State Residency

[Gradnow]

What is everyone doing about state residency if they are moving to a new state for graduate school? I have used my parents address during undergrad and kept my residency here. Is there any advantage/requirement to change my residency when I move to another state for grad school? I will probably move back here when I finish my phd and it just seems easier to keep my license, voter registration, bank accounts, etc here. If you are changing your residency how/when are you going about it?

[cheryl]

I'm moving about 1500 miles and will be there at least 5 years, so I'm definitely switching it all over - it'd probably be a huge hassle not to. I use a large national bank & they have a branch where I'm moving, so no worries there, just change my address. I actually just got done looking into getting a new drivers license in the state I'm moving to - not hard, as long as you have a valid out-of-state license and all the proper identification. Anyway, I think that anyone could probably get by using their parents' address as the permanent one, but it just seems silly if you'll be living there for so long, not to mention the fact that this is a good opportunity to cut the proverbial apron strings and be on your own. Both my parents and I are getting sick of having my official mail sent to their address and then having them forward it on to me.

[rising_star]

I have kept my residency at my mom's and will continue to do so while in graduate school. Mostly because I have a tuition waiver and they don't care whether I'm in-state or out-of-state. I'd do whatever is simpler. I'm in an MA program so I figured why change for 2 years if I didn't change for the 4 years of undergrad.

[History_Nerd]

I'm changing over - so I'll be voting and getting a new drivers lic. in the new state.

[LeNea]

Consider the full implications of keeping your car registered in the different state - my home state requires annual safety inspections. I wasn't going to drive 1600 miles round trip every year to get it inspected. There is a process that involves DMVs faxing one another paperwork to get around it, but that sounded like a logistical nightmare. Dealing with one DMV is bad enough, but two? Egads.

I decided six years was a long time, and it was worth it to me to transition over to keep my life simple.

[UndraftedFreeAgent]

Consider the full implications of keeping your car registered in the different state - my home state requires annual safety inspections. I wasn't going to drive 1600 miles round trip every year to get it inspected. There is a process that involves DMVs faxing one another paperwork to get around it, but that sounded like a logistical nightmare. Dealing with one DMV is bad enough, but two? Egads.

My thoughts exactly, and I would have to drive even further than that. When dealing with bureaucrats, the fewer opportunities you give them to mess up, the better. The Indiana version of the DMV literally made a friend of mine cry with their stupidity.

Also, if you go to a state school, it's likely that you will be required to change your residency to that state in order to receive any funding after the first year (unless you are an international student). Be sure to read the grad student bulletin/handbook at your university. There are all sorts of little rules and technicalities that somehow go unmentioned during visitation weekends. At Notre Dame, a few of us used to joke about all of the things that could get you expelled (or even excommunicated, if you're Catholic), but which were never, to our knowledge, enforced.

[maroonwings]

Also, if you go to a state school, it's likely that you will be required to change your residency to that state in order to receive any funding after the first year (unless you are an international student). Be sure to read the grad student bulletin/handbook at your university. There are all sorts of little rules and technicalities that somehow go unmentioned during visitation weekends. At Notre Dame, a few of us used to joke about all of the things that could get you expelled (or even excommunicated, if you're Catholic), but which were never, to our knowledge, enforced.

This is the policy at the school I'll be attending. They will only give out-of-state tuition waivers for one year, so you have to establish residency there. They did tell me this up front in the email detailing my funding offer, but you should check with your department if they didn't mention it. Anyway, I'd planned to establish residency anyway since I'm going to be there for six years and I'm moving across the country. It would be a real pain for me not to be a California resident.