<p>I was responding to the concerns of wis75. I’ve lived in many places in the country and was perfectly fine.</p>
<p>As far as I know, UNC has almost everything except engineering. My son loves sports and I don’t see why he wouldn’t want to go there. I prefer UNC to Rutgers as would most people who bother with college confidential. If we lived in North Carolina for one year before my son enters college we are playing by the rules and are as entitled as anyone else to have in-state tuition. If they allow him to stay there as an in-state and we move to Timbuctu I don’t know why you’re so upset about it. We have paid a lot of taxes over the years and we’re paying full freight for our daughter. There are many, many injustices happening all around us. This seems very minor.</p>
<p>I also understand that North Carolina residents get preference at Duke. Maybe if he gets in there we can pay more money if that will make you happy.</p>
<p>How does your son handle changes? If his grades drop, he won’t get in XXX and then you will have done all this for naught.</p>
<p>In addition, every state (and sometimes systems with the state) has their own graduation requirements. Make sure you understand those before making this move. For example, in GA, many parents who want to move their students from private religious high schools to public high schools are shocked to find out that most religion classes don’t transfer very well. In addition, while some of the PE credits can be waived by participating in a sport in public schools, at least one PE still must be taken. Private schools will often waive the PE credit altogether for Marching Band and athletics.</p>
<p>So you’ve paid a ton of taxes over the years - to the State of NJ and the localities around you. That has entitled you to the wonderful services provided to you by those governmental entities. You live in a high tax - high service state. You get what you pay for. When you live in the south, you don’t pay those high taxes and don’t get the best of services, except in certain situations. The tax payers of North Carolina sacrificed the level of local government services you get in NJ to have a top rate state flagship U and you want to come down for 1 year and scoop up that benefit. Conveniently ethical? I think not.</p>
<p>When I first opened this thread, I thought I was dealing with a person who was thinking “Geez, I’m not particularly tied to where I live by employment, so where would I like to live/retire (LONG TERM) where the priorities fit my priorities in life?” I can accept that having good schools and a low cost of living and nice weather as priorities.</p>
<p>However, this has turned into, I live in a state with wonderful state and local services - except this pesky state flagship U which doesn’t have the right snob appeal to fit my “sure fire top student” son (still TBD). Now how do I scheme my way into getting the taxpayers of another state to foot this small shortcoming in my current living situation while not leaving my lifestyle I otherwise enjoy?</p>
<p>If this is the ethics you want to push here on CC, I’ll be happy to call it out and not go away.</p>
<p>If you think NC is a place with a great governmental setup, by all means move there and make it your home. Otherwise, don’t try to be a cheapskate, scamming the taxpayers of NC who give up a lot other governmental services to have a fine flagship U.</p>
<p>Goaliedad - please mind your own business. I’ve lived in 4 states and haven’t used any of their public universities. Don’t you have anything else to do? Didn;t someone here say that we have to move to a state with our priorities? Yes, a good university is one of my priorities and if I could vote on that item I would vote for it. I’m sorry I didn’t have the good sense to be born in North Carolina.</p>
<p>Lastminutemom - we have moved a lot. both of my kids lived in 4 states and in the UK for a while. It’s not what I would have chosen but if we decide that it’s better to make one more move for our son to be in a better situation for high school and college and potentially graduate school, I think it might be worth it. And neither of my kids ever had a problem with school because of moving. When we moved out of Jersey to Ohio, my daughter’s workload dropped tremendously.</p>
<p>Goaliedad - seriously, why don’t you put yourself in our position? If you were not particularly tied to where you were living and thought about moving to NC because it’s cheap, warm and has a great school, would you then stop and think - wait, this would be unethical. People often move somewhere where there are good schools when they have school age children and then move out when they’re empty nesters. </p>
<p>Within New Jersey, people often move to a town with lower taxes and worse schools when their kids leave home.</p>
<p>Mind my own business… Uh, this is a public forum last I checked. And as long as I don’t violate any of the terms of use (hint - challenging your ethics is not a violation), I have every right to debate your ethics in this matter. If you disagree, go ahead and click that little red triangle with the exclaimation mark in it. I’ll love to hear the moderators laugh about it.</p>
<p>And I have plenty of other things to do. Unfortunately, you seem to be asking for more of this. Step back from the keyboard and consider that some people (not just me) disagree with your ethics.</p>
<p>The fact that you’ve lived in 4 states and haven’t used any of their public universities is NOT an excuse to scam a 5th state.</p>
<p>In fact, goaliegirl is applying OOS to a state U where we USED to live (and pay a boatload of taxes - almost as bad as NJ). No, I didn’t leave any home addressess behind to make a bogus case for instate, just because I gave them a bunch of money. I live with the decisions I made about where to live and work and pay taxes. Goaliegirl is making decisions about how she will contribute to her education and career life that will deal with the OOS situation.</p>
Read my replies carefully. I said it is just fine if you want to move to a state to actually live there and enjoy the benefits of a taxpayer there. However, if your only objective is to get instate tuition while maximizing your time in NJ, this is exactly why they check on your residency status - to find ethically challenged people who don’t understand that people of NC don’t want to subidize the college choices of the residents of NJ. The people of NC have decided who is a resident for purposes of in-state tuition. If they require you to live there during the entirety of your son’s schooling, you should learn that the wheeled item you put your groceries in at the store is called a buggy in some places. It comes with being a resident.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to live in NC, fine - stay in NJ or move someplace else if you wish. Your son can still apply as an OOS student and pay OOS tuition if accepted. The people of NC have found that having a variety of students from across the nation is a good thing.</p>
<p>You just need to understand that the laws of the state of NC are not just a financial inconvenience to be dealt with, but a guideline for people who wish to live within its jurisdiction or benefit from its institutions.</p>
<p>goaliedad - what is with the hostility? Amazon comes here asking questions and you shove your definition of what is “ethical” down her throat, I guess you can because it is an open forum but should you? </p>
<p>So if she moves to NC so she can afford college & retirement thats “ethically challenged” - but if she moves to NC to live and enjoy it thats OK? Bottom line - if she moves to NC and pays taxes and/or holds property (whatever the requirements) than she is entitled to in-state tuition. That is the law, sorry it does not fit into your convoluted ethical interpretation. </p>
<p>Hey look at this - this should make your head explode: Eleven states (New York, Texas, California, Illinois, Utah, Washington, and Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska and Wisconsin) allow undocumented students (illegal immagrants) to qualify for in-state tuition rates at public institutions of higher education.</p>
<p>you should learn that the wheeled item you put your groceries in at the store is called a buggy in some places - - ??</p>
<p>I just think Amazon needs to be sure she is correct. Her kid may NOT be entitled to continue with instate tuition the year after his family moves back to NJ or wherever. And with times the way they are now…the rules could easily change. </p>
<p>And I for one say…Rutgers is a fine school.</p>
<p>I failed to see the ethical problem. I was tempted to move to Virginia myself before my daughter started high school but I checked out the housing prices in VA, near DC that are a lot higher than I expected my salary would cover so I didn’t move. I think she is trying to get accurate information before making her move.</p>
<p>If you read amazon’s posts carefully, her intent is to keep an address in NC exactly long enough to qualify. Heaven forbid, she actually has to leave NJ and actually “live” there throughout his entire college education. Note that she wanted to return to the cosmopolitan NJ/NY area ASAP (or maybe Florida where all of her type of people retire). Doesn’t sound like someone who is moving to NC to me. And in the view of the state of NC, probably not gonna work.</p>
<p>So yes, I am going to beat up her ethics.</p>
<p>No, I am not biting on the bogus undocumented workers red herring. She asked advice for her situation and I am giving her advice she doesn’t want to hear. If anything this moral relevance thinking is exactly her problem.</p>
<p>The reference to “buggy” is a clue that she should learn to appreciate the particulars of a region she ostensibly wishes to “live” in and have her son spend formative years in. You aren’t from the region nor are pretending to want to live here, so I wouldn’t expect you to know what a buggy is.</p>
<p>If she moves to NC and follows their rules for residency, what’s wrong with that? I see nothing wrong with moving to a state that she perceives has a superior university system. The only time an ethical issue would come up is if she wants to move out of NC while her son is still in college there. I don’t think this is allowed and I would definitely advise against planning to move and then hiding it. However, moving <em>into</em> the state to establish residency according to state rules is perfectly fine.</p>
<p>If amazon wishes for her S to attend a NC public univ. at in-state tuition prices, she needs to move here at least a year before he applies and continue to live here until he graduates from college. That is the rule in NC. Other states may be different and she should prob. explore those options if she is not interested in living in NC until her S completes his education</p>
<p>If she moves while he is still in an NC college (which she has stated she is likely to do), he will get a 12 month grace period and will be allowed to continue to attend at the instate rate for those 12 months.<br>
After the grace period is up, he is welcome to continue his education in NC but will be expected to pay the out-of-state tution rate.<br>
The UNC website clearly states that if your circumstances change whereby your status as a student eligible for instate tution is no longer in effect, you must notify the registrar’s office and change your status. Failure to do so can result in the student being dropped from classes.</p>
<p>These are the rules mandated by our university system. The state of NC has no obligation to continue to subsidize the education of amazon’s son, if she leaves NC to live in a more desirable place.</p>
<p>lol, goaliedad…for all y’all who don’t know, a buggy is what lots of NC’ers call the thing with four wheels that you push around the grocery store and put your groceries in before heading to the check-out line.</p>
<p>^That sounds reasonable. It looks like she needs to plan on moving at least one year before application. Does she really need to live there until graduation? Could she move senior year and use that year as the grace period?</p>
<p>The focus on the ethics of amazon’s proposed strategy distracts from at least two important issues:</p>
<p>First, and most importantly, where does her S fit in all of this? Will he be resentful of having to leave his home and friends in pursuit of this long-range “plan”? Will he end up applying oos to schools in NJ? (Wouldn’t THAT be ironic?)</p>
<p>Second, my reading of the guidelines posted by amazon suggest pretty strongly that the family would have to live in NC at least 5 years. (“If the University becomes aware of new facts about your status, it has the responsibility to ask for a review of your residency classification to determine if your current classification is accurate.”) I have no ethical qualms with amazon’s overall strategy per se. But I would personally have some issues with trying to “get around” the residency requirement–e.g., by using a friend’s NC address while S is still enrolled as a student and the rest of the family has left the state.</p>
<p>And as mentioned above, there are some very beautiful/charmimg/intellectual communities in NC to choose from (Asheville, Hendersonville, Cashiers, Highlands, Chapel Hill, the Research triangle) not to mention the beach communities (Wilmington, the outer banks, etc). WIlmington hs the beach AND the university. Who knows. Amazon and family might find they actually LIKE it there and choose to stay. </p>
<p>When I went south for grad school I had a similar, albeit somewhat cocky attitude. I thought “I’ll go down and get my tan and my degree, in that order, and then go back up north where the real people are”. I ultimately found that I didn’t miss chapped lips, high cost of living and short-fused people on the roads. Never went back up north. Have lived in the south for 35 years now, and can’t imagine going back up north. Now today its in the 20s here. I don’t like this cold!</p>
<p>Thanks to those who have given me some information I can use. I tried to call UNC and ask them but it was a Monday after the holiday and I couldn’t get anyone on the phone.</p>
<p>Even if he got into UNC and then we moved, he would still get 2 years at the in-state tuition, and he would have a better shot at getting in there or another good school. I’m also curious if you go to UNC after graduating from a North Carolina high school and become an OOS what they would do about law or medical school. The website says something about at least completing your junior year of high school in NC. I think there should be a way for someone to eventually become a state resident on their own. </p>
<p>My son doesn’t have strong ties here. We lived in this community for 4 years and moved twice after we left and came back after 4 years away. So he does know a lot of kids but it seems like the kids he’s friends with now are mostly other new kids. I know it’s sad to not have roots and that would all be taken under consideration. If he had lived somewhere all his life I probably wouldn’t consider doing this at this stage.</p>
<p>Another thing I could add - we lived in England for 2 years and we could have sent our daughter to college there which would have been way cheaper and 3 years not 4. You can actually get a law or medical degree in 3 years total. But we didn’t think the school system was a good fit for her.</p>
<p>And what’s with the “all of her type of people” retire in Florida? Did you see “Tropic Thunder”? Who are you calling “you people”? I do like New York City and North Carolina doesn’t seem warm enough in the winter. So sue me.</p>
<p>Well I guess you and I have a different opinion. I did not gather from her posts that it would be such a hardship for her to leave NJ or that she was disparaging NC. She is planning for her future and asked a question and gave us insight into her plan - maybe move to state X maybe retire to state Y. As jym626 said, “Who knows. Amazon and family might find they actually choose to stay.” You never know what life will bring. </p>
<p>Thanks for letting me know that a shopping/grocery cart/carriage is sometimes called a buggy in NC - I’ve never heard it called that, and I’ve been to NC many times (but usually to the outer banks or crystal coast - so maybe it’s different there because of the tourists). Did you know some call them trolleys or wagons? I do like the way the some carts are higher so they load right on to the belt for checkout. </p>
<p>Amazon - Another thing to consider, if your child is “independent” - age of majority I think is 18 & you don’t claim him on your tax return. If he resides in X state would he qualify for instate tuition? I don’t know how that works or what it may do to your tax return or his health insurance coverage, I also don’t know if there would be a difference for undergrad vs. grad/law/med school. Some schools (especially dental - from what I have read) only accept a small % of oos applicants.</p>