OK, here%26#039;s the deal: I live in Florida with both of my parents. While almost every other member of my family lives in Pennsylvania. Also, I am currently a high school senior (18yrs old) and have been accepted to Penn State University Park campus starting Fall of 2009.
Now that I%26#039;ve established that, does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can become a Pennsylvania resident for tuition purposes?
I mean is their any possible way I could use my relatives address/Pennsylvania resident status to establish residency? I%26#039;ve read through Penn State%26#039;s residency guidelines: http://www.bursar.psu.edu/faq.cfm?sc=Res鈥?/a>
but I%26#039;m still not sure if having my Aunt list me as a dependent on her taxes and getting a PA drivers license and registering to vote in PA(using her address) would qualify me to petition for a change of residency status at Penn State? And if it does what should I say in my petition letter?
Does anyone have any advice or suggestions of what I should do? Any suggestions of how I could get financial aid from Penn State?
And please don%26#039;t tell me to just give it up and pay out of state tuition b/c even with the scholarship money I%26#039;ve already won, the possible scholarship money that I%26#039;ve just applied for, FAFSA, and what I have saved up I couldn%26#039;t in my entire lifetime afford Penn State%26#039;s projected out of state tuition for four years.
Thank you for your time and suggestions!|||You can%26#039;t and there is only one reason!
Even though you can change all the things you listed, you graduated from High School in Florida. Your transcript will say you graduated in Florida, and they will notice!|||You can%26#039;t.
You have already established yourself as a student wishing to move there for the sole purpose of going to college. This means you will always be deemed an out of state resident of this school. You COULD change your drivers licence, get a voter ID card and even file your taxes in PA, and you%26#039;d STILL be an out of state resident. People will tell you all kinds of things to tell you how to get around this and they never follow up with it to tell you they eventually fail at it.
No, having your Aunt list you as a dependent on her taxes or giving the school her address won%26#039;t change your residency status. Again, you are not from PA and you can%26#039;t count time enrolled in college towards the residency requirement anyway.
Usually what ends up happening (i%26#039;ve seen it, trust me) is the kids get to be Jrs or Seniors in college and just end up successfully (by changing the Drivers lic and stuff) making sure their OLD state (Flordia) won%26#039;t count them as an in-state student either.... when they try to tranfer back because Mom and Dad can%26#039;t borrow that much money anymore.
Its quite a shock to see the look on their face when they realize all those years of trying to get OUT of paying the extra backfires on them and costs them even more money, by trying to attend in their home state.
If you read through the questions on the FAQ%26#039;s you%26#039;ll notice that it says that a student must be classified as %26quot;independent%26quot; under the federal finanical aid guidelines. This means that unless you are over 24 years old, you will not be able to be independent because this is the age the fin aid office uses to determine if you are independent (has nothing to do with your parents claiming you on thier tax forms).
Here are the links where I got my info. Email me if you have questions.|||you have to have lived in pennsylvania for more then a year in order to do this so you would have already had to done this|||Once you receive the designation as %26quot;out of state%26quot; student that is what your residency is until you can prove that your are living in that state for reasons other than attending college. Schools are very strict with this because in-state tuition is like a privelage for those students whose parents have lived, worked and paid taxes to the state to help support the schools. Your parents have not done that in PA, they did that in FL. You will need more scholarship money, or borrow more money if this truly is the school of your dreams.
