<p>as thumper notes, joining the military will make you independent. If you can get yourself stationed in Calif, UC will usually waive the one-year residency requirement as long as you intend to remain a resident.</p>
<p>All of the UCs have a Regent's/Chancellor's scholarship program which is merit-based, primarily gpa and test scores. For Berkeley, one needs a 2250+ SAT to be competitive for the award. But, more importantly, the award itself is only $1-$2k at Cal. Other campuses offer an award that covers up to full tuition (or "fees" as they are known in Calif since the state technically does not have tuition), and sometimes a research stipend.</p>