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Can I declare myself as an instate applicant if my uncle lives and has lived in UVA for the past 5 years? And thereby, if i canno declare myself an instate applicant how difficult owuld it be for me to get instate tuition?

If you didn't live with him...probably not. From what I hear it's very possible to get instate tuition your 2/4rd year tho, regardless.

Virginia resident here. If your Uncle provides you with more than 50% of your income then you are considered his dependent and you'll likely qualify for in-state tuition. Otherwise, just having a relative doesn't qualify you for in-state tuition. You will have to reside in Virginia for over a year, and they don't count going to school as residence for tuition purposes.

sinfiery wrote:From what I hear it's very possible to get instate tuition your 2/4rd year tho, regardless.

That's not true. It's pretty much impossible to establish Virginia residency for tuition purposes after your first day of school.

Why not just live and work there for a year, then apply and get instate tuition?

In-state tuition for your uncle, yes.

North wrote:

sinfiery wrote:From what I hear it's very possible to get instate tuition your 2/4rd year tho, regardless.

That's not true. It's pretty much impossible to establish Virginia residency for tuition purposes after your first day of school.

This is correct.

Oh, my bad.

Yes; you need to move to VA not for the purposes of education, in order to attempt to establish residency. So during that year, you can't go to college or to law school or etc.

North wrote:

sinfiery wrote:From what I hear it's very possible to get instate tuition your 2/4rd year tho, regardless.

That's not true. It's pretty much impossible to establish Virginia residency for tuition purposes after your first day of school.

If you start school, and during the first year of classes you buy a home in Virginia, pay Virginia state taxes, register your car there, register to vote there, etc, wouldn't that make you a Virginia resident and make you eligible for in-state tuition for your second and subsequent years?

ScottRiqui wrote:

North wrote:

sinfiery wrote:From what I hear it's very possible to get instate tuition your 2/4rd year tho, regardless.

That's not true. It's pretty much impossible to establish Virginia residency for tuition purposes after your first day of school.

If you start school, and during the first year of classes you buy a home in Virginia, pay Virginia state taxes, register your car there, register to vote there, etc, wouldn't that make you a Virginia resident and make you eligible for in-state tuition for your second and subsequent years?

Assuming that isn't more expensive than just paying the regular tuition lol

JasonH wrote:

ScottRiqui wrote:

North wrote:

sinfiery wrote:From what I hear it's very possible to get instate tuition your 2/4rd year tho, regardless.

That's not true. It's pretty much impossible to establish Virginia residency for tuition purposes after your first day of school.

If you start school, and during the first year of classes you buy a home in Virginia, pay Virginia state taxes, register your car there, register to vote there, etc, wouldn't that make you a Virginia resident and make you eligible for in-state tuition for your second and subsequent years?

Assuming that isn't more expensive than just paying the regular tuition lol

Yeah, I just now looked at the difference in tuition rate. It's only $5k/year, so that would be a lot of hassle and commitment to the area just to save $10k over the course of your last two years.

If it is feasible to go and live with your uncle for one year prior in order to establish residency it would be a good idea. It would also benefit you in your admissions process; because UVa is a state sponsored school 40% of their matriculants (<- is that a word?) have to be VA residents. So if your numbers are below their medians or if you fall somewhere in the middle of the pack that would give you a slight boost.

mvonh001 wrote:Can I declare myself as an instate applicant if my uncle lives and has lived in UVA for the past 5 years? And thereby, if i canno declare myself an instate applicant how difficult owuld it be for me to get instate tuition?

Only if your uncle claims you as a dependent. In that case, you would be a resident of VA and could get in-state tuition. (That's what I'm doing with my mother; she's claiming me as a dependent for this reason.)

All the other posters covered the difficulty of getting in-state otherwise. But as one poster already said, saving $10k over two years isn't really worth it anyway.