A Very Complicated Residency Question

[brickmanli]

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Hi, I have a really complicated residency question which I hope someone could answer:

1. My parents and I were NY residents from 1990
2. I graduated from SUNY at Buffalo in 2001
3. My father got a job in New Haven last April and changed his residency to CT in June
4. My mom and I moved to New Haven in June. We are still NY residents.
5. I paid for my apartment in Buffalo until August 31 of last year.
6. I received an interview from SUNY Buffalo, which offers a much cheaper in-state tuition.

Question:
Am I still a NY resident, and if yes, for how long? Should I move back to Buffalo at some point if I decide on going there?

I know this is a very weird situation, but any effort is appreciated!

 

[bald]

im not sure how much it varies from state to state, or from school to school, but... i believe that in most cases (assuming you are claimed by your parents on their taxes as a dependent) you are a resident in whatever state they pay their taxes in. I dont know if this is your situation, I'm assuming your dad pays CT taxes and has claimed you as a dependent, my understanding is you'd be a CT resident, or at least a med school would consider you to be.

 

[amonkeybutt]

does this depend on who claimed you as a dependent? assuming you did not file on your own. if you did, then in which state did you file? doesn't residency usually work if you can prove you were in the state for non-educational purposes?

why don't you call them and ask but don't tell them who you are?

 

[Incendiary]

Best way to know for sure is to ask each individual med school at which your application is still active. It actually might vary by school, so you need to check with them.

 

[skelly99]

Are you asking for admission or tuition purposes? If for tuition, you can probably go school to school and ask. If admission, at the very least, you must declare your appropriate state of residence on your AMCAS application. Thats the one they go by (plus any supplementary info they may request).

SMK

 

[brickmanli]

I'm only doing this for tuition purposes. When I filled out my AMCAS, I was still in NY.

I never did my own taxes before, my dad always claimed me as a dependent. So should I be filling out this year's taxes (state or federal?) even though I have no income?

I tried looking at legislation concerning this on the web, but couldn't find anything. Could someone give me a lead on where to look, so I could have some backup when I talk to admissions?

 

[mcwmark]

Each state uses different criteria to determine eligibility.

For Wisconsin, you have to have resided in the state (employed, paid taxes) for one year prior to starting graduate school.

For Texas, I believe its the same as above or own property in the state to be considered a resident.

For California, it is just one year of residency, continuous, with something less than 14(?) days out of the state.

Sorry, I don't know New York's criteria. You may want to call a NY school's financial aid office for info.

 

[Triangulation]

I'm fairly certain that you're a NY resident for all of your purposes, bc you aren't a CT resident for application to CT schools or tuition. It's impossible to not have a residency , so if you don't qualify for CT residency, which you shouldn't yet since you've only been there since June, you must still be a NY resident. I actually had a friend who dealt w/something similar when he was applying to the Univ of WA after leaving Boston. The argument he presented was that he had been away from MA so long that he no longer qualified as a resident in MA therefore WA had to be his state of residency. He had been there for more than a year, but he didn't/wasn't able to work.

 

[katalin]

Go to any license bureau in NY (or call) and they will be able to tell you exactly what the qualifications are for residency.

 

[edmadison]

The rules for tuition/admission are different than for everything else, so asking the Department of Motor Vehicles will not help. Brickmanli's question is whether he lost his New York residency rather than whether he became a New York resient, so the typical 12 month waiting period doesn't apply.

The New York public universities use the word "domicile" to distinguish who is eligable for in state tuitiion. From what I have read about the law and applying brickmanli's situation, the determination, he is probably out of luck, but definately check with the school, because they are in charge of enforcing the schools residency requirements. Here's my explination.

Your domicile is your permanent home to which you intend to return. You maintain your domicile until you get a new one. While you are in school this is usually where your parents live. You can actually live away from your domicile for 12 months a years while you are in school and still maintain residency. As long as you have that parental address that you can call home you are in good shape.

The problem comes in when your parents move away from your home state. Now you no longer have "a home" to which to call your domicile. I had this very problem. I grew up as an Iowa resident but my parents moved in college. When this happened, I changed the address on all my stuff (bills, driver's license, et al.) to my grandmother's house in Iowa. In essence, I "moved" to her house. This would have preserved my domicile in Iowa had I gone to the U of I for graduate school.

Brickmali was fine until his lease ran out on August 31. At that time, he probably became a Connecticut resident. Had he switched his address to a friend's house in New York at that time, he would be ok. The fact that he is out of school doesn't help either. Once you are out of school you a generally domiciled wherever you are living and working.

You can try to argue that you didn't "leave" New York. Factors that are significant would include where you hold your driver license and where you pay your state income tax. Without an address to call your domicle, this will be tough.

In sum, I think by the rules, you lost your NY Domicile, but given that you lived in New York for 11 years and left for 4 months, the school might count you as a resident. It doesn't hurt to ask!

Your plight is very interesting. You probably don't qualify for in state tuition anywhere!

Good luck.

Ed

 

[A. Caveman]

once you get into a school, you can live wherever you want. who's gonna know you're commuting to SUNY from Texas everyday? nobody, so that's it. move wherever you want afterwards (keep living there, i mean).
as far as where you're a resident now...wherever you amcas says man. you did the amcas when you were a NY resident, so that's what you are for amcas. changing it all now would really screw you over, and Don't go calling up schools to clear this up, it might not be to your advantage if SUNY is where you wanna go. plain truth is that you go by amcas for the rest of this year. period. you can "clear this up" After they've accepted you. hahaha. be wise

 

[brickmanli]

Sigh...
I actually thought about changing my mailing address to a friend's, but decided against it because I thought it was dishonest. Thanks for all the input though. I think I'm gonna let admissions know after getting my acceptance, but NY state probably has more stringent laws that prevent them from making exceptions. I did not have a domicile 12 months before matriculation and that's the end of the story.

 

[edmadison]

Two things,

First, it would not have been dishonest to maintain a "domicile" at a friend's apartment if you did indeed intend on returning to New York.

Second, as noted in my long post above, in New York State, the schools make the determination of whether you are in or out of state. So you may get the right person in the burser's office on the right day and be o.k. If they hear your story all they have to do is check the right box.

Third, the twelve month rule only applies to those moving into New York. The operative question for you is whether you ever lost your New York domicile.

Finally, what A. Caveman says is interesting, I won't comment on it (since I'm an officer of the court), but it certainly is something for you to think about. Heck, they may just assume you are an instater and never ask for anything else.

Good luck

Ed