondering if this might be possible at the University of Florida too?? </p>

[Gator88NE]

<p>It’s possible, but…</p>

<p>

Living in or attending school in Florida will not, in itself, establish legal residence for tuition purposes.

</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.admissions.ufl.edu/residency.html”>http://www.admissions.ufl.edu/residency.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If your student is a “dependent” student (most likely, see the above link), then residency for in-state tuition is based on the parent’s residency. If you where to move to Florida, after 12 months you could submit proof of residency (see above link again) and request to be re-classified as an in-state student. </p>

<p>I would think Texas and Missouri are similar?</p>

<p>For UT-Austin:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>My parents live in a state other than Texas and claim me on their taxes. Can I establish residency?</p>

<p>If your parents live in another state and claim you as a dependent on their federal income taxes, then you are not eligible to establish residency unless one of the following is true:</p>

<p>◾You are graduating from a Texas high school.
Your parents can claim a temporary absence from Texas.
You are over the age of 18 and your parents stop claiming you as a dependent when filing federal income taxes; in this case you would be eligible to establish residency as an independent student.

</p>

<p><a href=“http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/residency/faq”>http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/residency/faq&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Perhaps it’s easier being classified as an “independent” in Texas? However, I think it may be the same. You should check with UT-Austin and UM.</p>

<p>Florida’s description of an “independent” student:

An independent student must be
•24 years of age prior to the start of the term, or
•married, or
•have a dependent child, or
•a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces or is currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training, or
•both parents are deceased, or the student is or was (until age 18) a ward/dependent of the court or in foster care, or
•the student is determined an unaccompanied homeless by a school district homeless liaison, or
•student is working on a master’s or doctoral degree, or
•provide a minimum of 51% of his or her own support

</p>

<p>Good Luck!!</p>

[Lilly5]

<p>Thanks both Missouri and Texas brought it up during the tour presentation and Missouri even gave out forms. Both said it was very easy to do and most out of state students just need to stay in the state the majority of the summer following their freshman year and they would be able to claim residency at the beginning of their sophomore year. This was all great news at both of these colleges - we just wondered if something like that worked in Florida too. </p>

[Gator88NE]

<p>Not that I’m aware of, but perhaps others can pipe in with their experience (it didn’t come up in our tour, last year, at UF). UF (and Georgia) require that the Parents of the dependent student be residents of the state. </p>

<p>On a completely side note, you may find this thread interesting (in the Parent’s forum), on what happen when someone got caught faking residency in Georgia. If his daughter went to Missouri or Texas, it wouldn’t have been an issue, as she could have applied for in-state status after her freshman year!</p>

<p><a href=“Here is what can happen if you fake your residency in Georgia order to get in state tuition - Parents Forum - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1668160-here-is-what-can-happen-if-you-fake-your-residency-in-georgia-order-to-get-in-state-tuition-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>By the way, all three schools you’re looking at are great. :)</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

[Lilly5]

<p>Thanks so much for your input - maybe someone will else will pipe in too - but I appreciate your comments a lot. We are Georgia residents. My daughters favorite school s the University of Florida - so that is why I’m asking. It is of course also very difficult to get into. Do you have a child at Florida? If so, are you out of state too? </p>

[Gator88NE]

<p>My DD is a freshman and we’re in-state. It’s hard to get in, but even harder to score one of the (merit) OOS scholarships! However, you’ll never know if you don’t try. The application fee is only $30.</p>

<p>Then again, you could always move to sunny Florida! :)</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>