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In-State Tuition After One Year in New State?

Written by Sally Rubenstone | April 16, 2018

Question: I'm a high school senior who will be moving from Taiwan to attend Colorado State University. I have US citizenship, but neither my parents nor I have Colorado residency. If I stay in Colorado for one full year, will I be allowed to pay in-state tuition for the next three years of university?

In-state tuition rules vary a bit from state to state (and sometimes even from college to college within the same state!), so many folks feel like they need a college degree just to decipher the confusing regulations. But one rule that's pretty consistent is this:

Although states will typically grant residency to those who have lived there for twelve consecutive months, if you're moving to a new state for the express purpose of enrolling in a college or university, you will NOT be considered a state resident after you've been in school for a year ... or at any time during your college career there.

In order to sidestep this rule, some students will relocate to a new state, spend a year working (and paying rent or a mortgage, obtaining a driver's license, etc.) to establish residency, and will then enroll in school only after the one-year waiting period is over. BUT ... this little gambit will not work for you since you're a senior in high school and not an older, “non-traditional" student. In Colorado, you must be at least 22 to establish residency independently. Otherwise, your permanent residence is considered to be where your parents live (even if you pay all your own expenses and they don't claim you on their taxes). In some states, that age is as high as 24. This requirement keeps recent high school grads from taking a “gap year" in the state where they plan to go to college and then matriculating at the in-state cost.

If your parents are planning to move to Colorado with you in the fall, then you would be able to pay in-state tuition after the first year at CSU, but I don't think that you'll be bringing them along, right? So, unfortunately, you will not qualify for in-state tuition in Colorado. However, if you're hoping to find a way to keep your costs down, you can apply to be a resident assistant in the CSU dorms after you've lived on campus for two semesters and have met certain other terms. CSU RA's receive a free single room, all meals and a small stipend. So check out the requirements and application process here, if you're interested, so that you can position yourself to be selected when the time comes.

Hope that helps, and good luck as you make the big move.

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.