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I want my 18 year old to have a car in college so that she'll have some flexibility to find a job in the summer.
We want her to establish Massachusetts residency so that she can get in-state tuition and she will be converting her Arkansas driver's license to MA sometime this year.
I know that I can save money on insurance by putting the car in her name since she won't need the liability coverage that I have, but my question is:
-can I just let her drive the car titled under my name with out of state plates even though she will have an MA license?
I'm not sure how insurance rates are for someone her age in MA and not sure I want her to go through titling, registration and inspection (maybe in the summer when she has more time)
The car she will be using is a beater 2000 Impreza that we got for free but spent around 2k to get it road worthy (I'm unsure if it would pass MA inspection though no reason to think it won't. We don't have a state inspection in AR).
I want my 18 year old to have a car in college so that she'll have some flexibility to find a job in the summer.
1) IMVHO, no college student should have a car until junior year. Especially in a dense area with either good public transit or close neighborhoods, which all of the schools in Mass I am famiilar with are. Even if there's some slight need, say at a more rural university, cars are an enormous distraction and bigger time/hassle sink. Parking alone could be a huge problem. But it's your kid, your call.
1a) No car leads to greater bonding/interaction with the school's programs and population, instead of it being an overgrown and expensive high school they visit only when forced to.
2) It's not likely that a car will increase job opportunities in such a region. You're thinking rural/sprawling, which does not describe anything in eastern Mass and very little in the western half.
3) Summer is a long ways away. You are better off getting specifics from MA/AK DMVs and insurance companies, and even asking the university student services office, or whatever, for input.
Massachusetts does not grant residence changes easily. Schools have long ago quit falling for the dodge of "I'm now an in-state student, lower my tuition by 50%."
I believe that their current attitude is, if you start as an out-of-state student, you're going to finish as an out-of-state student ... basically, to guarantee a change to in-state, you would have to move there. Just having her get a Summer job & a Massachusetts driver's license isn't going to cut it.
You may want to do some Googling or check with the school.
With regards to a car, IMO she would do better to keep her Arkansas driver's license and license plates.
Massachusetts does not grant residence changes easily. Schools have long ago quit falling for the dodge of "I'm now an in-state student, lower my tuition by 50%."
When our CA daughter joined us in CT, she was instantly eligible for in-state rates... but only because we were home-owning residents of more than a year.
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With regards to a car, IMO she would do better to keep her Arkansas driver's license and license plates.
I'll just add that the above attitudes aren't just mine. Many schools require freshman and sometimes sophomores to live on-campus, and while banning them from having a car is more of a stern request than anything legally enforceable, it's often discouraged and things like parking stickers are not available to them.
auto insurance is expensive for under 25 YO - my kids almost tripled my insurance
your child will have to pay MA excise tax on the car every year
your child will have to pay MA registration every other year
your child will be subject to MA income taxes
your child will have to pay for a parking permit at the state colleges and universities which can be in the hundreds per year
you will not be able to take your child as a dependent or any of the credits available on your income tax return
your child will have to be cognizant of differences in laws here in MA - there was a recent case where a grad student from AL came to Harvard and was surprised that she couldn't keep multiple weapons loaded and unsecured in her apartment without a license.
I actually think it's better to just live closer to the school. I've dormed in Boston, almost all MA schools have pretty good shuttle system that you pretty much don't need to drive. Parking around Boston is atrocious, I wished I had dumped my car when I attended school there. Nowadays with Uber and you could always get rides from classmates too. So I prefer not having a car if I was studying there. It's quite expensive for anyone under age of 35.
You will probably pay more for her to be on her own policy even with lower rates. Added liability coverage is relatively cheap. You can keep her on your policy and simply have lower limit in any event. You can also keep the car registered and insured in your home state. I am pretty sure Massachusetts is one of the expensive states. we live in Michigan (most expensive) and my daughter is in grad school in Ohio (lowest rates in the USA). Being a college graduate, she wanted everything in her name. her insurance cost nearly doubled when she went off our policy and got her own. Her Michigan insurance was more than her car payment on a new car. Her insurance dropped nearly 10x when she moved to Ohio. State of residence makes a huge difference.
Massachusetts does not grant residence changes easily. Schools have long ago quit falling for the dodge of "I'm now an in-state student, lower my tuition by 50%."
I believe that their current attitude is, if you start as an out-of-state student, you're going to finish as an out-of-state student ... basically, to guarantee a change to in-state, you would have to move there. Just having her get a Summer job & a Massachusetts driver's license isn't going to cut it.
You may want to do some Googling or check with the school.
With regards to a car, IMO she would do better to keep her Arkansas driver's license and license plates.
Yes, this is what I understand as well. A friend moved here for that reason. She worked for a year at various jobs and was supported by her Father, who figured that $33K tuition vs. $8K tuition at UNC Chapel Hill meant that supplementing his 19 year old's meager income for a year was the right move. She did get in-state tuition and as far as I know, just drove "her" car (which was her mom's old car) for the year with out of state plates. I have no idea if she even got an NC Drivers license. She probably just got the apartment with a lease in her name and 12 months of utility bills.
Another vote for no car. Our kid went to UCLA, we live in CA but somewhat further. She stayed in the dorms and then nearby apts. If there was ever a need for a ride or something, she used Uber, usually with friends. Much cheaper than paying for a car, insurance, parking, gas, etc.
Owning a car also consumes some time, gas fill, wash, maintenance etc that is not really built in an 18 yr old's schedule.
2) It's not likely that a car will increase job opportunities in such a region. You're thinking rural/sprawling, which does not describe anything in eastern Mass and very little in the western half.
I work for a large engineering company just outside of Boston but in the metro area. We interviewed a number of college students for a coop positon and found there were a few candidates that did not own a car and would have issues getting to the job location from their campus in Boston. Needless to say, they were not selected...mostly for that reason.
I had a car in Boston when I was in college and i'll admit it's a PITA. Nowhere to park it when it snows, dings, dents, etc. My roommates car got stolen 3 times. And it's also expensive. Insurance for an 18 year old was maybe $2500/yr or so about 20 years ago when I was in school. Unsure what it is now. If the college is IN Boston, I would recommend not having a car as public transportation around the city locally is pretty good. If the college is outside in the metro area, have a car.
One of my interns drove her dad's car around in MA for 2-3 years with out-of-state plates and never had an issue with it.
I owned my own car at age 18, so never had to play that game myself.
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