Is it possible to file AADSAS as a dual citizen of two states? California and Puerto Rico in my case

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Zeedler27

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Hello folks,

Title sums up my question pretty well; Is it possible to file AADSAS as a dual resident of California and Puerto Rico?

I am currently living in San Diego but I will be 'moving' to PR this summer and applying to dental school the following year. By 'moving' I mean that I will maintain a permanent address in Puerto Rico from this summer until I apply to dental school next summer but, I will be going to school at San Diego State University in California and paying resident tuition there during that time. My priority is getting into the dental program at the University of Puerto Rico but, it'd be nice to also have CA residency on the AADSAS as I believe UCSF and UoP (my top choices in CA) both favor CA residents. I am a current CA resident and have been for 4 years. The University of Puerto Rico openly favors residents so I'm planning to establish residency this summer (1 year prior to applying) by purchasing a condo and getting a PR driver's license so that I'll be able to apply with that advantage.

Does anyone know if I will be able to apply as a PR resident despite attending SDSU for 2 semesters after getting the PR driver's license and home address? When I moved to CA they required proof of 1 year residency to be considered a resident for tuition purposes, that's why I'm planning to buy the condo a year early.

Any thoughts/suggestions/ideas/input are welcome and appreciated.

Any info about what is officially considered "residency" by the University of Puerto Rico would also be much appreciated.

Thank you.

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So on the AADSAS you basically have an option for "permanent address " and "current/mailing." Permanent being your state of residence when they look on the app. I had the same issue as I'd been living in Colorado for 1/2 years but still considered an Idaho resident, didn't know if I'd be considered both. I couldn't find any way to get dual residence for obvious reasons. I'm fairly certain you'll have to pick one or the other, lest you end up like me having Colorado reject my residency for whatever reason.

I had drivers license, voted, schooling, address for 2 years, tax returns for 7 years and Colorado STILL doesn't consider me a resident. I don't know how tough Puerto Rico is though.
 
So on the AADSAS you basically have an option for "permanent address " and "current/mailing." Permanent being your state of residence when they look on the app. I had the same issue as I'd been living in Colorado for 1/2 years but still considered an Idaho resident, didn't know if I'd be considered both. I couldn't find any way to get dual residence for obvious reasons. I'm fairly certain you'll have to pick one or the other, lest you end up like me having Colorado reject my residency for whatever reason.

I had drivers license, voted, schooling, address for 2 years, tax returns for 7 years and Colorado STILL doesn't consider me a resident. I don't know how tough Puerto Rico is though.
Thanks for your reply xerxes. I'm sorry to hear that the AADSAS doesn't have an option for dual-residency. If that's the case, I will likely not bother with Puerto Rico and simply maintain California residency since I will be applying to several CA dental schools anyway. It would be wonderful to be able to study in PR but I don't think PR residency is worth the effort if it also means losing my CA residency.

Can anyone confirm this? There is no way to file AADSAS as a dual resident of 2 states... Or a state and a commonwealth.
 
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Thanks for your reply xerxes. I'm sorry to hear that the AADSAS doesn't have an option for dual-residency. If that's the case, I will likely not bother with Puerto Rico and simply maintain California residency since I will be applying to several CA dental schools anyway. It would be wonderful to be able to study in PR but I don't think PR residency is worth the effort if it also means losing my CA residency.

Can anyone confirm this? There is no way to file AADSAS as a dual resident of 2 states... Or a state and a commonwealth.

It's highly unlikely that California and Puerto Rico would consider you a resident for the purposes of education if you claimed also to be a legal resident of the other. States typically have a low bar for legal residency (PR is a bit different) but a very high one for residency for the purposes of higher education.
 
I think the answer is going to be, no one really knows. The chances of someone else here having that same personal situation is pretty small so probably no help from the board here.

I've looked into a dual-state residency because of how two states define being a resident (moved from one state to the next after high school graduation). One state lists that you are able to claim residency if you graduated from high school in that state but your parents moved out of state after that. The other state does not have the high school clause but is now my legal state of residence....who knows how it will really shake out in the end though.
 
It's highly unlikely that California and Puerto Rico would consider you a resident for the purposes of education if you claimed also to be a legal resident of the other. States typically have a low bar for legal residency (PR is a bit different) but a very high one for residency for the purposes of higher education.

So you're saying that being a legal resident does not necessarily equate to being a resident for educational purposes? It seems like there would have to be extenuating circumstances for a legal resident to be disqualified for residental tuition however, taking on-campus classes at a university in a different state and/or simultaneously being a legal resident of another state may certainly constitute as one of those circumstances. I think I'll contact the University of Puerto Rico and ask about what qualifies as residency there.

Thanks for your comment Rev, that was helpful.
 
So you're saying that being a legal resident does not necessarily equate to being a resident for educational purposes? It seems like there would have to be extenuating circumstances for a legal resident to be disqualified for residental tuition however, taking on-campus classes at a university in a different state and/or simultaneously being a legal resident of another state may certainly constitute as one of those circumstances. I think I'll contact the University of Puerto Rico and ask about what qualifies as residency there.

Thanks for your comment Rev, that was helpful.

IRT to the part I bolded, it's extremely common. Many states have very strict definitions of residency for tuition purposes but lax definitions for legal residency. States generally make money from legal residents and they definitely do with non-residents when it comes to tuition. It comes up from time to time with military members. IIRC, some state with screwy resident tuition rules determined a legal resident who had been deployed overseas was not a resident for tuition purposes because of the time they'd been out of state.

It also comes up when states have periods of time during which one cannot be enrolled in classes above a certain credit level. So, as seems to be common in Oregon, when someone comes to live the dream in Portland then discovers there are no jobs and instead enrolls in school, they're not Oregon residents for the purposes of tuition unless several very specific criteria are met.

But basically, you've got the right idea. Contact them and see what they say.
 
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