Establishing residency

[Gumbo4x4]

Oh my goodness, so glad my daughter is getting paid to get her master's degree and doctorate down in Texas. I can't imagine having to jump through so many hoops to get a reduced tuition!

Hoestly, it seems reasonable. I'm not looking to scam the system, just trying to see if this is a viable option

 

[LittleMissMagic]

Oh my goodness, so glad my daughter is getting paid to get her master's degree and doctorate down in Texas. I can't imagine having to jump through so many hoops to get a reduced tuition!

Well, it might be worth it to not acquire all of that additional debt.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

DD is looking at out of state colleges, one of which is in the state where my parents have their primary home (they are also here 4-5 months per year). As it's a public university, in state tuition is much cheaper than out of state. Were she to end up there, I've thought we could change my daughter's permanent residence to my parents' home shortly after HS graduation, pay out of state tuition for one year, and then after she's had residency established for 12 months, pay in state tuition for her remaining time at that school.

Am I on the right track here?

REALLY depends on the state. New York? Not a chance.

 

[georgina]

On a side note, we are now in the process of changing our oldest DD from dependent to independent, for purposes of car insurance. She lives in Boston, and we pay a small fortune to keep our cars insured for her down here. We can't take her off the insurance until she registers to vote in MA, even though she hasn't been home since January. She's graduated, has a job, has an apartment lease--is a gen-yoo-ine adult. But, still on our car insurance.

I don't understand this part. I just called our insurance company and told them when each kid graduated college and moved permanently to another state, and they came off our insurance. They are still covered as a guest when visiting to drive our cars (none of them has a car or insurance on their own). My DS has been working elsewhere for 3 years and still has not changed his drivers license or voter registration.

 

[Skippy918]

I don't understand this part. I just called our insurance company and told them when each kid graduated college and moved permanently to another state, and they came off our insurance. They are still covered as a guest when visiting to drive our cars (none of them has a car or insurance on their own). My DS has been working elsewhere for 3 years and still has not changed his drivers license or voter registration.

I got my own insurance policy after I graduated and moved to another state. It was expensive, but I didn't have other options.

 

[DisneyOma]

Well, it might be worth it to not acquire all of that additional debt.

I guess, although is Texas a good place to live, financially? It sounds like they have to commit to living there for a while, not just plop in for college then take off. I guess it's a big enough state that a job could be found somewhere, right? And what happens if the student wants to go to grad school in another state?

 

[QueenIsabella]

I don't understand this part. I just called our insurance company and told them when each kid graduated college and moved permanently to another state, and they came off our insurance. They are still covered as a guest when visiting to drive our cars (none of them has a car or insurance on their own). My DS has been working elsewhere for 3 years and still has not changed his drivers license or voter registration.

Interesting. It might vary from state to state. We've been arguing with the insurance company since we moved down here--I have no problem with paying for her when she's actually in proximity of our cars, but she's not. She was last home for 2 weeks at Christmas. A car in Boston would be a huge pain in the butt, beyond the expense of it. But their theory is, she could come home at any time. I wish! I'll try calling them again, she formally signed her MA lease and moved in 9/1, but I don't think she's changed her driver's license or voter registration yet.

 

[mom2rtk]

I guess, although is Texas a good place to live, financially? It sounds like they have to commit to living there for a while, not just plop in for college then take off. I guess it's a big enough state that a job could be found somewhere, right? And what happens if the student wants to go to grad school in another state?

If they're heading off to grad school in another state, then maybe they weren't really a resident and deserving of in-state tuition in the first place.

 

[mamacatnv]

For those thinking about a year or two of no schooling to establish residency, there is lost income on the back end.

When my DS applied to Doctorate of Physical Therapy programs, some of the costs for private vs public was recouped in the amount of time spent in school. Some public programs were significantly longer than the year round private. When a newly graduated PT walks into a $100K job it doesn't take to long to justify an accelerated private costs vs slower cheaper public.

The same logic could be applied to taking a year or two off to get instate tuition vs paying oos.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

I guess, although is Texas a good place to live, financially? It sounds like they have to commit to living there for a while, not just plop in for college then take off. I guess it's a big enough state that a job could be found somewhere, right? And what happens if the student wants to go to grad school in another state?

If they're heading off to grad school in another state, then maybe they weren't really a resident and deserving of in-state tuition in the first place.

Yeah, I think that the student should actually have the intention of living in the state, whether that's before or after school. Like when I applied for residency for CA, I had absolute intentions of staying here - and here I am, still in Los Angeles, just signed a new lease on an apartment. I had several peers who did not apply for in-state tuition because it was more important to maintain residency in a different state (and several of them are still here, too, and one actually ended up having to change her driver's license, vehicle registration, and insurance to CA after getting pulled over for her expired Illinois tags! so maybe they should've just gone for residency.... but they didn't know, so they didn't, and I think that's admirable).

I don't know if in-state tuition would be worth taking a gap year for - that really depends on the individual student and weighing out all of the costs - effort and financial. Like is the student certain about their major choice and school, or could things change in a year (you do a lot of growing up in a year when you're fresh out of high school!!)? Also, I think that if the student is certain about their education path, they should try to find a job that will align with their future goals - not just a random job in retail or whatever. Take my career path - if a student wants to go into architecture, maybe they should take that year to have a job in the design industry - whether graphic design, museum curating, photography, home staging, etc. I think that taking a gap year to try to gain residency for a specific school should not be done if the student is uncertain about their major - in that case, it might be a better alternative to move to that state in which the student is trying to gain residency, do a year or two at a community college to knock out all of the gen eds and early major requirements, then transfer into the school of choice - another big money-saver when it comes to education. And most universities have partnerships with nearby community colleges that make transferring pretty seamless as far as academic credits (depends on the major).