I am currently a high school student living in Texas but I would like to attend school in California. The CC in my area has been known to be a bit flaky when transferring out of state credits and taking courses needed to transfer. I had considered going there for 2 years then transferring to a UC school but knowing people who have gone to school in different states have had to scrap all their credits and start again because of their credits not counting. I would like to avoid this by going to community college out of state and transferring which also may give me a better chance with going to a UC school. I’m not sure if it is worth it knowing that community college is double, even triple (depending on the school) for out of state. Currently in high school I have roughly a 3.5 GPA which Isn’t good enough for most UC schools overall especially the ones I have interest in. I was thinking about Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California. Is community college out of state worth it? Or should I just take my chances with the instate community college? Thank you!
I can’t see paying that tuition differential for an out-of-state community college unless it would start the clock ticking to establish residency, and I don’t think that will work in California which sounds very strict when it comes to residency for in-state tuition purposes. Even then I would be skeptical.
There are a number of knowledgeable California people who post on CC and I hope they will chime in.
Why not stay in Texas where there are multiple good options? You could go to CA for grad school maybe?
If you can afford $242/unit along with the other school fees, housing/meals and transportation costs for Saddleback College, then you would probably have a better chance at the UC’s then from a CC in Texas. Also the Orange County area can be expensive for housing, so you would be looking at the minimum around $21K/year or more to attend. You would not be eligible for FA as an OOS student other than Federal aid if applicable.
Are your parents willing to fund 2 years at a CC in California? If you are dependent upon your parents for your finances, you would also not be able to establish residency so add another 2 years of $55K+/year if you transfer into a UC as a Junior.
As a parent, no the OOS costs for a California CC plus a UC is definitely not worth it in my opinion. What is wrong with your in-state options?
I used to live in California and moved to Texas a few years ago. A lot of my friends and family live there and I just don’t feel at home here in Texas. Sadly, there haven’t been any schools I’m interested in here either.
Sorry to hear that OP . . . hope you can come up with a good solution. You’re talking about alot of money so it helps to take the emotion out of it.
thank you I really hope so, just a bit difficult
Would your relatives house you for free? What’s your parents’budget for college?
For CA cc without housing + 2 years UC they’d need 160k in savings or from income.
For CA economy without housing + 2 years csu they’d need 100k.
There are a lot of states and a lot of schools besides just TX and CA…
What industry do you plan to work in?
I’m currently in community college in California for engineering, and I actually can’t wait to move to Texas (or somewhere in the South, like North Carolina).
If you’re in engineering, cities like Raleigh, Austin, Houston, and Atlanta are the places with the most job growth (well, I suppose San Jose has alot of it too, but a 1,000 square foot “house” sold for $1.5 million recently over there.) Outside the Bay Area, engineering businesses are abandoning California in droves.
Whereas Southern cities (Atlanta, in particular) have the cheapest real estate in the US. And they tend to have lower taxes. Texas and Florida have NO state income tax. California has the nation’s HIGHEST state income tax.
Sorry if it seems random. But I do find it helpful.