Out of State Tuition - Relatives live In-State

Mertzy

I'm looking into an out of state college. I live in Minnesota and am considering the University of Arizona. My grandparents and godparents both live in Arizona and I've been wondering if it's possible to claim dependence through this in order to avoid the hefty tuition increase for out of state students.

Are there any options?

lifeincognito

Looks like a no go.

http://www.abor.asu.edu/1_the_regents/reports_factbook/residency.html#Relative other than parents

Does living in Arizona with a relative other than parents have any effect on residency status?

No. This would have no influence on residency status.

Why are non-resident students at Arizona’s educational institutions charged higher tuition than resident students?

Arizona institutions of higher education are funded by the State of Arizona. Since non-resident students (and their families) generally have not contributed to the source of this funding of public education in Arizona, they are required to pay fees which more closely represent the actual cost of their education.

Kyougu

I think you have to prove residency for 6 months in most State universities to get in-state tuition.

Thylacine

I don't know what it's like in Arizona, but in TX you have to live here for a year and then you can apply for in state tuition. You have to fill out a form basically stating why you should get instate tuition and they decide on things from there.

Things they are looking for are if over that time you've had a job, have a place to live(I don't know if it looks better if you are paying for a place than living with relatives or whatever), and have plans for the future in that state rather than moving away as soon as you graduate. Basically what they are looking for is if you are building a life for yourself there and planing to stay and contribute in state, or if you are just going to college.

My husband is a TX resident, so when I applied after a year they accepted me since that is a rather big tie to the area. I don't know what it's like in AZ. Also, while I was able to go to school here during that year, check their state laws. Some places you have to live there a year or two working without going to school, before they will give you an instate rate.

EggyToast

This would only work if your grandparents/godparents were your legal guardians. Otherwise, you will have to move to Arizona and live/work there for probably a year before they consider you eligible for in-state tuition. Usually they want to see that you filed some state taxes.

Mertzy

This idea actually came up today. I'm going to look into some junior colleges and possibly live there for 6 months to a year - however much is required for residency. After which I could transfer into a larger university.

Ramen Noodle

Yeah, it's a nogo for Arizona. My sister couldn't get it even though my uncle lives there.
Somewhat on topic, but she moved in yesterday and loves it so far.

Improvolone

If you claim your residence as their placxe, spend a year there, get a drivers license there, maybe even work there, you should get the instate tuition.

Mertzy

The wording on some of the requirements for eligibility confuses me:

"Objective evidence of continuous physical presence for one year; proof of financial independence for two years"

Does this mean I simply have to show I am planning on living there for a year?Do I have to have lived on my own already for two years or does this mean I have to have been working for at least two years?

Also:

"There are certain exceptions to the general rule. A student may also be eligible for resident status if he or she can establish that, on or before the last day of regular registration, he or she meets one of the following criteria:


Transferred Employee: The student is domiciled in Arizona but has not met the one-year durational requirement, and is an employee or spouse of an employee transferred to Arizona by his or her employer for employment purposes. "

I currently work at Target. I was wondering if transferring from a Minnesota store to an Arizona store could fulfill this, or would it need to be something a bit more necessary than a voluntary, independent transfer?

EggyToast

Mertzy wrote: »

The wording on some of the requirements for eligibility confuses me:

"Objective evidence of continuous physical presence for one year; proof of financial independence for two years"

Does this mean I simply have to show I am planning on living there for a year?Do I have to have lived on my own already for two years or does this mean I have to have been working for at least two years?

You need to show that you have lived there for one year, or show that you have been financially independent for two years.

It's very straightforward -- if you don't qualify because of your parents, you need to show that you have not lived under your parents for two years. In addition, you must also have lived within the state for one full year.

Also:

"There are certain exceptions to the general rule. A student may also be eligible for resident status if he or she can establish that, on or before the last day of regular registration, he or she meets one of the following criteria:


Transferred Employee: The student is domiciled in Arizona but has not met the one-year durational requirement, and is an employee or spouse of an employee transferred to Arizona by his or her employer for employment purposes. "

I currently work at Target. I was wondering if transferring from a Minnesota store to an Arizona store could fulfill this, or would it need to be something a bit more necessary than a voluntary, independent transfer?

It is an exception, which would mean you were transferred there involuntarily (within reason, obviously) by your job.

In other words, if I was going to school part time in Minnesota, working for [company], and [company] transferred me to Arizona, they would let me finish my degree with in-state tuition, under the assumption that my employer would keep me in Arizona long enough to meet the requirements anyway, and the employer has paid state taxes fulfilling some of those financial requirements.

Of course, since it's an exception it would be heavily scrutinized.

What this really means is that if you want to go to school in Arizona and you want to pay in-state tuition, you may want to look into moving now and applying in 2009.

Mertzy

Thanks much. Now I don't suppose anyone could point me to information regarding Junior College affiliates of the University of Arizona.

Dropping Loads

"Objective evidence of continuous physical presence for one year; proof of financial independence for two years"

This doesn't just mean you have to prove you were there, it means you have to prove you didn't leave, even to go home for holidays.

I went to grad school in California after moving from Georgia, and we had this same rule. We had to provide WEEKLY proof of residence. Having a year's worth of electricity bills wont cut it. I had to provide weekly documentation, so I ended up taking money out of ATMs and redepositing it a week later, saving all the ATM receipts. When people go home for Christmas, it's common to have them give an ATM card to a local friend to have them repeat the process for the extra two weeks.

shugarae

The most common community college in lovely Tucson is Pima CC. http://www.pima.edu/

However, they also charge out of state rates (still LOTS LOTS cheaper than UofA) http://www.pima.edu/costs/costpayments/creditclass2007.shtml

It's very common for students to start at Pima and then transfer to UofA, so their advisors should know at least a little about transferability. It looks like they also have a couple of AA transfer programs so you can get your associate's while getting rid of your pre-reqs http://www.pima.edu/program/transfer-options/

Hope this helps!