Laura DePhillips is a second-year freshman paying in-state tuition, something she’s grateful for in light of next year’s tuition increase.

By working part-time and only taking six credits each semester of her first year, DePhillips, who is from Muskegon, Mich., became an Iowa resident. Next fall, her tuition bill will only increase by $576, instead of the $1,934 increase she would have paid as an out-of-state student.

“Basically, my dad came up with it because I’m originally from Iowa, so since I’ll probably stay in Iowa it will be a lot cheaper,” said DePhillips, whose family is from Des Moines. “It was just way more expensive to pay out-of-state [tuition].”

When out-of-state tuition and fees increases by nearly $2,000 next fall, students who came to Iowa State from across the country may be looking for ways to save a few dollars. But one method, changing to in-state residency, is not being utilized any more than usual.

This may be because students are unaware of the requirements, officials in the Office of the Registrar said.

“We have not seen an increase in student visits or parents calling,” said Judy Minnick, assistant registrar and residency classification officer. “Inquiries have been steady for about the last 10 years.”

The Office of the Registrar receives between 800 and 1,000 inquires per year from incoming and current students regarding residency, but only about 200 students actually apply for in-state status each year, Minnick said. Most of those students are approved because they receive extensive counseling from the Office of the Registrar prior to applying, she said.

Residency guidelines for the three regent universities in Iowa are established by the Board of Regents and are part of the Iowa Code. Those guidelines are published in the bulletin and online at www.iastate.edu/~registrar/info/res. html.

“If the student is interested at all, they should definitely come and talk with us here in the registrar’s office,” Minnick said. “Unfortunately, students don’t always come talk to us first. They take the word of their friend or something. We don’t want students getting the wrong information.”

A student’s reason for being in Iowa in the first place is the most important factor in determining residency status, Minnick said.

“The most important thing is a student cannot be enrolled as more than a half-time student at any institution,” she said. “The student’s primary purpose for being in Iowa can’t be educational.”

A steady job is another important determinant.

DePhillips worked 15 hours a week at the ISU Foundation Phone Center and at a local tanning salon last year while she lived in the residence halls.

“Employment does two things,” Minnick said. “It shows that a student is involved in activities other than education and that they have an Iowa-based source of support. We allow students to work on or off campus and work-study employment is also eligible. The work does not have to be full time.”

Minnick said between 75 and 80 percent of students who applied for residency last year took only six credits each semester for the academic year.

But the decision to take only six credits for two semesters is not the right choice for all students, she said.

“[It] is probably easier for students in the sciences, rather than engineering and design, because it may put students out of sequence with their core course,” Minnick said. “But it happens across the board – students may decide it’s worth it because they’re going to be here longer anyway.”

DePhillips, an English major, said establishing residency was well worth it for her. She will be taking classes during summer session to get caught up.

“It is cheaper, and it’s possible to still get caught up and still graduate in four years if you want to,” she said.

DePhillips said she applied for residency at the end of last semester. Because she moved to Iowa in early summer before her freshman year, her required 12 months of residence were established.

“The application asked for information about where I’d been living, why I was applying for residency, where I was from, activities I was involved in, where I was working, my GPA – it was not a huge process,” DePhillips said.

She was granted residency in midsummer.

Minnick said students with one parent in Iowa may be granted dual residency if they receive support from the Iowa parent.

Students who provide false information on an admissions or residency application are subject to disciplinary action, Minnick said, but no student has ever been charged with fraud.

A student whose application for residency is denied may appeal to the ISU Residency Review Board.