<p>Hello all! I graduated from a University recently and hold an undergraduate degree. After graduating, I moved to Texas for a few months and worked. I registered my car in Texas, too. I recently decided to go back to school (the same school as I studied in before) and get my graduate degree, and when I filled out the application, the school asked for my driver’s license #, which I provided. My current driver’s license is still from the state of New Mexico (where I got my undergraduate degree). I lived in NM for 5 years. I consider myself to still be a legal resident of this state, because otherwise I do not qualify as a legal resident in any state. </p>
<p>In the application, the school asked me if I had been out of state in the past year, and I answered “no.” The reason why I answered no is because I worked in TX for 3 weeks, and would consider it very unfair if they classified me as out-of-state based on this. If they did, I can’t get in-state tuition in any state! </p>
<p>Will the school conduct a background check to see whether I classify as in-state, even though I graduated from this school 9 months ago and have a driver’s license in the state? </p>
<ul>
<li>I have a valid driver’s license in the state where the university is located</li>
<li>I lived and went to school in the state for 5 years (the same school that I am applying to now) less than 12 months ago. </li>
</ul>
<p>Shouldn’t this be enough information to allow me to study as a legal resident and pay in-state tuition? </p>
<p>I am just a little worried now and would greatly appreciate any answers. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>You are going to have to pick up the phone and call them about this. Was the job in TX temporary, or when you went there did you think it was permanent? If you intend to live in NM, you should register your car there.</p>
<p>It sounds to me that you are a resident of NM, so you should be fine. That doesn’t excuse your lying on your application, though. Answering “yes” to the “have you been out of state” question wouldn’t have been a problem, people cross state lines w/o losing residency all the time. Lying on your application might be a problem, though. I agree with happymom; pick up the phone, be honest, straighten this out. Good luck.</p>
<p>Are they likely to do a background check? Probably not. However, your problem is that you knowingly answered incorrectly the question in the application to living outside the state since you say you did so for “a few months.” As long as you have an address in NM; file your 2010 tax returns for NM (assuming enough income to require one); and had intent to remain a NM resident, you would probably still be considered one and there was no reason to fib on the app about being out of state for a while. Your issue now is not residency but accuracy of your statements in the application and if school finds out you did not provide accurate information it can reject you and even withdraw your admission if it learns the truth after admitting you.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input. How likely is it that they would find out that I worked in another state? I did not file a state tax return, for the state of TX did not require me to. Also, I did register my car in TX, but this was in 2009 (while I was still an undergraduate student in NM). </p>
<p>I am just nervous, because the state of New Mexico writes that in order for a person to be considered a legal resident, one must have: 1) lived in New Mexico for 12 consecutive months (I lived out of state for a few months); 2) registered your car in NM; 3) filed your taxes in NM (I did not file my taxes in any state, just a federal return).
If I tell them that I lived out of state for a few months, aren’t they likely to ask for additional information, such as vehicle registration, utility bill, etc? </p>
<p>How likely are they to conduct a background check? How would a school even go about finding information like this out? Wouldn’t it be enough information for them that I lived in NM for 5 years, have a driver’s license in the state of NM, and studied at the same university in which I am applying to for 2 years? </p>
<p>Thanks all! I sincerely appreciate your help. I just don’t want to shoot myself in the foot here.</p>
<p>Also, I did not have a permanent address in NM while I was working in TX. I had no intention of setting up a legal residency in any other state, I just went there because I found work in TX. Unfortunately my actions are telling a different story, which might lead to me being charged twice the tuition rate per year.</p>