State residency and med school....

[MoonGlo]

Hey all. I have a very confusing problem about my state residency. I have lived in one state my entire life. However, I attend college (I'll be a sophomore) in different state... and my parents are moving to a thrid state. I was planning on swiching over my residency to the state I attend college so it would be cheaper on my parents. But, later could I claim that I am a resident of my parents' state when I start applying to med schools, or what? I just need advice now. Help! I don't belong to a state!! aghh!!

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[Barton]

It is hard (often impossible, depending on your state) to establish residency in a state while you are a full time student in that state. Most states have specific regulations in place to prevent people from establishing residency merely to obtain in-state tuition rates. You could probably conceivably remain a resident of your home state or your parents' new state. You shouldn't have a problem convincing schools of either of these scenarios. Check with any schools you plan to attend (or the one you currently attend) to learn about residency requirements. These are usually posted on school websites. As far as in state tuition for your undergrad, have investigated interstate organizations for reciprocity agreements and the like? I am a MN resident. Through a reciprocity agreement I pay in-state tuition in MN, WI, ND, SD, and Manitoba. I am also eligible for a 150% instate tuition rate at many schools in IA, NE, MI, KS, and MO through the MIdwest Student Exchange Program. I am sure that programs like these exist throughout the country, so it's worth looking into. Good luck!

 

[MoonGlo]

Well you are right, it is hard to get residency while I am a full time undergrad. But I talked to them and I might be able to get it after a year (I'm trying to get the instate tuition). However, I do not want to go to medschool in that state. I want to go to medschool in the state my parents moved to (Texas), so do you think I can be considered "in-state" for a Texas med school here in a few years?

 

[nashtrash]

hi moonglo--I got this off the web site for texas med schools:

(http://dpweb1.dp.utexas.edu/mdac/homepage.htm)

Some general guidelines from the above referenced Rules and Regulations regarding residency are as follows:

1. Residency of a minor or dependent is based upon one of the following:

a. The residency of the parent who has custody at the time of application if parents are divorced;
b. The residency of the parent who has claimed the individual as a dependent for Federal Income Tax purposes both for the year in which the individual is applying and for the preceding tax year; or
c. The residence of the parent with whom the individual has resided for the 12-month period preceding application to medical/dental school.

2. To qualify as a Texas resident for application purposes, an independent individual 18 years of age or over who has come from outside Texas must reside in Texas and be gainfully employed for a 12-month period preceding the date of application to medical/dental school. Evidence must also be provided that the 12-month residence was for the purpose of establishing residence in the state and not for the purpose of attending an educational institution.

3. An individual 18 years of age or over who resides out of the state or who has come from outside Texas and registers in an educational institution before having resided in Texas for a 12-month period shall be classified as a non-resident student and will remain a non-resident as long as the residence of the individual in Texas is primarily for the purpose of attending an educational institution.

4. Only those foreign citizens who are living in this country under a visa permitting permanent residence or who are permitted by Congress to adopt the U.S. as their domicile while they are in this country or have filed a declaration of intention to become a U.S. citizen are eligible to be classified a Texas resident if they have otherwise met the requirements for establishing residency.

5. Military personnel stationed in Texas are considered non-residents unless:

a. The member was a Texas resident upon entry into the service and Texas continues to be his/her state of legal residence while in the military.
b. The member abandoned his/her prior state of residency and established a domicile in Texas at least 12 months before applying to medical/dental school and the member has otherwise met the requirements for establishing residency.


hope this helps--applying as a texas resident gives you a super super advantage at texas med schools so be careful not to put your residency status in jeopardy. good luck!

 

[MoonGlo]

NashTrash, Thank you so much for that information. When I am applying for med school, I will be a "dependent" of my parents living in Texas. So am I correct to say that even though I don't go to college or live in Texas, and my parents do... I can still be granted in-state tuition at a Texas school?

 

[pre-hawkdoc]

I'm pretty sure that in most instances, a dependent's address, by definition, is the address of their parents (or whomever it is that they're dependent on.

 

[Hopkins2010]

Originally posted by MoonGlo:
•NashTrash, Thank you so much for that information. When I am applying for med school, I will be a "dependent" of my parents living in Texas. So am I correct to say that even though I don't go to college or live in Texas, and my parents do... I can still be granted in-state tuitiat a Texas school?•

Yes, moonglo you will considered a Texas resident for admission and tuition purposes IF your parents live and work in Texas without going to school for a full year before you apply.

Some schools, like UT Southwestern and Baylor, will change up those residency guidelines slightly IF you were to get accepted, but since you will be meeting the residency guidelines set down by the THECB you should have no problem.

Good luck

 

[MoonGlo]

Originally posted by baylor21:
•Yes, moonglo you will considered a Texas resident for admission and tuition purposes IF your parents live and work in Texas without going to school for a full year before you apply.•

What exactly do you mean "without going to school for a full year?" My parents will have lived and worked in Texas for over a year, and I will still be their dependent child at the time of the application.

 

[Starflyr]

Originally posted by MoonGlo:
•What exactly do you mean "without going to school for a full year?" My parents will have lived and worked in Texas for over a year, and I will still be their dependent child at the time of the application.•

MoonGlo, what that means is that you will be considered a Tx resident only if your parents did not move to texas to go to school - for example, if both of them had moved to Dallas to pursue engineering degrees at UTD, they (and hence YOU) would not be considered state residents. Does that make sense?