Some students have lived in Maryland their whole lives, yet they’re still forced to pay out-of-state tuition.

Junior kinesiology major Jesse Slowikowski paid in-state tuition for the past two years, but the university no longer considers him a Maryland resident for billing purposes. After the university found his parents moved to North Carolina while he was enrolled, he was shocked to see a bill of more than $10,000 for tuition two weeks ago.

“There’s still just a 50-50 chance of me getting it,” he said.

Inside the university’s Technical Services Division in the Mitchell Building yesterday, frazzled students walked in and out of the office clutching dictionary-sized stacks of papers in a scramble to apply for in-state residency on the last day it would hear cases.

The first day of classes is always one of the most hectic in the office, where students cram between cubicles waiting to plead that their individual cases have been overlooked.

Students are required to bring a wide variety of forms to prove their residency, from tax returns to notarized doctor’s notes and rent payments. For this semester, full-time Maryland residents will pay $3,910.50 in tuition, compared to $10,072.50 for those the university designates as non-residents.

Sophomore journalism major Diana Abriola was rejected in-state tuition last semester and is doubtful she will get it this semester. She started sobbing yesterday after making trips in and out of the office for more than five hours.

She moved to Pasadena from Pittsburgh permanently after her senior year of high school, has a Maryland drivers’ license and has been summoned for jury duty in Maryland.

Abriola said she pays for her education by keeping a side job as an independent contractor for businesses. The increase in tuition “would be a financial hardship for anyone,” she said.

“I think they find something wrong with everyone,” she said about her efforts to establish Maryland residency under the university’s standards.

Like many other students, she could not prove that she had moved to Maryland for reasons beyond her education.

Freshman letters and sciences major Regan Cook’s parents moved to Kentucky while she stayed in Maryland. Because she forwarded her medical bills to her parents, the university billed her for out-of-state tuition.

“It’s strenuous. They’re basically asking for your whole life story,” Cook said.

As a result, she was required to bring in a stack of forms to prove her Maryland residency, including a W-2 form, proof of her last employer and her voter registration card.

Though many students faced braved the dilemma of facing in-state residency, not all walked out of the office dissatisfied.

Junior government and politics major Dinelle Mascoll, who lived in the state her whole life, spent only 20 minutes in the office before she was approved, she said. She returned to the office after learning that yesterday was the last day to appeal.

She marked on her application that her primary reason for living in Maryland was for her education, “which puts you in as out of state,” she said.

Contact reporter Patrick Reaves at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.