@thumper1 yeah you’re right. I am sure there will be other options like going to a different uni instead of trying to make things work somehow with too much risk. And I meant closing the thread as in I won’t be replying since I think I have answers and I don’t want any more notifications haha. Thanks for your reply!
You need to be in-state for 366 days prior to your determination for residency. That would mean you cannot attend any California State University for at least 1 year + 1 day or they could determine you came to CA for education purposes only. I suggest you consider taking a Gap year and then reapply.
Residency requirements
There are four requirements you must fulfill in order to be a California resident for purposes of tuition at UC. All these requirements must be met by the residence determination date (generally the first day of classes) of the term for which you request a resident classification.
- Physical presence
You must be continuously physically present in California for more than one year (366 days) immediately prior to the residence determination date of the term for which you request resident status. If you moved to California primarily to attend the University of California, you are here for educational purposes and may not be eligible for a resident classification for purposes of tuition.
Read the full policy on physical presence (pdf)
- Intent to remain in California
You must establish your intent to make California your home one year prior to the residence determination date of the term for which you request resident status.
Read the full policy on intent to remain in California (pdf)
- Financial independence
If you’re an unmarried undergraduate under the age of 24 and your parent(s) are not California residents, you must be able to verify financial independence for the two full years immediately preceding the term you wish to enroll. Graduate students are presumed to be financially independent unless they were claimed as a dependent on their parents’ federal tax return for the most recent tax year.
Read the full policy on financial independence (pdf)
- Immigration status
You must have the legal ability to establish a permanent domicile in the United States, meaning that you must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or hold a valid, qualifying nonimmigrant visa.
How to establish residency
These are general guidelines on what it means to establish residency. If you are hoping to establish residency, contact your campus residence deputy to assess your situation.
Undergraduates: If you’re a nonresident undergraduate student with nonresident parents, obtaining California residency for the purposes of tuition is extremely difficult (this includes transfer students from community colleges and other postsecondary institutions within California). Virtually all nonresident undergraduates with nonresident parents remain nonresidents for the duration of their undergraduate career at UC.
Establishing physical presence and intent
To meet these requirements, you must be continuously physically present in California for more than one year (366 days) immediately prior to the residence determination date (generally the first day of classes) and intend to make California your home permanently. You can demonstrate your intention to stay in California by relinquishing legal ties to your former state and establishing legal ties to California.
Here are some ways you can establish intent:
Remain in California when school is not in session.
Register to vote and vote in California elections.
Designate your California address as permanent on all school and employment records, including current military records.
Obtain a California driver’s license within 10 days of settling in California. (If you’ve never had a driver’s license in any state, then obtain a California identification card.)
If you have a car, obtain a California motor vehicle registration within 20 days of settling in California.
Work in California and file California resident income tax forms from the date of entry into the state. Income earned outside of California after that date must also be declared in California.
Establish and maintain active bank accounts in California banks and close out-of-state accounts.
Surrender all out-of-state identification (including driver’s license).
Establish a permanent home where your belongings are kept.
Obtain a license for professional practice in California.
You’ll need to relinquish out-of-state ties and demonstrate intent while simultaneously meeting the physical presence requirement.
Absences from California
In order to demonstrate intent, it is important to stay in California during nonacademic periods. If you’re a nonresident student who is in the process of establishing California residency, and you leave California for more than one month during the summer before the term in which you are establishing resident status, your intent will be questioned.
Graduate and law students who must leave for nonacademic-related reasons for more than a month during the summer should contact the campus residence deputy to seek advice prior to leaving and filing for classification.
@ywe1123, the cost of living, in California, typically negates any savings you might get with in-state residency.
Can you afford a huge jump in cost of living and in California taxes? San Diego rents = $1500 to $2K for a 1 bedroom without other utilities. Irvine area can be more expensive. You’ve picked two of the more expensive areas to live in to “establish residency”.
There are some jobs, but lots of applicants. Typically, hours given by employers are part-time, without bene’s.
If your family can’t afford the cost of tuition, your other major issue is dealing with how much it will cost you to rent or buy a home in California.
If the parent truly wants to relocate to CA, and work there, and register to vote, and establish permanent domicile, and pay taxes, and get a driver’s license, and sever all ties to a former state, then I think they need to do this before child applies to college, and for as long as required, so at least a year.
If you attend community college or any college in CA before parent has been a resident long enough, you risk having to pay OOS rates for all four years.
You need to start with parent relocating, fulfilling all requirements for the required time, and then apply to college.
So if the family wants to wait until youngest graduated high school, and then move, it will be at least a year until residency would be established and student could apply for admission at UC (or CC), and two years until student would start college.
And just because CC is cheaper, it still counts as attending college in CA, so if student applies to/attends any college in CA before parent is a resident, then that would demonstrate that they moved there for educational purposes.
Just curious - no mention of the father relocating. Would a non-custodial parent back in the original state make it harder to prove you have severed all ties with your previous state?
I’m curious about parents who have done this in states other than California (where we can’t wait to move from–just waiting for our child to graduate.) Is it more feasible in certain other states?
what about the opposite. What if a child is going to a state school, and while They are attending the parents decide to move to another state for job relocation. Does the child lose residency, even if they stay in the state and have a place to live.?
It really depends on the state. Yes, they are going to give the application a second look, especially because the high school is OOS, but many states allow people to move in, and many continue the residency for the student even if the parent(s) leave. Some give residency status to a student who has a non-custodial parent in the state (Colorado does).
You have to look up and follow the rules.
Yes, I think there might be a good possibility of the state residency going with the parents, if they leave. Especially if the student is a dependent student for FA and also needs the parent financial support, since most full time students don’t earn enough to pay for school and college.