Will I lose my State residency?

[ASU_Premed]

Hello everyone,

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but I don't know where to ask this question!

I was hoping some people here could give me some insight as to how 'state residency' works and whether I will become a resident of 'no state' if I end up taking a job in a different state for 2-6 months before I apply to medical schools.

I am currently an AZ resident and have lived here for over 20 years. I am in my last semester of college, and I am planning to apply to medical school next year and have a 'gap year' in between. This means I need to have some sort of income for the year. My major is actually computer science, although I've been working on applying to med schools/taking prereqs/doing extracurriculars and research for around 3 years now. I was debating between trying to find employment or joining Americorps for the year instead (I kind of want to join Americorps, but I am considering employment prospects as well).

The problem with finding employment is that *if* (big if) I find employment with my degree, chances are that the employment will be in another State, since the vast majority most jobs in tech are in CA, Washington, Texas, Florida, the Northeast, etc. It will be significantly harder for me to find a job in AZ because of this - there just aren't as many jobs here :/. Since I will be claimed as a dependent by my parents this tax year, will I be exempt from losing my residency? If not, will there be a way for me to try to keep my residency so I'm not stuck applying as a 'no-state' applicant (ie, applying with a terrible disadvantage)? Does anyone have any advice here/ has anyone else been stuck in a similar situation?

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[otterxavier]

Residency requirements vary state by state, so your best bet is to look through Arizona's residency requirements carefully and contact the residency office at the schools you're interested in. (That link goes to ASU's website, but residency requirements are set by state law so they should be the same at every state school.)

In general, things that can support a claim of residency include being a dependent of parents who live in-state (which means they need to provide more than 50% of your support -- that gets tricky if you have a tech job with a decent income), having a state driver's license and voter registration, having received in-state tuition at a university there in the past. Things that can undermine a claim of residency include having an address/lease in another state, working in another state, paying income taxes in another state. If you do AmeriCorps, you might be able to make a case that you were temporarily stationed out of state (kind of like for military service) but always intended to return... schools may or may not buy that.

Different states give different amounts of time to lose or gain residency, so in theory, it is possible to be a resident nowhere. Even if you lose your AZ residency, some public schools will give an admissions preference to students who have "strong ties" to a state but don't have formal residency there (e.g., grew up there but moved away).

 

[Afford]

I would call the university that you want to matriculate and ask for the person who is responsible for determining that. I'm in the same situation as you as I'm taking a gap year and working outside of my state of residency, Texas. It's a really grey area and everyone who I've asked says that I'm on the border, so if I were you, I would try to find a job in Arizona because it's not worth the stress if you lose your residency and have to pay out of state resident tuition. The laws keep on changing and I'm tempted to ask a lawyer. :/

 

[Catalystik]

If you do AmeriCorps, you might be able to make a case that you were temporarily stationed out of state (kind of like for military service) but always intended to return... schools may or may not buy that.

From what I've observed, med schools buy into this.

 

[freemontie]

Did you qualify for in-state tuition all years for your undergrad at ASU? Do you have a AZ drivers license (keep it active don't switch it to another state)? And are you registered to vote in the state of AZ?

If yes to all 3, than I don't think you'll have a problem. Generally it's harder to set up state residency than to lose it (from my experience anyway- for example in washington state to qualify for in-state status they REQUIRED me get a washington drivers license or ID card and thus give up my other state's drivers license). I think drivers license + voter registration + something else (already got instate tuition) is enough. To be on the safe side if you do move temporarily for a job, you can file a AZ state tax return along with your new state's tax return.

But more research to ease your mind is always good.

 

[SkipJunior]

hey on a unrelated note, make sure you eat some Chuckbox burgers and also check out the Thai Basil restaurant on the intersection of Lemon and Rural. Both are Delish!!

 

[Afford]

This might be helpful to you. https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-too...Multiple-States---Where-To-File/INF12054.html
This thread had me worried, so I looked into temporary relocations more. The main thing is that you need to prove that you are only there temporarily and do everything to prevent gaining residency in your new state.