Legal Residency

The Legal Residency Office exists to assist parents and students when having to prove South Carolina resident status. This occurs when the Admissions Office has reason to question a student’s state residency, or if a student wishes to apply for in-state classification after attending the College of Charleston as an out-of-state student.

The College of Charleston is mandated by state law to verify a student’s residency before the student can be granted in-state status and tuition. The initial residency classification is determined at the time of admission.

Students may be eligible for in-state tuition under the three following provisions:  1) the student is the dependent of a parent or spouse who has established the residency in SC; 2) the student has become (financially) independent from their parents and established their own residency in the state; or 3) the student is active military stationed in SC or the dependent of an active military member who is stationed in the state or claims SC as his or her state of legal residence. See residency requirements for more information.

The Dependent, Independent, and Military residency application forms are available for parents and students under the “Applications and Forms” link.
Please contact Anna Thomas if you have specific questions on how a student might be eligible to receive in-state status for tuition purposes.

For more Information visit: SC Residency Code of Laws