It is well known that in-state tuition is far, far cheaper than out-of-state tuition for public schools, and that in-state students often have a much easier path to admission, especially at the most competitive flagship schools. We see this quite often for students looking to apply to a number of flagship public universities, both in Texas and beyond. There are two ways in which state residency matters; first for applying to the school, and second, when it comes time to pay for it. In this article, we’re going to go over how schools determine residency, and whether or not you can come to be a resident of these states. We’re specifically going to look at Texas and UC schools in California. We’ll also discuss if attending a state school from out of state is worth it. Let’s get started!
Texas Residency for Students
The first time your residency matters for these schools is when you apply to them in the first place. Both UT Austin and Texas A&M evaluate in-state and out-of-state applicants differently, though each has their own system. We’ll go through each school in turn, and how they evaluate and handle residency in admissions.
UT Austin bases residency requirements on legal guidelines set by Texas state law. They determine your state residency based on the information you include on your application. If they decide based on this you are not a state resident, you may submit a form to appeal this, if you perhaps made a mistake on your application or if admissions missed something. There are two ways residency can be established.
The first is by graduating high school in Texas. This specifically has the three following components:
- Either graduate from a Texas high school or earn your GED in Texas
- Live in Texas for the 36 months (three years) prior to that graduation
- Live in Texas for the 12 months immediately before the census date of the semester in which you enroll in the university
Note that this method is available to both US citizens and noncitizens who have graduated from high school in Texas.
The second option is by establishing domicile in Texas, and is more commonly done after applying. Thai is open to US citizens and non-citizens alike, though non-citizens must have an application for permanent residency on file with Citizenship and Immigration Service. If you are filing your taxes as an independent, you may establish a domicile in the state; if you are listed as a dependent on your parent’s taxes, then they must establish domicile in the state to claim residency.
Establishing a domicile requires you (or possibly your parents) to do the following:
- Live in Texas for 12 consecutive months
- Establish that residence as your legal domicile; this may be evidenced by
- Gainful employment in the state of Texas (note that student employment does not count for this)
- Sole or joint (through marriage) ownership of a residential property in which you reside
- Ownership or operation of a business in Texas, or
- Marriage of at least one year to a person who has established domicile in Texas
Note that this is intentionally difficult, and is intended to ensure that only people who live in and pay taxes in Texas get to benefit from their public education system at in-state prices.
As this system is also based on the exact same Texas laws, it is pretty much exactly the same as the one used by UT Austin, though they present the information differently. They do have a few useful notes that UT Austin lacks. The most important is for military service members, which states that if your home of record with the military is in Texas, then you and your spouse count as Texas residents.
Currently enrolled students who have a change in residency status may apply to have this changed by submitting a form to the registrar. The registrar may request additional information from you to verify what you submit on this form.
Note that there are some waivers available to select groups of students to allow them to pay in-state tuition despite not having established Texas residency. These may be found on this page.
California Residency for Students
California residency matters for both applying to UC schools, and for the tuition you pay once you get there. They do have quotas for how many students must come from California, and there are significant scholarships only open to residents of the state. As a unified system, all UC schools use the same system for determining if students are residents.
This is established when students apply based on their Statement of Legal Residence, a form all new students are required to submit to the registrar. Each campus has their own instructions on how to file this, but the form is the same across the system. Students returning from leave of absence or who are transferring in must also complete and submit one of these forms.
After an initial review of this form, the office may ask for additional documentation to verify the status of your residency. These can include:
- Driver’s license (or other government issued ID card which verify residency)
- Tax returns or bank statements
- Voter or selective service registration
- Employment or housing verification
Note that residency determinations are final; you have one opportunity to prove to the residency deputy that you are a resident. If they request documentation and you do not provide it, they will make this decision based solely on the information they currently have. For this reason, if you receive one of these requests, therefore, we very much recommend submitting all the documentation they ask for.
There are four requirements the school is looking for to determine residency within California for the purpose of determining in-state UC tuition. All four of these requirements must be met by the time you begin your studies at UC. These requirements are:
- Physical presence. You must be physically present and living in California for more than one year (366 days minimum) of the date on which you request residency.
- Intent to remain in California. You must establish your intention to remain in California as a permanent resident more than one year before you request residency.
- Financial independence. For undergraduate students under the age of 24, and your parents are not California residents, then you must verify financial independence for at least one year before requesting residency. This includes not being listed as a dependent on their taxes.
- Immigration status. You must have the legal ability to establish a permanent domicile in the US, meaning you must be a citizen, permanent non-citizen resident, or hold an eligible visa.
They establish whether or not you fulfill these requirements through the form; if there are any questions they ask for additional forms, as we discuss above.
They begin by warning that establishing California residency once you are enrolled as an undergraduate student is incredibly difficult, and almost all students who enroll as non-residents graduate as non-residents as well. This isn’t to say that this is impossible, merely that it is very difficult to the point of being prohibitive.
The way they determine if you deserve residency status is by seeing if you demonstrate physical presence and intent. That is, you must be physically present in California for at least a full year (366 days), and clearly establish your intent to remain in California after you graduate. This involves losing your legal ties to your former state, and establishing those ties to California.
Here are their guidelines for establishing intent to remain in California:
- Remain in California when school is not in session. If you leave for more than one month your intent will be questioned; absences of more than 6 weeks are disqualifying.
- Register to vote in California, and vote in Californian elections.
- Designate your California residence as your primary residence on all documentation, both governmental and commercial.
- Obtain a California driver’s license within 10 days of settling in California. Note that this one may take some legwork prior to moving to campus; we advise scheduling a DMV appointment well in advance, especially if moving to a major metro area.
- If you have a car, you must also register that within 20 days of establishing residency in the state.
- Work in California, and file income taxes in California on this income. Earned income from outside of California must also be declared in California after the date of establishing residency.
- Establish a permanent home in California where your belongings are stored.
Beyond this, you must also demonstrate either financial independence, or that you are a dependent of California residents, and this is the hardest part for most undergraduate students. If you are under 24 and unmarried, you must demonstrate through tax returns or other financial documentation that you have been financially independent and self-sufficient for at least a full year before applying to residency. You must show your ability to support yourself through earned income, financial aid, savings in your name, or loans in your name. You may not have been claimed as a dependent or received gifts or support from others during this period.
Note that there are some exceptions to this requirement. The following groups can be exempted from fulfilling this requirement:
- Veterans of the US armed forces
- Wards of the court, or students where both parents are deceased
- Students with legal dependents other than a spouse
- Students who are married and who are not claimed as a dependent by their parents or anyone else for a one year period prior to requesting residency
- Graduate students are automatically considered to be financially independent
Needless to say, most undergraduates cannot meet all of these requirements. It is a path some students undertake, but should be done deliberately, and with careful consideration.
Final Thoughts
College is expensive, incredibly so, and many students look to public universities for the major cost savings they offer. Those savings, however, are reserved for students within a specific state; all others end up paying nearly as much as they would at a private college. This can lead to students looking for loopholes, and finding a way to establish residency, and receive those same discounts, even in a state they may be far from.
Now, in some cases, there are ways to do this. Certain states have reciprocity agreements, allowing students to transit between states and still pay in-state tuition. These are limited agreements, and negotiated on a state-by-state basis. Other times a waiver is provided, though these are done on a college level, and tend to be exceptionally rare. In most cases, if you want the lower tuition, you will need to focus on public colleges within your state.
We hope that you have found this article helpful; while we could not cover every state, Texas and California are both popular choices for out of state applicants, and give insight into how these colleges often approach residency requirements. If you are looking for help building a college list to meet your own financial needs, or gain insights into application strategy, then schedule a free consultation with us today. We have a long experience helping students navigate the troubled waters of college admissions, and are always happy to hear from you.
