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How 2 maintain Tx residency for college?


USNRET

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I am considering a 5 year stint in Greece.
I have a senior in a Texas High School who wants to attend UTA / A&M and going to med school (hopeful surgeon)
I am eligible for the Texas Hazel Wood Act that pays tuition and fees for 150 hrs that I can give BUT I have to actually live in Texas when he attends so that is out. Lil sister can use it later.
So in order to get in-state tuition we have to show, for example
Residency through high school graduation requirements: • Graduate from a Texas high school or receive a GED in Texas; and • Live in Texas for the 36 months immediately before high school graduation; and • Live in Texas for the 12 months immediately before the census date of the semester in which you enroll at the University.

I would like my son to come with us for at least a year enrolling in an American English taught university in Athens so he can have that experience but not have to pay out of state (double) the cost when he comes back to enter UTA /A&M.

The only way I can see this is to rent a Texas domicile in his name for the time spent in Greece. 

Thoughts?

 

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I am considering a 5 year stint in Greece.
I have a senior in a Texas High School who wants to attend UTA / A&M and going to med school (hopeful surgeon)
I am eligible for the Texas Hazel Wood Act that pays tuition and fees for 150 hrs that I can give BUT I have to actually live in Texas when he attends so that is out. Lil sister can use it later.
So in order to get in-state tuition we have to show, for example
Residency through high school graduation requirements: • Graduate from a Texas high school or receive a GED in Texas; and • Live in Texas for the 36 months immediately before high school graduation; and • Live in Texas for the 12 months immediately before the census date of the semester in which you enroll at the University.

I would like my son to come with us for at least a year enrolling in an American English taught university in Athens so he can have that experience but not have to pay out of state (double) the cost when he comes back to enter UTA /A&M.

The only way I can see this is to rent a Texas domicile in his name for the time spent in Greece. 

Thoughts?

 

Live in TX.


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3 minutes ago, baron167 said:

Live in TX.

I swore I would never leave Tx again (especially overseas) but the opportunity to be able to save an additional $600-700K over 5 years just prior to retirement causes one to stay up at night and ponder.

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I think you have to make a choice, Texas or Greece.

 

If your son lives independently from you he would almost certainly be low income (all college students are poor) and be eligible for more federal aid than if he lived with you as a dependent.  He would have to claim himself on his return.

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Just now, oldtimer said:

600 to 700 he can delay university and you can pay for it.

Hey that's my stereo money!

If we are out of country he would have zero family support in Texas  the states. Grandma is approaching 90. 

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12 hours ago, USNRET said:

I am considering a 5 year stint in Greece.

 

If he's taking AP classes then he will earn his bachelor's degree before you leave Greece. Let him live and study in TX until then, and then join you for a while in Greece (if he still wants to). By that point he can make his own decisions about living abroad, graduate studies, medical school, etc.

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A friend of mine who is a CPA along with her husband had their daughter established residency by purchasing a cheap undeveloped residential lot in Austin or thereabouts.  Daughter was eligible for in-state tuition, graduated and sold the lot.  Some variation of that might work for you. She lived in another state prior to arriving in Austin for college.  

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6 minutes ago, oldtimer said:

I thought of that, but look at the original post regarding requirements.  He still has to live in Texas, and there is no other family support.

Mike wants to have his cake and eat it too.  Your job is to figure out how.

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It might be good to write a letter to the Texas Secretary of State explaining the situation. I did something like that (a long time ago) in Arizona, and was pleasantly surprised by how many options there really were. I would be surprised if the student would lose residency particularly if his absence was for "educational" reasons, and there may be others.

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He should have enough credits to graduate early.  Any required courses might be placement tested out.  Use grandma's address for tax purposes, transfer her utilities into your name if necessary for proof (I am not sure what the state asks).

Alternatively, he appears smart enough to get a good academic scholarship.  Go to a good private school like TCU for undergrad work, then get into state med school.  To hell with UTA/A&M.

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13 hours ago, USNRET said:

Live in Texas for the 12 months immediately before the census date of the semester in which you enroll at the University.

This is your problem.  You want him to live in Greece for a year, come back to Texas and be immediately qualified.  I don't know the intricacies of the rules for college tuition, but in the law there are differences between the concepts of domicile and residences.  You can have multiple residences, whereas your domicile is usually thought to be limited to one place.  For example, when you go to Greece, planning to come back to Texas in 5 years, your domicile would still be considered Texas, but you would have a residence in Greece.  Sometimes, the terms are interchanged loosely.

 

For purposes of tuition, I have a hunch (and nothing more) that they are referring to residence, and not domicile.  There are undoubtedly provisions for temporary absences which will not defeat a showing of Texas residence, such as a trip to Mardi Gras, etc.  However, an uninterrupted absence for the entire year seems like it would defeat his claim to being a Texas resident during that period.

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