We gained Texas residency through a property purchase and got in-state tuition since sophomore year. We would not have been able to afford UT if not for this Texas law. Out LHS loves it and we are so happy he made the choice to go there. Putting this out there to make it easier for other prospective families to know about this - we stumbled upon it. #HookEm
We are interested in doing this too! DS will enroll as a freshman this year but we would like to purchase a property so that he can gain residency. Do you mind sharing the process? Do you simply buy a piece of property or are other things to consider? Does the student need to stay in Texas even during the summer? How do you change your status after the purchase? Do you simply inform the school’s admissions office? Thank you!
You have to fill out a request. They don’t make it easy. When we did it, it asked if the PARENTS provided more than 50% of the student’s support during the year. I think that would be a hangup for a lot of people. We could honestly answer “NO” because our son’s grandparents were the ones paying his tuition freshman year (I don’t think you can get in state tuition the first year, by the way) and that was more than half his support.
You can call UT and ask to speak to their residency person. When we went through the process, it was a woman who was very helpful. They don’t mind if you try to do this.
We were able to get our son in-state tuition starting his sophomore year, but then his mental illness got so severe that he had to drop out just a few weeks into the semester. All that work down the drain. 
Hi,
Sorry to hear that he had to drop out. Was there any help available prior to him starting school to scaffold such a situation?
I am asking for a friend who might need this.
Thanks
@ZeeMass, he had LOTS of support. My dad was a professor at the time. At one point, Son thought he had physical issues and ended up on crutches, so Dad drove him to his classes. He got lots of accommodations through the Disabilities Office. I was in constant communication with his advisor. I talked to people at Taos, where he was moving into. My sister and her husband took him under his wing. He met weekly with a psychiatrist who was wonderful. Etc., etc. But schizophrenia is a horrible disease and it was just too much for him. That was 2011. He’s on Social Security now and lives in supported housing. Really a hard road, especially since he was studying biomedical engineering when he fell ill. It was like a lightning bolt.
The Disabilities Office was very helpful. If you have any specific questions, let me know. Of course, that was awhile back now, so things have probably changed.
Hi, we recently contacted the residency office for answers to similar questions. Unfortunately it is email only at this time, no live person to speak with, but they replied that to start, the student must get a TX driver’s license, register to vote there, and file their own 2020 tax return without us claiming them as a dependent.
Once those basic requirements were met, we were told that there was no limit to how much financial support we could provide to our student and that they could either start a business, work a thousand hours over the course of a year, purchase a residential property in the student’s name, or get married to a resident, all of these in TX of course.
The business route seems to be the best bet for us, options 2 and 3 while possible would be difficult, and I hope #4 is totally and completely out of the question.
@NGPBoston, could you please let us know about how the property purchase option worked for your student? I second jinhui’s concerns. We have received conflicting information about the requirements and I would love to be able to hear from someone who has actually gone through the process. Thanks.
Note that you can’t just start a business to gain the residency requirement. You have to start a business and be actively involved in the business on a regular basis. This is actually a difficult way to gain the residency status and not very common. The easiest way is to buy a property. If you cannot afford to do that, then students will often work the 20 hours/week for the 12 months, but mind you, on a full-time student this is very difficult, and now especially with covid, extremely difficult.
Getting residency is definitely worth it. It is important that your child file their own tax return as an independent, live in Texas for 12 months prior to applying for residency, which is why they cannot apply until sophomore year, attain a driver’s license, bank accounts, register to vote, etc. The residency is very helpful, but right now there is no live person so you need to email them.
This is what we have done. Purchased a property, which was pretty easy.
In the 11th month there is a form online at their Texas account that they fill out. After that they will ask for certain documents to verify residency status. You will then receive a decision. If you buy a property, you then only need to actually own it for 1 year. We intend to keep ours at this point indefinitely. It is currently rented out, so there is really no downside for us. If it becomes burdensome then we will reconsider. My LHD will not be living in it at all. They are supposed to stay in Texas in the summer to establish residency, because the idea is that yes, you have established residency by living there for 12 consecutive months.