What schools should I look at? NJ Resident, 92 UW GPA, 1280 SA, undecided major, maybe public health or political science

Non-custodial parent implies divorced. If these parents are still married, then that does not apply.

@rosechild are your parents still married?

We don’t need to know the details @rosechild but you need to specify all this (married, divorced, since 20…) when you email the West Chester, Pitt, PSU adcoms.

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This was the response when I asked if her parents were divorced.

@rosechild please clarify.

I don’t think this will matter though - if the parents aren’t divorved then the parents each have automatic custody + the father lives in PA, has paid taxes, etc. So the issue will be that @rosechild has graduated from a NJ school and may have to document that she’s spent some time in PA over the past 12 months.
Collect those ice cream receipts :wink:

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The divorced, separated or ā€œjust living apartā€ families I know don’t bother with the ice cream receipts- their Easy-Pass (or similar) transponder on their car will track every bridge, tunnel and turnpike trip going from Home A to Home B and may be sufficient for the OP.

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(In case it wasn’t clear: it was a joke :joy::partying_face::hugs:)

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Whoops, it was not clear and thanks for clarifying.

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Interesting… I always thought this was simply not an option. You are only a resident of one state, and can only enjoy the in-state status of one state, no matter the circumstances. Similar to second home ownership in another state; just because I pay taxes in two states, my daughter was not considered in-state status for both of those states, (as we asked!!)-- only in-state status applies where she is a permanent resident, where she went to HS, where she has a drivers license, etc… Is there a loophole for married parents living in two states? Genuinely curious.

I’d assume so

Yes

Yes.

Wait why do I need proof? Why can’t taxes be enough :sob:

Your father has his domicile (permanent home + where he pays taxes) in PA and you’re a dependent child but you graduated from a school in NJ so you may have to prove something wrt time spent with your dad. I’m not sure… but emailing each public university’s Admissions office (your regional rep if you can find their name) would provide you with the exact answer you need. You’ll have to adapt my format (ie., my father lives in PA but I attend school in NJ?)

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Every state university gets to set its own rules about what constitutes residency.

Some states are very, very generous- Utah comes to mind. Some have a more narrow definition, and you will need to follow their protocol in order to explain your situation.

Just find out exactly what documentation you need to provide. If you qualify, it will save your parents a lot of money, so you don’t need to worry that they won’t cooperate!

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Find out what PA requires. There are places that simply allow instate status for dependents whose parent resides in a state…even if the kid doesn’t.

I have NO idea what PA policy is, but it’s in your best interest to find out.

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Here is a link to what is required.

There is also a phone number you can call.

To me, it looks like the default assumption is non-residency and that this is a sort of appeal that is filed after you apply and are accepted, but you can ask them when you call them. If that is the situation, you would just go ahead and apply as out of state and then petition for a review of your residency status. But since your parents are still married, there may be a shorter process.

This link above is for Penn state. I’m sure Pitt has a similar process, but you should check.

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I feel as though I’m poking a quiet nest, but I just wanted to share this class size data on some of the schools that have been mentioned recently. Looking at each school’s Common Data Set will give you more granular data, like classes between 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, all of which are grouped in the 20-49 category here. Most of this data was sourced from here with the rest from USNWR.

School % Classes Under 20 % Classes 20-49 % Classes 50+
Agnes Scott 75% 25% 0%
Goucher 87% 13% 0%
Oglethorpe 72% 28% 0%
Rowan 49% 51% 0%
Scripps 76% 25% 0%
Occidental 70% 30% 0%
Spelman 66% 33% 1%
West Chester 28% 65% 6%
Barnard 71% 21% 8%
Howard 46% 44% 11%
Emory 58% 30% 12%
Penn State 30% 54% 16%
Pitt 42% 42% 17%

I also added one college that I haven’t seen mentioned lately, Goucher (MD). This college is in the Baltimore area and is in a consortium with Johns Hopkins, Loyola Maryland, and others. It’s 67% female, and 26% of students identify as black with 51% identifying as white.

Right now it sounds like the current plan is:

EA to Pitt, West Chester and Penn State on the Pennsylvania public school app

ED1 to Barnard
ED2 to Emory

EA to Howard, Spelman, Agnes Scott and others. I’d also strongly urge you to keep Oglethorpe in the mix because its tuition will probably be the same as the one for Rutgers-New Brunswick (Flagship 50 match), so your family won’t be able to use the excuse of higher tuition costs to keep you closer to home, and you will have a diverse school with small classes and the consortium to take classes at Emory, Spelman, Agnes Scott, etc.

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Omg thank you so much for this info. I appreciate it.

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Hi,
What other stats did child have - SAT, etc? Thanks

My child did not submit his standardized score to Rutgers NB.