If I get accepted to CSULB or CSUF, I’m going to need to find a way to pay for it. I’m from WA, so the first year I’ll have to dorm and pay out of state tuition. I’ve been reading up on it and found this: https://secure.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/residence_classification.asp
It could save me about 20,000 overall (assuming I finish in four). I plan on getting a CA driver’s license and plates, sharing an off campus apartment with other students, getting a job, etc. I’ll be there 4 years of my life and possibly more since I don’t really want to move back to WA permanently after college.
So, has anyone done this? Is it harder than I’m thinking it’s going to be? Although, if they have a page about it, it must be a plausible option for some students like me.
It is much harder than you think and you will not succeed. Read your link carefully.
Time living in CA as a college student doesn’t qualify u for residency; otherwise, everyone at a CA college wd be a CA resident.
What’s wrong w schools in WA?
I posted a link from the CSUMentor website about determining residency for tuition purposes. It actually is possible. I’m just wondering how hard it will be. And, I did read it.
"Generally, establishing California residency for tuition purposes requires a combination of physical presence and intent to remain indefinitely. An adult who, at least one full year prior to the residency determination date for the term in which enrollment is contemplated, can demonstrate both physical presence in the state combined with evidence of intent to remain in California indefinitely may establish California residency for tuition purposes. A minor normally derives residency from the parent(s) they reside with or most recently resided with.
Evidence demonstrating intent may vary from case to case but will include, and is not limited to, the absence of residential ties to any other state, California voter registration and voting in California elections, maintaining California vehicle registration and driver’s license, maintaining active California bank accounts, filing California income tax returns and listing a California address on federal tax returns, owning residential property or occupying or renting an apartment where permanent belongings are kept, maintaining active memberships in California professional or social organizations, and maintaining a permanent military address and home of record in California."
Are you financially independent of your parents? If not, forget it.
Was the primary purpose for being in CA that year to attend college? If so, forget it.
This is the questionnaire you have to submit: http://www.fullerton.edu/admissions/resources/forms/ResQuestionnare.pdf
No, not right now. But once I move, I pretty much will be considering they don’t have the means to pay for any of my college (3 other siblings in college right now). I plan on getting a job.
And yes, I’m going there for school. But it says that I have to have plans to stay INDEFINITELY, which is an unspecified amount of time. It’s not forever. Depending on the opportunities down there, I might be staying longer than imagined.
OP - did you also read this?
“Nonresident students seeking reclassification are required to complete a supplemental questionnaire that includes questions concerning their financial dependence on parents or others who do not meet University requirements for classification as residents for tuition purposes. Financial independence is required, along with physical presence and intent, to be eligible for reclassification.”
Yes, I did read that. I think I posted the right one in my previous post. It’s from the Fullerton website.
So, are you financially independent of your parents?
I just said no but I will be once I start college.
Your parents will not be paying any of your tuition or living costs your freshman year at CSU?
You are just another kid trying to game the system to get lower tuition. CA schools are quite used to this and you will not succeed.
I already said that they will not. For 6 people, we are a low income family. I’m not expecting any financial support from them. My siblings go to college locally but they are paying for everything on their own. My parents really don’t have the means to pay for any of my college. I already said that I plan on getting a job, hopefully immediately, and with financial aid and grants that I’ll be requesting, I’ll be paying for college on my own.
U need to provide a lot of documentation to prove that your parents are providing no support, e.g. years of being in a homeless shelter; parents in jail/dead, parents legally declared mentally-incompetent, etc. Simply having a lot of siblings won’t cut it.
You only need to be financially independent for one year. That will be my first year in college. I never said that having a lot of siblings is going to be me anywhere. I just said that they are all putting themselves through college and my parents aren’t supporting any of them. Just because I chose somewhere more expensive doesn’t mean I’m expecting them to pay for my college. For the last time, they don’t have the money to pay for my tuition and also pay for other expenses that don’t relate to me.
You are indulging in magical thinking. Aside from the fact you haven't been accepted, the reality is many OOS kids would never apply to CA because of the money. You need to move to plan b.
The proof required for financial independence is more than just your parents not paying tuition. The last criteria might be important in your situation (if you are single). Your parents cannot have claimed you as a income tax deduction for the previous two years before you apply for residency. You need to check with them to see if they still claim you on their income tax. This was the reason for denial for the cousin of my friend who moved from PA to attend college in CA.
If you are an adult student and your parents are not California residents, you must demonstrate financial independence, along with physical presence and intent, when seeking resident classification for tuition purposes. You may be considered “financially independent” if one or more of the following applies: (1) you are at least 24 years of age by December 31 of the year you request residence classification; (2) you are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces; (3) you are a ward of the court or both of your parents are deceased; (4) you have legal dependents other than a spouse or a registered domestic partner; (5) you are married, a registered domestic partner, a graduate academic student, or a graduate professional student and you were not/will not be claimed as an income tax deduction by any individual other than your spouse or domestic partner for the tax year preceding the term for which you are requesting resident classification; or (6) you are a single undergraduate student who was not claimed as an income tax deduction by your parents or any other individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which you are requesting resident classification, and you can demonstrate self-sufficiency for those years and the current year.
Your parents not having the money to pay for your college expenses is not the criterion for establishing your financial independence.
You’re not going to get reclassified as a CA resident after 1 year as an undergrad. Your sense of denial is going to result in a rude awakening when u find u will be charged OOS tuition for all 4 years.
I also meant to add that you need to be self-sufficient now and for the past two years (meaning your parents are not providing housing, food, clothing, etc.).
It’s not the end of the world if I can’t become a resident. I’m just wondering.
You did the right thing by coming on CC to ask. You are in high school and the residency stuff is complicated. The only way I knew was because of my friend. She tried, was denied, and is now back in PA studying at a community college. She’s fine with it. It’s better that you ask now than after you’ve already completed your first year in California!