When planning to apply and pay for college, students should explore the academic offerings at publicly supported universities and colleges in their states. If you qualify for in-state tuition (and admission) as a state resident, you can obtain a first-class education at very reasonable rates.
For those students that live out of state, don't panic it's not so hard to establish residency! It's just going to take a little time. For instance in South Carolina, an independent person and their dependents must live in South Carolina for 12 consecutive months, meet the state requirements and then submit the application to their school.
Now living in South Carolina twelve months is easy, I've been here eight years and can't think of a single reason to leave!
The "hard" part is acquiring the documents needed to establish intent to become a resident. Some examples of what you will need to submit with your school applications are:
~ Statement of full time employment
~ SC Voter Registration card
~ Designating South Carolina as state of legal residence on military records
~ Possession of South Carolina driver's license or ID card
~ Ownership of principal residence in South Carolina
Keep in mind, members of the military are an exception. If a military person is permanently assigned on active duty in South Carolina, that person and their dependants qualify under an exception category. (They may be charged in state tuition and fees without having to establish a permanent home in South Carolina)
So in closing, there are two key rules to remember about the residency status process for tuition purposes:
1) actions speak louder than words, and
2) the devil is in the detail.
The information a student presents in their admission application is going to be reviewed by the state institution to determine residency. The burden is often on the applicant (or parent) to get these documents. For self-supporting college-age adults seeking to change their state of domicile, many states also need evidence of financial independence and a commitment to make one's permanent home in the state. Beware if a student tries to take advantage of residency benefits in two states at the same time (for tuition or any other purpose), any newly acquired resident status may be revoked.
Here are two great schools to consider in the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina:
Coastal Carolina University, http://www.coastal.edu/
Horry-Georgetown Technical College, http://www.hgtc.edu/
Thank you!
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