<p>Alright, so heres the deal.
I'm currently a student at Penn State and my parents live in NYC. I currently pay out of state tuition. Although this is true, I do have a Pennsylvania Drivers License, pay taxes for the state of PA, Rent my apartment in PA, and work part time in PA.</p>
<p>I have also been living here for non-education purposes for roughly 3 months.</p>
<p>Is there any way to achieve in-state tution? Do I need some other credentials?
I went to my financial aid office and they were like "It's really difficult to do so", and did not give me very specific details.</p>
<p>It’s almost impossible if you grew up in NY or any other state for that matter to become a resident for educational reasons. If you could, everyone would do it.</p>
<p>Talk to the school - either admissions or finance office will have someone who knows all the ins and outs. You will likely have to be independent from your parents, meaning they don’t claim you as an dependent on their tax return and you file as an independent for financial aide.</p>
<p>In most cases, students can NOT establish instate residency WHILE they are enrolled in college. The residency for students under the age of 25 is almost always the place of residence of their PARENTS. Your parents reside in NY State. That is where THEY pay taxes to support the state universities. You are an instate student THERE. It is not easy to establish residency in a state other than the one in which your parents reside. I think you already KNOW this and hope there is some sort of “loophole”. There isn’t.</p>
<p>If it were as easy as going to school and having a driver’s license and a part time job in a state (to pay taxes), there would be NO students paying out of state tuition after their freshman year. Think about it…that is simply not the case…nor should it be.</p>
<p>What Cartera writes is only part of the requirement for being independent from your parents. You would need to demonstrate that you have generated sufficient income in PA to support all of your living expenses (including your college costs). If that were the case, you wouldn’t probably NEED instate tuition.</p>
<p>Here is a blurb from the Penn State website that speaks to what Thumper said:</p>
<p>Q: I have now lived in Pennsylvania for a year, while attending Penn State, and have registered to vote, obtained a PA driver’s license, and pay Pennsylvania state taxes. Am I now a resident for tuition purposes?</p>
<p>A: Generally, unless a student has 12 months of continuous residence in the state prior to enrollment, the student is considered a non-resident. The 12 month requirement cannot be met while attending Penn State - the student is assumed to be in the Commonwealth for educational purposes. Although the student might be considered a resident of the Commonwealth, the student would remain as a non-resident for tuition purposes, unless there was clear evidence that the student’s circumstances had changed and that a permanent, independent domicile in Pennsylvania has been established.</p>
<p>Until you’re 24 it’s hard to be considered a resident of any state your parent’s are not residents of. Some states make it impossible and the ones where it is possible usually make you live in state and not attend school for 1 year first. What PA requires should be stated clearly on your school’s website.</p>