I accidentally posted this reply in the other thread. Normally I wouldn’t repost here, but a lot of the replies are based on the assumption she’s an Irish citizen. She isn’t.
I agree with others that there are inconsistencies in the stories that have been told here. i also agree that the D needs to resolve her personal issues before even thinking about colllege.
But IMO it makes NO sense for this young woman to come to the US for school. She lives in NORTHERN IRELAND, not the Republic. Northern Ireland is part of the UK. She can go to a UK university as a UK citizen and the fees are lower than she is likely to have to pay in the US. Moreover, if those A levels are “for real,” she’s going to get into a better school in the UK than she’s likely to get into in the US WITHOUT having to take any additional test.
It seems just plain insane to me to do a gap year in the US to establish residency. In order for that to work, mom pretty much has to move to the US too. In some states, it won’t even work then. So, I gather the plan is this.
Mom and D move to the US and establish residence in a state. Presumably before doing this, mom and D have done their research and have picked out a state that has a public U D would like to attend. Mom and D will then get jobs in the US. (D can’t spend any part of the gap year doing anything out of state. In fact, it would be better if D stays at the same address as mom during that year. Wherever they live better have a long term lease. (Renting an apartment/home for a year is unlikely to qualify as establishing a domicile.)
The D will apply to college during this year. Then once she’s in, she’ll fill out the paperwork to be considered a resident for tuition purposes. She may well be turned down.
This doesn’t sound like a plan to me. YMMV.
ETA: If she keeps her official residence in Northern Ireland, she could, if she gets herself together, do something interesting during that gap year. She could even spend part of it in the US. Then she can apply to Oxbridge and other UK schools as well as American ones. If she gets into Harvard or Williams, she could still go there and you’d be able to compare the actual costs.
But again, straighten out the emotional stuff first.