Gaining Residency for In-State Tuition/Application

[h2noah]

Aloha all,

Sorry if this has been answered before but couldn't find an exact answer and was wondering if anyone knew.

Does anyone have advice for moving to a state to gain residency before they start school?

I live in Hawaii, so technically everywhere is out of state for me, meaning everywhere is real expensive. I was planning on moving to the mainland to acquire residency so I can apply as an in state applicant for a certain school. I applied to 8 schools this 2019 cycle but was only offered an interview at Ross (waiting to hear back), but am worried about the cost so I might deny to save money in the long run...hard to ignore a potential difference of $150k.

I have read that most states require 12 months of living/working there in order to be considered a resident, and some require legal documents stating intent? I'm wondering if anyone has been through this process or know any states that are more flexible with gaining residency. I was planning on moving in June to give some wiggle room in the state to find employment at a vet office and take some classes at a school in order to strengthen my application. From what I've read as long as I hit 12 months before the actual first day of classes I'd be able to be considered in-state. I've also heard of a couple states that offer in state after the first year and am looking into that as well.

I know it's a gamble choosing one state/school for in state, but at this point it's a better shot than paying out of state anywhere. My dream school is UF due to their marine animal program/opportunities, but anywhere with marine animal centers in close-ish proximity would be great.

My thinking is also that there are more spots allocated for in state applicants and I would have a better chance of acceptance than being out of state, is there any truth to this thought?

Any and all advice would be much appreciated.
Mahalo,
Noah

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Hawaii has WICHE so you could get IS tuition at select schools WSU,OSU (oregon), CSU if you recieved it. Otherwise moving you usually have to move change everything over driver license, voting, etc and usually work full time for 12 month before you apply to be considered a resident. Each state has slightly different requirements so it's important you check with that school how they define residency.

 

[PippyPony]

From what I've read as long as I hit 12 months before the actual first day of classes I'd be able to be considered in-state. I've also heard of a couple states that offer in state after the first year and am looking into that as well.

My understanding is that this is variable. For my school, you had to meet the qualifications for residency at the time of application, not matriculation.

This sounds pretty risky to me overall since there is no guarantee that you'll be accepted to one particular school in the future after being denied interviews this year. My advice would be to move there if you want to for other reasons (diversity of experience, lower cost of living, what have you), but not for vet school residency requirements alone.

Alternatively, if there is any way you could work for a little while (even at another job), save up money through work and investments, and then apply later on, that might leave you in a better place financially than taking a 1.5+ year gamble on in-state tuition.

 

[Blueangel7]

A lot of states also require you not be living in that state for educational reasons so for the 12 months you could not take any classes.

 

[PippyPony]

One more thing -- this scenario seems like the poster child for recommending you contact the individual schools to do file reviews. They are the ones who will be able to give you the best information about your chances of eventually being accepted. (Apologies if you are already in the process of doing this/already planning to do it). Good luck!

 

[EngrSC]

@sheltermed didn’t you do this?

 

[meelc]

I believe Davis is one where as long as you are living in California 12 months prior to matriculation (so August prior to application submission), you are considered part of the in state pool and pay IS tuition all 4 years. If your stats align with previous IS applicants, this may be one to look into?

 

[sheltermed]

@sheltermed didn’t you do this?

I did, yes! And I can say it was successful - mostly. Entirely is to be determined (read on).

Last year, I was interviewed and waitlisted at Michigan State as an out of state student. Given that I was one of only about 10% of OOS applicants to have even gotten interviewed, I decided I would move to increase my chances. That said, I also did my research as to how to become a resident. Additionally, had I not gotten as close as I did to getting accepted as an OOS student, I would not have made the move.

Every school has different requirements. I learned that if I lived in Michigan for 12 months prior to the start of classes, I would be considered a resident. There are nuances to this, though. Something else that will make me a resident is providing tax documents that say I work full time in Michigan. I have a full time job here AND will have been living here for 12 months prior to the start of classes. So, hopefully one way or another I will be approved for in state tuition. I have heard of people getting a hard time. I doubt it will be easy, but I think that given my job and solid proof that I work here, it will go fairly smoothly. However, this is why I say to be determined - while I was accepted as an in state student, that doesn't necessarily mean I will be granted in state tuition. If I am, then I will consider the move to have been entirely successful. But given that I was just offered admission, it's mostly successful for sure!

Something "special" about me is that I have nothing tethering me anywhere. No kids, family, relationship, etc. Sounds depressing (it is [well, not the kids part, F that]), but it allows me to basically go wherever I want and do whatever I want, barring financial limitations lol.

After doing the math, I figured out that I had about a 64% chance of being admitted as an IS student once I got to the interview stage. Compare that to about 16% once I got to the interview stage as OOS, it was kind of a "no brainer." Given that I got to the interview stage as OOS, I thought it was a pretty fair shot I'd get interviewed again as IS. Obviously nothing is a guarantee, but I chose to take that risk.

Anyway, yeah. Coincidentally just got my acceptance letter less than an hour ago. I'd say it's a good thing I moved.

If you have any questions let me know.

 

[RahyneDays]

Anyway, yeah. Coincidentally just got my acceptance letter less than an hour ago. I'd say it's a good thing I moved.

Hey!!! Congrats on the acceptance!!

 

[CoffeeQuestionMark]

Aloha all,

Sorry if this has been answered before but couldn't find an exact answer and was wondering if anyone knew.

Does anyone have advice for moving to a state to gain residency before they start school?

I live in Hawaii, so technically everywhere is out of state for me, meaning everywhere is real expensive. I was planning on moving to the mainland to acquire residency so I can apply as an in state applicant for a certain school. I applied to 8 schools this 2019 cycle but was only offered an interview at Ross (waiting to hear back), but am worried about the cost so I might deny to save money in the long run...hard to ignore a potential difference of $150k.

I have read that most states require 12 months of living/working there in order to be considered a resident, and some require legal documents stating intent? I'm wondering if anyone has been through this process or know any states that are more flexible with gaining residency. I was planning on moving in June to give some wiggle room in the state to find employment at a vet office and take some classes at a school in order to strengthen my application. From what I've read as long as I hit 12 months before the actual first day of classes I'd be able to be considered in-state. I've also heard of a couple states that offer in state after the first year and am looking into that as well.

I know it's a gamble choosing one state/school for in state, but at this point it's a better shot than paying out of state anywhere. My dream school is UF due to their marine animal program/opportunities, but anywhere with marine animal centers in close-ish proximity would be great.

My thinking is also that there are more spots allocated for in state applicants and I would have a better chance of acceptance than being out of state, is there any truth to this thought?

Any and all advice would be much appreciated.
Mahalo,
Noah

As Mixy said, some schools on the west side had WICHE sponsorship. These are competitive spots. If you don't receive WICHE funding at WSU, you can change residency after 1 year. Actually, this is true for several vet schools (the others not WICHE): Ohio, Minnesota (but difficult), Tennessee (if you're married to a TN resident), North Carolina, I think Missouri??

These schools tend to be very competitive because of the price tag. Washington, however, gives preference to WICHE state students over other OOS students.

Additionally, FYI, there is a marine mammal center being built in the Seattle area. Geographically this will be closer to OSU (Oregon) than WSU.

Also, please note for your first choice, U of F is a very difficult school to get in to even if you're in state. There are many Florida residents in this forum who were denied admission of UF and had to go elsewhere.

I would certainly not move somewhere for hopes to gain admission to a school unless you are confident about your application. I am not sure how many schools you applied to, and I don't mean to sound harsh, but if Ross was the only school that offered an interview then there is probably something off-putting about your application. If you would like advice on how to build your application, post here: What are my chances?

 

[SkiOtter]

My dream school is UF due to their marine animal program/opportunities, but anywhere with marine animal centers in close-ish proximity would be great.

Tagging @katashark for the marine animal part. She also goes to Oregon state, which is a WICHE school and could be a good option

 

[sheltermed]

if Ross was the only school that offered an interview then there is probably something off-putting about your application

ouch

 

[SkiOtter]

ouch

I mean....she’s not wrong....

 

[katashark]

Aloha all,

Sorry if this has been answered before but couldn't find an exact answer and was wondering if anyone knew.

Does anyone have advice for moving to a state to gain residency before they start school?

I live in Hawaii, so technically everywhere is out of state for me, meaning everywhere is real expensive. I was planning on moving to the mainland to acquire residency so I can apply as an in state applicant for a certain school. I applied to 8 schools this 2019 cycle but was only offered an interview at Ross (waiting to hear back), but am worried about the cost so I might deny to save money in the long run...hard to ignore a potential difference of $150k.

I have read that most states require 12 months of living/working there in order to be considered a resident, and some require legal documents stating intent? I'm wondering if anyone has been through this process or know any states that are more flexible with gaining residency. I was planning on moving in June to give some wiggle room in the state to find employment at a vet office and take some classes at a school in order to strengthen my application. From what I've read as long as I hit 12 months before the actual first day of classes I'd be able to be considered in-state. I've also heard of a couple states that offer in state after the first year and am looking into that as well.

I know it's a gamble choosing one state/school for in state, but at this point it's a better shot than paying out of state anywhere. My dream school is UF due to their marine animal program/opportunities, but anywhere with marine animal centers in close-ish proximity would be great.

My thinking is also that there are more spots allocated for in state applicants and I would have a better chance of acceptance than being out of state, is there any truth to this thought?

Any and all advice would be much appreciated.
Mahalo,
Noah

Thanks for the tag @SkiOtter! Sorry it took me so long to reply. I am a current 4th year at Oregon State and I am focused in aquatic animal medicine. We have a track called Non-Traditional that gives you lots of options for building your own curriculum. I am from Arizona, and applied for WICHE but I was denied, so I am an out of state student. Many people in my class lived in Oregon for about a year to gain residency status, they have said it was simple. You just couldn't be in OR for the sole purpose of attending school. Are you interested in marine mammals? Fish? Inverts? You can take advantage of FL opportunities even from far away. UF's vet school offers many online courses through their CVM that are specifically focused in aquatic animal medicine. I have been able to take several of these and I convinced Oregon's curriculum committee to count them as elective credit, which is required for every track. We also have Hatfield Marine Science Center and Oregon Coast Aquarium about 1 hour away. I have been able to gain veterinary experience at both of these facilities. There are also several opportunities for salmon experience in the area. Seattle and Vancouver Aquariums offer externships as well. For the UF opportunities, I was able to take their online courses, attend SeaVet, and have an externship at the Tropical Aquaculture Lab. I attended both MarVet course offerings, and was able to have externships in Hong Kong and most recently, Brazil! Several underclassmen have also done other externships in FL that I can get you the name of. The only thing about Oregon is that we are pretty much unable to attend AquaVet, but with all my experience, I've been able to meet most of the instructors through conferences and other courses, and I do not feel a gap in my aquatic medicine education whatsoever. Please PM me if you have any questions at all. I'm happy to connect you with resources, professional organizations, etc. Just know that UF is not the only option! You can and should pursue opportunities in lots of settings.