<p>I know that everyone thinks of doing that and all but here's my situation: My mom lives in VA and my dad lives abroad, they both have a state residency in virginia. My dad has a bank account here and everything and he pays taxes even though he's living abroad. By the time I go to college my mom will have moved abroad too. Since my dad pays taxes to Virginia abroad now can't he pay taxes to the other state I want to move to? I know that I can't do switch it before having lived there but I'm talking for second year and on, especially that I don't intend on stopping college after earning a Bachelors. Can someone tell me if I can do that? Thanks!</p>
<p>You MIGHT be able to maintain your VA residency once your mom moves abroad. MIGHT…you need to check VA’s residency guidelines.</p>
<p>Your residence is based on where you (and your parents) RESIDE…not where they pay taxes. My husband worked in Massachusetts and believe me, we paid a ton of taxes to them. BUT we reside in a neighboring state. Our kids did NOT qualify for instate tuition there.</p>
<p>YOU (and your parent) would need to relocate to that new state and establish residency there a year before you plan to enroll as an instate student in that state.</p>
<p>P.S. What’s wrong with the instate U’s in VA…many OOS students are dying top come there.</p>
<p>Stay in Virginia - GREAT in-state options.</p>
<p>VA is the #1 state we considered moving to for the IS college choices. Top schools of varying size at bargain prices.</p>
<p>I realize VA is not your top choice, but review Thumper’s post. Before your mom goes overseas, by worried about at least maintaining VA residency requirements.</p>
<p>I know one family where the parent purchased a house but worked overseas most of the year (8 months). The student took a “gap” , lived in the house and worked in the state. In that state, the family was able to qualify for IS tuition. This was over 5 years ago and the requirements may have changed. </p>
<p>My advice is to speak to schools directly and read the websites for the fine print.</p>
<p>In most states, you cannot gain in-state residency while attending college there. You must have moved to the state for a valid non-educational reason at least 12 months BEFORE enrolling in college there.</p>
<p>Please check very, very carefully with the college that you want to attend. Never, ever “fib” about residency. Count on Admissions to check your records – they will as thousands of dollars are at stake. </p>
<p>A student who “fibs” and tries to do something clever (like use the address of Grandpa’s cabin or a mailbox at a postal center) can be booted from college on an honor violation. Or the college can simply withhold the diploma until all nonresident fees are paid up. </p>
<p>Believe me, fellow students who hear that you are from Virginia (from your voice, your T shirt collection, your stories) will be on the look out to see if you are paying nonresident fees (otherwise you are ripping off their college). </p>
<p>Contact the Dream College directly and see what it takes to get a fee waiver. Sometimes a college will waive nonresident fees for a strong scholar or athlete. It’s worth asking about. Then you can attend with your head held high. Good luck!</p>
<p>Yes, check with the state U you’re interested. Back in the dark ages when I went there, Iowa counted you as a resident after your first year. It was a godsend for me.</p>
<p>I think Va. has a waiting period before you can be eligible for in-state tuition. Other states may do the same. In other words, if you switch to another state, and then want to be considered a Virginian again, you may not be able to until the following school year.</p>
<p>I agree that Va. has terrific in-state public university choices - many people would love to be in-state there. Be careful what you are giving up. Many Virginians work overseas or are stationed in the military overseas and purposefully maintain their Virginia residency.</p>
<p>Once you pick a state, stick to it - change everything to that state as soon as possible - voter registration, car registration, etc.</p>
<p>I’d do a search on whatever state you are interested in; it’s easy to find the official information. I’d rather not mention the state, but when we were looking, an admisssions counselor said that when she attended the college where she now worked, it was pretty easy to switch from OOS to resident during her college years.</p>
<p>Also, set up a bank account in the desired state today.</p>
<p>guys i’m sorry if i didn’t make this clear, but my residency is in virginia and i want to go to college in california if i can hopefully get accepted…</p>
<p>If your residency is in VA, you will be paying OOS tuition to attend a public university in CA…and it’s mighty expensive. Unless your FAMILY moves to CA a full year prior to your enrollment in college in CA…you will be considered an out of state resident. It’s NOT all that easy to just “change” your residency status.</p>
<p>At this point…you are an instate resident of VA…I know families who relocated to VA prior to their kids’ going to college because of the large number of fine public universities there.</p>
<p>I think it would be wise to very carefully do research on the current state of any CA colleges. The public colleges have had massive budget cuts and classes are overflowing. There are lots of CA kids not being admitted. </p>
<p>In addition to the OSS fees and the transportation costs, there is also a fairly high cost of housing in San Francisco and LA. Please research carefully!</p>
<p>CA state schools are all having budget crunches. My son just graduated from Cal Poly SLO and it took 5 years. Class availability is a BIG issue and the primary reason it took him 5 years. And, it is only getting worse. In-state tuition is going up by leaps and bounds (don’t follow out of state tuition). OOS tuition is already pretty high, same as a lot of expensive private schools.</p>
<p>Off campus (actually, WAY off campus) housing costs for my son were about twice what I am currently paying for my daughter, in college in Massachusetts and also off campus this year.</p>
<p>As a previous poster stated, it is RESIDENCY, of your parents that counts for CA.</p>
<p>“Unless your FAMILY moves to CA a full year prior to your enrollment in college in CA.”</p>
<p>And before yor turn 18!</p>
<p>Residency of parents only counts before age 18 (for “minors”).</p>
<p>
It could be more complicated than that. My parents were in the foreign service and could claim residency anywhere they had property. They were officially Florida residents for a while even though we had never lived there. That said, I don’t think your Dad could just pick a state and declare himself a resident there for your convenience.</p>
<p>You don’t get to choose which state to declare for residency when you/parents live abroad, your family history of US residency matters. Each state decides how to handle state taxes- income and property. It is not enough to own property in a state to be a state resident. Some states make it very tough to get residency, you would need a full time job instate for at least a year, or your parents would if you are still a minor. It therefore would be very difficult to attend school and become a resident- you would be working full time (40 hours per week) plus paying OOS tuition for that year for a light college load. Not cost effective. When families move to a state they may need to be there at least 12 months before any children get instate tuition, tough for folks who get a job transfer to a state during senior year of HS- they lose residency in the old state but don’t have it in the new one long enough. States may allow you to be a state resident for college tuition if you graduated from HS instate but your parents then move OOS.</p>
<p>Confused yet? The bottom line is that you likely have residency status in Virginia, especially if you finish HS there. No way to easily become another state’s resident, especially for college tuition- states are savvy to attempts to save money.</p>