I have not had a lot of experience making big decisions in my life, especially based on what I would gain out of it. There have been a few instances where I committed to something for a long period of time in order to reap the benefits. Things like going to college and the things I need to do to get accepted. One more recent time I engaged in a set of behaviors due to what I would get out of it was a few years ago when I decided to gain residency status. Out-of-state tuition is very expensive, and it was hard to pay for. Residents pay in-state tuition which is around one-third of the out-of-state tuition.

At the time, I had not been doing well in school. I was not focused, and I was failing classes. By the end of sophomore year, I had lost my scholarships and I had been placed on academic suspension. At this point, I had to fix something. I knew that a term before, but I couldn’t do anything to stop the suspension. I knew I was ready to go back, but I had to earn it. Instead of taking the fastest route back to OSU, I found the most rational option. Tuition had been around $40,000 a year and I got suspended for it. The best option for me to lower that tuition price was through becoming a resident, and I prioritized that. My parents help pay for tuition, and I didn’t think it was fair to ask them to keep paying so much. I couldn’t prove that it would be worth it. Gaining residency helped me prove that.

Gaining residency at OSU isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do, it takes a long time, and there are a lot of guidelines that are required to be met for that period of time. I had to get a job and become financially independent. I had never been financially responsible for myself before. I immediately started working around 30-35 hours a week. I kept taking one or two classes per term so that I wouldn’t put my schooling to a complete halt. I also had to register as a voter and have an Oregon driver’s license. Once I meet those requirements for a whole year, I can gain residency status and pay in-state tuition. The last two were easy, however, I had to force myself to become financially independent. It was not something I thought I would have to do yet, but I knew I could do it. I had to put my focus and priorities on other things in order to be successful. The compensation I received at the end of it was very much worth the commitment. Tuition is a lot lower, and my parents are still willing to help pay for my schooling. I also ended up learning a lot of good lessons along the way.