Florida residency - I want to come home!

[DaynaRA]

I am a habitual lurker, however, I cannot seem to find a definitive answer to my question, and I see that there are many Florida students here. I can't stop stressing about this, maybe someone here has some information, anecdotal or otherwise.

I grew up in Florida. I graduated from Douglas High School in South Florida. I attended college in Florida for two years. Right before I turned 24 I left Florida to attend Northeastern University in Boston. I'm taking the MCAT this Spring, and I'm starting to put some thought into where I might want to apply to medical school.

The thing is, I want to come home. As an out of state resident, I feel like my chances are severely limited. I never claimed Massachusetts residency since I attend a private university here, so my state of residence wouldn't have mattered. I still have a Florida driver's license. I am registered to vote in Florida. My car is registered in Florida, and I am insured in Florida.

I have not worked here, my dad pays all of my bills while I attend school. The problem is, I am now 25, and so he can't claim me on his tax return. I read somewhere that if you were over 24 but still got half of your monetary support from a parent who was a Florida resident, if you could provide a notarized letter stating that your parent still supported you, you could be considered dependant for tuition/admission purposes. I don't know if that's true or not.

I also read on the Florida statutes website that in some cases, a person may leave the state to attend school or work, and still return as a resident.

This is really stressful. I had always planned to go home for medical school, and I never realized that most every school in Florida either highly favors or only accepts Florida residents.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Any help at all would be so greatly appreciated.

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[TheRealMD]

Uhh, can't you based your residency on him? Leaving the state for college never counts as a way to claim residency. Please tell me though that you used your dad's address in Florida otherwise your app may never get to human eyes.

 

[tnmarabal]

I actually JUST went through this and it can be done. I came back to Florida to do my post bacc classes to prepare for applications. I spent a year in NYC and two years in SC dancing while still being a Florida resident and having a Florida license. Because my parents claimed me on their taxes last year, I was able to claim Florida residency. You should be able to get that information from the schools you are interested in and definitely have a notarized letter from your parents. It should work out. Good luck!

 

[DaynaRA]

The problem is, I can't base my residency on my dad by traditional standards because I am 25, so he can't legally claim me on his tax returns. I am considered independant for tax purposes, even though I do not work, and he pays all of my bills. If I were to be able to use him, it would be a special circumstance where (if what I read was true) I would have to present a notarized letter stating that he provides more than 50% of my financial support.

I'm just worried that I am not going to be able to come back as a resident because of my age.

::kicks self for waiting so darn long between high school and college::

 

[BrownianMotion]

dude, all u need to claim florida residency is: 2/3 out of florida drivers license, voters registration, or florida license plate on ur car....claim it on AMCAS and its not a problem

 

[Zerodegree]

I agree with the above post. You've got everything you need to apply as an instate resident to FL schools (drivers license no., voter registration). The admissions office looks only at the permanent address listed on your amcas. They will base their admissions decision on that.

However, You will have an uphill battle for claiming in state status for tuition purposes, for which they're real stingy.

Good luck.

 

[postbacker]

Sounds to me like you are still a Florida resident...also, you do not qualify for MA residency - they have some of the toughest laws in the country designed to "keep out" OOS college students just like you.

Are you trying to attend a Florida college to finish a degree or do a post bac and pay in-state tuition? Or are you currently applying for med school? Colleges have detailed information on the procedure for claiming residency, and I imagine you will have no problem doing that...

 

[DaynaRA]

I am currently an undergraduate in Boston. I am finishing my B.A. in history as well as my med school pre-reqs here. I have not yet applied to any medical schools. I will take the MCAT this Spring, and apply this summer for Fall 2009 matriculation.

So the consensus seems to be that so long as a have the driver's license, voter registration and vehicle registration, as well as my dad's address listed on AMCAS, I will be considered a resident for admissions purposes...

Won't the fact that my submitted transcripts from Boston showing that I have most certainly not resided in Florida give anyone pause? Like "Hey, this person says he/she is a Florida resident, using a Florida address, but is obviously not physically present."

Would it be bad form to (gulp) call the schools and inquire? I feel like "Hi, I haven't taken my MCAT yet, could you give me some information?" might earn me some laughter or at least a snooty attitude. On the other hand, I don't want to go through the whole application process, be granted a secondary/interview/acceptance, then have it rescinded because they look further and conclude that I do not in fact meet residency standards and the info on my application was inaccurate?

 

[nomoreplz]

Many people go to college out of state. My best friend goes to college in North Carolina and is applying as a Texas resident, which she most certainly still is. So she's not "present" and hasn't lived in Texas for the last 3 years, but that's not really what makes you a resident. You seem to have the necessary resident proof, but you should *definitely* call each individual school and make sure. They will not laugh at you. They will help you determine your correct residency status. And that sounds like it will definitely ease your mind.

 

[MossPoh]

You're fine. You're obviously not a state resident anywhere else. They wouldn't let you just be a ghost lingering around the system without a state of residence. If they did, you're probably on a terrorist list somewhere....as am I for mentioning "terrorist" in a post.

 

[GatorPhD]

I'm not a lawyer or a CPA, so verify this for yourself.

If you check page 31 of IRS Pub 17, you will see that you in fact can be claimed on your fathers return as a ``Qualifying Relative". I'm not going to spell it out here, but as long as your gross income in 2006 was less than $3300 you can be claimed.

Check for yourself at the following URL:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf

Besides this, with all your supporting docs you are good to go!

Come back home and GO GATORS!

 

[REL]

I am currently an undergraduate in Boston. I am finishing my B.A. in history as well as my med school pre-reqs here. I have not yet applied to any medical schools. I will take the MCAT this Spring, and apply this summer for Fall 2009 matriculation.

So the consensus seems to be that so long as a have the driver's license, voter registration and vehicle registration, as well as my dad's address listed on AMCAS, I will be considered a resident for admissions purposes...

Won't the fact that my submitted transcripts from Boston showing that I have most certainly not resided in Florida give anyone pause? Like "Hey, this person says he/she is a Florida resident, using a Florida address, but is obviously not physically present."

Would it be bad form to (gulp) call the schools and inquire? I feel like "Hi, I haven't taken my MCAT yet, could you give me some information?" might earn me some laughter or at least a snooty attitude. On the other hand, I don't want to go through the whole application process, be granted a secondary/interview/acceptance, then have it rescinded because they look further and conclude that I do not in fact meet residency standards and the info on my application was inaccurate?

I am fairly certain that you are still a Florida resident since you departed the state for full-time education and will have returned (?) to the state upon completion of your education. You still have a valid Florida DL, voter's registration, and vehicle registration. When you complete your Florida Residency affidavit you have to first: select dependency, 50% or more by another or self financed. If you are not dependant you complete the remainder of the affidavit with your DL, voters, etc. If you are dependant it is completed by the one that you are dependent to. If it comes down to it and you are audited, then provide them the notarized letter. As for the transcript, no biggie, we have lots of Florida residents coming back from out-of-state schools. Use your Florida address on your AMCAS and also declare FL on same app. You should be fine.

 

[DaynaRA]

Wow, thank you so much, all of you. I really appreciate everyone going out of their way to allay the concerns of a complete stranger.

REL, you're a great asset to the community, and again, your thoughful response was truly appreciated. I hear you have transplanted to Orlando. UCF is my absolute top choice, as it were. It's not even the monetary reward that I find so attractive, although that scholarship business is certainly a fantastic perk. I am already in such a huge amount of debt, can't really let that limit my choices at this stage in the game.

I have been following the story in regard to UCF's proposed college of medicine since I lived in Orlando a few years ago while attending Valencia. I always thought in passing of how wonderful it would be were the school to open in time for my application. As it happens, I will be applying for matriculation in Fall 2009. I love Orlando, my fiance and I (who I am NOT marrying until AFTER application year, because he is a Massachusetts resident, and that would just muck everything up) have always said it was the greatest city we have ever lived in and we'd love to move back.

So, I know everyone has said this repeatedly, but I must chime in - keep us all informed about the new school.

Thanks again to all! You're the greatest.

 

[ds3489]

Hey Dayna, I'm Dana 🙂

seems we lead sort of similar lives.

I grew up in Miami, graduated from Palmetto, even went to UM for undergrad. However, I went to New England Conservatory of Music for a Master's degree (neighbor to Northeastern) and would have definitely been considered a FL resident up until that point, when I was 25.

However, I stayed in Boston, pursuing my musical career for six months before going back to take the pre-med requirements. That year I claimed I was independent. However, this past year, I did not work...I only went to school and volunteered part-time at children's hospital. Therefore, I called my father and asked him to claim me as dependent, which he did gladly. I think that should work for this year. I listed my parents as my permanent address and my address in Boston as current. I'm 26 now.

Here's the rub: If I don't get in this year, I will have to claim that I'm independent b/c #1) I now have a full time job at children's hospital (even though I'm still taking classes) and #2) I'm getting married in June (in Miami). If this should happen, My fiance and I will move back to FL after the wedding for the next application cycle, and that will fulfill the 12 month requirement.

So, that's my plan! Hope it helps and best of luck!

Hope you're surviving in this heat! I almost feel like going home to cool off! (we don't have air conditioning in our apt!!)