Neighbor Waiver Eliminates Out-of-State Tuition for AL, FL, SC and TN Students

All waivers for Summer 2018 will be applied by May 16, 2018.

All waivers for Fall 2018 will be applied by August 1, 2018.

Residents of Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, and (effective Spring 2018) Tennessee, are eligible for one of our new ABAC Neighbor Waivers.  Eligible students can attend ABAC at the same tuition rate as an in-state student.  That’s right, NO OUT OF STATE TUITION CHARGES!   You save $4,211 each semester (based on full time enrollment for 2017-18).  Over four years, that’s a savings of over $30,000!

A Neighbor Waiver is a form of out-of-state tuition waiver that allows certain students from Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and (effective Spring 2018) Tennessee to attend ABAC without paying out-of-state tuition.

Documentation Needed

There are three parts to the Neighbor Waiver process.

1) The student must live in on campus housing.  To apply for housing, please click on the following link – http://www.abac.edu/student-life/housing-why-live-on-campus/apply-today/.

2) The student must prove lawful presence.  To prove this the student would complete a FAFSA at fafsa.ed.gov.  If you do not plan on completing a FAFSA, then you may submit one of the following documents to satisfy lawful presence:

• A certified U.S. birth certificate showing that you were born in the U.S. or a U.S. territory.  A photocopy cannot be accepted.  Please note that http://www.vitalcheck.com provides instructions for ordering a certified U.S. birth certificate.
• A U.S. Certificate of Naturalization (USCIS from N-550 or N-570)
• A U.S. Certificate of Citizenship (USCIS form N-570 or N-561)
• A U.S. Certificate of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State (DS-1350) of a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (FS-240)
• A current U.S. Passport.
• A current military ID (service member only, not dependent)
• A current, valid Permanent Resident Card (USCIS form I-151 or I-551)

3) The student must prove state residency.

If the student has recently graduated from high school, then their official high school transcript will satisfy state residency.  If not, please see below.

To prove state residency for Florida or Tennessee, the student would provide a copy of their vehicle registration (see example below).  The Expires field on the registration would still need to be in date and the Plate Issued date would need to be at least 12 months prior to the day submitted.

If the registration is not in your name, we can still accept it.  If it is in your parent’s name, you would also need to submit an official copy of your birth certificate to prove the relationship, along with an ABAC Neighbor Waiver Petition Form. (Please only complete Petition if requested.)

To prove state residency for Alabama, South Carolina, or Tennessee, the student would provide a copy of their state taxes for the last two years.  This could be the student’s individual state taxes or their parents state taxes showing the student claimed as a dependent.  (Tennessee residents that did not file a state tax return can turn in vehicle registrations.  See above.)

These items can be scanned to studentaccounts@abac.edu or you can fax them to us at 229-391-5240.

Once all of these categories have been satisfied, we can review your account for eligibility for the ABAC Neighbor Waiver.  Once a Neighbor Waiver is awarded no further documentation is required as long as the student maintains an overall 2.0 GPA, resides in on-campus housing  and is consistently enrolled for Fall and Spring semesters until they graduate.