Wondering how it's all going to work

[Jamee]

We are permanently stationed overseas, my husband is a teacher with DoDEA.  Our son will be starting high school next year, and our plan is to enroll him, but only part time since the school doesn't quite meet our needs.  We are essentially without a state, but have drivers licenses from CA.  I'm already starting to worry about how this college thing is going to work with our boys should they want to attend university in the states, specifically CA since it has our closest--pretty much only--ties.  

 

Will he be considered a resident for in state tuition?  If not, is there a way to see that he is? If he doesn't receive a diploma from DoDEA, what are our options?

 

Any and all help, suggestions and advice is appreciated.  Anyone been there, done that?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Hey Jamee,

 

That is a tough one. I've seen some exceptions for military families if they were stationed in the state. But I don't know if that would help someone working overseas or if there would be an application of the principle to a civilian DoD employee.

 

VIrginia indicates they could allow a student to establish residency in the state. But that would entail things like voting, driver's license and establishing a permanent residence. It probably wouldn't help the first year.

 

I have a similar issue. I'm trying to maintain clear VA residency, but we're now in CA. I may end up having to pay oos for community college dual enrollment to keep things unmuddied.

 

I think your best bet is to ask famines of current seniors at the high school what their experience has been. (Unless the guidance counselor has changed you may not get much help there. )

[Pegasus]

I would contact the schools you think may be of interest to you and ASK.  I'm not familiar with DoDEA. Is your DH considered military personnel? 

 

My experience is only second-hand.  My BIL lived in Tennessee when he joined the Navy and he and his family were able to maintain residency in Tennessee even though they no longer lived here and did not own property, etc.  Approximately 16 years later, his oldest son was able to get in-state tuition to the University of Tennessee and was even eligible for our state lottery scholarships. The family was in California at the time.

 

A few years later, his daughter was able to get in-state tuition in California and is currently attending school there.  I'm not sure what qualified her for in-state tuition in California since she was living in Singapore when she was accepted but it may have been because she graduated high school there the previous year (BIL was stationed in San Diego during her high school years). 

 

All that said, schools can be pretty strict about in-state status but I do think that military families are given some leeway that other families aren't.  It makes sense because they can't control where they will be stationed! 

[Lori D.]

I agree with Pegasus -- always best to ask. AND, when you do, make sure to get the names of people and dates, and get what they are offering in writing, as policies of colleges do have a way of changing from year to year, and people working in those offices change FREQUENTLY. :(

 

I understand completely about wanting in-state status for tuition purposes. But if given a choice about state residency, you may NOT want to go with CA… several people on these boards have mentioned that CA universities and community colleges are full-and-overflowing, and as a result, CA residents often actually have a harder time getting into CA schools than out of state residents. So, definitely do some research there! :)

 

Or, if you do end up with CA residency status, you might also want to look into the possibility of participating in an inter-state student exchange program, which allows you to pay the in-state tuition of your state's school, but go to a participating school in a different state:

 

ISEP (300 schools in 50 countries)

NSE (200 schools in U.S., Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico)

WUE and WICHE (schools in 16 western U.S.A. states)

 

BEST of luck as you work through the extra-tricky bits of administrating homeschool high school from overseas! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Laura W.]

We live overseas, too.  Typically, the state you have the closest ties with is considered the state of residency.  The more ties you have, the easier it will be to show you are a resident.  You should check to find out what things are considered evidence of residency.  We didn't find that information on school websites, but rather had to check a state government website to find what is needed to be considered a resident.

 

We are still considered residents of Alabama because we have Alabama-issued driver's licenses, our permanent stateside address is there, and this was the last state we lived in before moving overseas.  Our daughter will be getting her learner's permit there, too.  Other evidences of residency can include, but are not limited to, ownership of property in the state, paying state income tax (laws vary from state to state for their residents who are expat and/or military), voter registration still in that state, etc.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Blessings,

 

Laura Williams

[Jamee]

Thanks.  We'll be making an appointment with the counselor soon. If my son is doing part time at the high school, how would I ensure he gets a diploma?  We've already decided when we're in the states next summer to go and see a few schools to try and get some answers.  I really didn't think we'd go this far homeschooling, LOL.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Jamee

 

This would be a great time to ream or skim some of the threads pinned at the top of the high school board. There are links to several threads about homeschooling high school including diplomas.

 

In general terms if he's not meeting all of the requirements for the DODEA diploma then your family issues the diploma (which is a ceremonial certificate) and the transcript (which details all the courses taken). The transcript can list courses taken from other entities like the DODEA high school or online providers. You can use footnotes or symbols to indicate that they were outside courses.