Relocation to pay in state tuition

[Anonymous]

I am a single parent with one kid in high school and I work remotely. I have no family ties to this area and wouldn't mind a change of scenery. My kid is a sophomore and may want to attend an out of state school. When we get to this point I was thinking about relocating to wherever the college is to be able to pay in state tuition and be close by (not super close). Does anyone have experience with this?

[Anonymous]

Seems fine but make sure you check the residency requirements. I think you usually need to be there at least one year prior.

[Anonymous]

No experience, but usually you have to wait a year to get residency. So, you will benefit for 3 years.

Obviously, you need to immediately change your driver's license, have your paystubs reflect your new state taxes, etc.

There are many state flagships that offer in-state tuition as an incentive. Nebraska and South Carolina are two that come to mind.

You can absolutely do it.

[Anonymous]

You'll need to move sooner rather than later to establish residency. Is your kid up for switching high schools in junior year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You'll need to move sooner rather than later to establish residency. Is your kid up for switching high schools in junior year?

Definitely not but I am open to renting an apt a few months prior to the summer.

[Anonymous]

Some states require you to graduate from an in-state high school. Basically the better the flagship the harder it is to establish residency. And less-competitive state schools often give in-state pricing as a merit award.

It’s really state by state and you need to read all the fine print.

[Anonymous]

"may want to attend an out of state school" - what if they decide they want a different oos after you've moved?

[Anonymous]

In Virginia if you graduate from an in state high school the presumption is you’re an in state resident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You'll need to move sooner rather than later to establish residency. Is your kid up for switching high schools in junior year?

Definitely not but I am open to renting an apt a few months prior to the summer.

That's not going to work for most (all?) states. If she has a specific out of state public in mind, you should move there now, or the summer before her senior year of high school, at the latest. Otherwise you are looking at paying at least one year of out of state tuition, possibly all 4 years depending on the state.

[Anonymous]

Wait until the acceptances are in hand. If you move after graduation in many places you’ll be fine after a year, but you should check to be certain. For instance, the UC school requirements are very stringent and they basically say on their website it’s pretty impossible to move from being classified as an oos to in state student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In Virginia if you graduate from an in state high school the presumption is you’re an in state resident.

We have boarding schools and foreign citizens here, so this isn't necessarily true.

They look at where you're paying your taxes and some other things.

[Anonymous]

You would have to apply as out of state and then For, say, uva you have to file a petition and have a reason or explanation for the change in status (ie my job relocated, got married, etc) which would not be eligible for until second year. I’m not sure it would be granted in your case. For instance they have a standard of “intent to remain in Virginia indefinitely”
https://vastatus.virginia.edu/virginia-domicile-requirements

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Virginia if you graduate from an in state high school the presumption is you’re an in state resident.

We have boarding schools and foreign citizens here, so this isn't necessarily true.

They look at where you're paying your taxes and some other things.

Also, a lot of kids live in Virginia and go to high school in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Virginia if you graduate from an in state high school the presumption is you’re an in state resident.

We have boarding schools and foreign citizens here, so this isn't necessarily true.

They look at where you're paying your taxes and some other things.

The in-state questions include your residence, where you pay taxes, where you register your car, where you voted, etc. Full details here: https://www.schev.edu/financial-aid/in-state-residency

I'm sure whatever state you are considering has similar website with the requirements. Some states make it easy but IME most don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You'll need to move sooner rather than later to establish residency. Is your kid up for switching high schools in junior year?

Definitely not but I am open to renting an apt a few months prior to the summer.

It doesn't work like that. You will actually need to live in the other state. And your child would need to attend a local high school. If you establish residency in Virginia and the kid sends a transcript from a Maryland public HS, you aren't going to get in-state for Virginia, for example. Maybe a private would be different.

The schools are very aware of people who try to do this. There's no end-run or loophole here. Either actually up and move now or it's not going to work. Or maybe the kid majors in something that is in a consortium and no virginia school offers it (to use an example). One of my friends got in-state tuition at the university of kentucky because his daughter was majoring in international relations or something similar that wasn't offered by any Virginia school. This is the program: https://www.schev.edu/financial-aid/academic-common-market