<p>I got accepted to Michigan State and got in state tuition. I am afraid that now that my parents live and work in California that the info on my FASFA app will changed my tuition classification with the school. </p>
<p>My family and I still own a house in Michigan and my mom filed taxes for both Michigan & California for the most recent tax year. I am not sure what to put considering it asks for their state of residency, if they lived there for more than 5 years, and if they lived there before a specific date.</p>
<p>I am not sure what to do. I don't want to ruin my chances of keeping the in state tuition.</p>
<p>Amber. You just need to be honest. If your parents are now residents of California, you simply need to put that. If your designation is changed, it’s the way it is.</p>
<p>Remember, if you get instate status, and pay instate fees because you provided inaccurate information, this will not bode well with your college. Colleges frown on dishonesty. You will be asked to repay the difference if you got in state rates when you really are no longer an instate resident.</p>
<p>If you are a high school senior NOW, and your parents live in CA NOW, I’m not sure why you would have been granted instate residency, unless you put your Michigan residence as you address.</p>
<p>Here is the rub. Your parents are no longer michigan residents. When they file their 2014 taxes, they will be filing as residents of California. If they file taxes for any reason in michigan, it will be as non-residents. Your parents’ w-2 forms will have CA addresses on them. Their IRS federal return will have a CA address on it. </p>
<p>I’ve heard FASFA has nothing to do with the way your classified. Then again I have heard the opposite. I researched the schools websites and have found no answers. Thanks for your input though! I know honesty is the best I would just hate to ruin my chance. </p>
<p>If the address of residence on your FAFSA, and the address of residence on your application do not match, it will raise some questions at the college. </p>
<p>And if it doesn’t show up this year, it surely will next year…your parents W-2 forms for 2014 will have a CA address. They will be filing state taxes as residents of CA. If they file in Michigan at all, it would be as non-residents. </p>
<p>I would suggest you contact the college. Each school has a means for determining and continuing in state residency status. It might be that you were given this status because you graduated from a Michigan public high school…and put a Michigan address on your application. And if you were really entitled to instate status even though your parents moved, you might be entitled to it all four years of undergrad.</p>
<p>Then again, at some public universities, your residency status is reclassified if your family moves out of state.</p>
<p>On another thread, you indicated that your parents have been living in and working in California for the better part of a year. This means that they really are CA residents now. Were you paying tuition to continue to attend your public high school in Michigan? One would think that would have been required as well.</p>
<p>Regardless…you just need to tell it honestly. You might very well lose your instate tuition designation. If that happens, it is because it is the policy of the college to do this. </p>
<p>What the school has told me is that since I lived in Michigan all of my life and graduated from a MI high school then I am fine. They told me they don’t look any further into it than that. I graduated back in 2013, I am going into my sophomore year of college and would be a transfer student. I went to a school in Arizona for a year paying out of state. I explained my situatuion to the school and they said there is no 100% guarantee that they won’t switch my tuition on me though. My mom did work/live in michigan up until the end of July. My parents still have Michigan licenses and still pay taxes on our home there. Just confused on what to put and so are my parents. </p>
<p>Well, honestly, there are guidelines on when your parents were supposed to get their licenses in CA. But that is another whole issue.</p>
<p>Their residence is California. They just happen to be paying some property taxes on a second home in Michigan. Lots of people do that. Think of all the folks who own vacation homes who reside in other states. </p>
<p>Is the house in Michigan sitting empty, or is it being rented? You also my have to list that home on your FAFSA as an asset since it is not your primary residence.</p>
<p>I think you need to get your tuition status firmly clarified. That you went to college elsewhere, and were not a resident of MI, and your parents were not, for over a year could really impact your status. </p>
<p>Your mother needs to declare where she is a resident. If she owns real estate in Michigan, votes there, registers her car there, INTENDS to live there, then she lives there. If she earns money in California she would need to pay taxes on it as an out of state resident, which may cost her more in California. A lot of people have homes in two states (some in several) and they have to have a primary residence. Is your mother’s in MI? Ask her.</p>
<p>My opinion…if your parent doesn’t have a residence…an actual place to live…in Michigan, it will be very hard to prove instate residency. That is why I asked about the house. If it’s sitting empty, and it’s your moms home…then MAYBE she would be viewed as a MI resident (although residency usually means you actually reside greater than six months in the state). If that house is rented to others, it is not her residence. It just isn’t.</p>
<p>My mom now works in California. One of our cars is still registered Michigan. Pretty sure my mom is registered to vote in MI still. My parents go back and forth to visit but I don’t know how long they plan on keeping the house for. This summer I am going to be living in my house there. I have heard that residency is determined off of where your income is from. I know my dads residency is for sure California, since he has been living/working there since 2011. For the most recent tax year my mom has spent over half of the year making income in Michigan, and since July 2013 she has been working in California.</p>
<p>I guess my concern is that since the school told me that I was classified as in state and they don’t look any further into it after being classified, is my fafsa info going to change my classification. Or is submitting fafsa to the school really only for the getting money part and not the tuition classification. So confused! </p>
<p>The FAFSA is used to determine your eligibility for federally funded need based aid. </p>
<p>But honestly, it is my opinion that if the documents don’t match in terms of address, someone COULD question your residency.</p>
<p>Your mom has been working in CA for almost a year. Your dad for several years. </p>
<p>I don’t know the definitive answer to your question, but I DO think you need to contact the college and find out. If you can’t afford to pay the OOS costs, and that is what you will be facing…even if it’s a year from now, you need to know that NOW so you can responsibly plan what you are going to do.</p>
<p>"Fees must be paid within 20 days of entry or residency to avoid penalties. Any vehicle owned by a California resident must be registered within 20 days of entry into California unless a special permit was obtained. Nonresidents whose vehicles are properly registered to them in their home state or jurisdiction may operate their vehicles in California until they:</p>
<p>Accept gainful employment in California.
Claim a homeowner’s exemption in California.
Rent or lease a residence in California.
Intend to live or be located here on a permanent basis (for example, acquire a California driver license, acquire other licenses not ordinarily extended to a nonresident, registered to vote).<br>
Enroll in an institution of higher learning as a California resident or enroll their dependents in school (K-12)."</p>
<p>This is from the California DMV website. You can see that the Michigan vehicle registration is a problem, given the facts as presented.</p>
<p>Have your parents lived in Michigan for at least 5 years. (my parents lived there their whole lives until my dad moved in '11 then my mom in '13)
if I put no then it asks…
What is your parents state of legal residence?
then…
Did your parents become legal residence of that state before Jan. 1 2009 (my answer would be no)
then I would have to write the date my parent who lived the longest in CA gained residency. </p>
<p>I might contact fafsa and ask them tomorrow since they aren’t available today. If my parents and I fill it out the way we think is correct and it turns out to be false we can change the info I read. </p>
<p>According to the spirit of MSU regulations you may be entitled to instate tuition but it seems like a grey area as your parent moved out of state while you were enrolled out of state. Maybe you will be better off not to file fafsa.</p>
<p>A.If a student, or the parent of a dependent student, moves out of Michigan during the time he/she is enrolled at the University, the student’s in-state classification will be maintained as long as he/she continues to be enrolled. If a student moves out of Michigan for more than 12 months while enrolled as a less than full-time student, the student will be reclassified to out-of-state status, unless the student presents clear and convincing evidence that he/she has maintained his/her domicile in Michigan despite the move.
B.The in-state status of a prospective student domiciled in Michigan will not be affected by that student’s full-time attendance, prior to enrolling at MSU, at a non-Michigan college or university.
C.If the family of a dependent current student or of a dependent prospective student who has completed at least the junior year in high school moves out of Michigan during the time he/she is a student, the student’s in-state classification will be maintained as long as he/she continues to be enrolled on a regular school year basis in a Michigan high school, college or university. </p>
<p>That’s helpful! My dad moved out of state while I was attending high school which was in Michigan. And my mom moved after I graduated. I went to school in Arizona paying out of state and am now in Michigan again. My parents are in California still. </p>
<p>If you need aid, you must file the FAFSA as it is the basis for federal aid (student loans). Most schools will disburse federal aid before disbursing their own monies.</p>
<p>Filing the FAFSA is Free!!! Free Application for federal student aid. Make sure that you are going to <a href=“http://www.fafsa.gov”>www.fafsa.gov</a> or <a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov”>www.fafsa.ed.gov</a> the .com site will charge you to file the FAFSA</p>
<p>If the school considers your place of residence is where your parents live and not where you graduated high school, you’ll be OOS for Michigan. The school doesn’t sound very encouraging. Do you have a backup plan?</p>
<p>If MSU said you are eligible to in state tuition, I would not worry about answering those questions on FAFSA faithfully. It would not affect your tuition status as it has a different criteria.</p>