Financial aid deadline

Paying for College
1

Hi everyone i hope you can help with my question regarding financial aid.

I’m currently a student in community college in Illinois but last week i made a decision to move to California due to family matters. The community college website I’m trying to attend in California says the financial aid deadline for transfer students is December 20 for spring 2020. My 2019-2020 fasfa was completed a very long time ago and i even used it in my Illinois cc. However, two days ago i added the California cc to my schools list in fasfa for this year . Does the deadline affect me if i have already done my fasfa? The cc is closed for Christmas So I cannot call them till jan 2.

2

You would be eligible for the Pell grants if you qualify.

Really, that’s probably all you’d get anyway. Being OOS, there is very little FA available from California schools.

3

What sort of aid do you need to attend a CA community college? It is unlikely you will get any CA institutional need based aid.

If you qualify for a Pell Grant, you will get that regardless of the school deadline…but you might not get it in time to pay your bill for the spring term before you need to register. I would suggest you check that out with the community college too.

You would get one term of Pell money…you already used one term, right?

You would also still get the remaining amount of the $5500 Direct Loan for first year students. If you didn’t take that loan first semester, you can take the whole amount for the second semester.

Re: deadlines…the deadlines are for submission to the colleges. You didn’t submit your completed FAFSA to the new CC until two days ago. It doesn’t matter that you completed it at an earlier date.

4

@Basheer100: Are your parent(s) moving to California also? If so, you will be paying OOS fees at the CC until you and your family establish residency which is 366 days from the time you move to CA.

If your parents are not moving with you, you are under 24 and are coming to CA for educational purposes, you will not be able to establish CA residency and will be considered OOS for the duration of your Undergraduate education or until you turn 24.

California public schools offer no financial aid for OOS students other than what federal aid you would be eligible.

5

@Basheer100

What has changed since yesterday when you and your family were planning to move…and you wrote this…

Of course this was for SDSU…but still.

@Gumbymom how long would it take for this student to establish instate residency if her parents move with her?

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/san-diego-state-university/2168345-transfer-student-finishing-in-a-ccc.html#latest

And the question remains…can you pay the out of state costs to attend the community college with the federally funded loan and the portion of the Pell Grant to which you are entitled?

6

@thumper1 and @Basheer100: Once OP and his parents move to California, it take 366 days to obtain CA residency for tuition purposes at the California public universities and CC’s.

**You (or your parent) must be physically present in California on a continuous basis for at least 366 days immediately prior to the residence determination date.

Residency may not be established in absentia and the prior residence must have been relinquished.
You or your parent must be able to demonstrate physical presence in California with sufficient documentation. The documentation can include receipts, bank statements, credit card bills, and housing contracts. The burden of proof is on you to demonstrate that you were present (as opposed to the University having to prove that you were NOT present).
Within the 366-day period, you or your parent can be absent from California for a total of six weeks.
A residency classification will not be granted for absences that exceeds six weeks.

  1. Intent to Remain in California

You (or your parent) must demonstrate the intent to make California your permanent home and relinquish ties to your previous place of residence. Examples of establishing California legal ties include but are not limited to:

obtain a California Driver’s License or State Identification card within the first 30 days of arriving in California
register vehicle in California (if applicable) within the first 30 days of arriving in California
register to vote in California (if applicable) within the first 30 days of arriving in California
file California state income tax returns as a resident or part-year resident on all taxable income earned in or out of the state after arriving to California
file out-of-state income tax returns as a nonresident or part-year resident on income earned prior to arriving to California
3. Financial Independence
FOR UNDERGRADUATES ONLY:

If you are an unmarried undergraduate under the age of 24, you must be financially dependent on a California-resident parent. If your parent does not meet the UC residency requirements, you must be able to verify financial independence for the two full years immediately before the term in which you wish to enroll.

Relevant documentation to support a finding of financial independence may include tax returns from the student to verify the student’s income, as well as W-2s, two year budget of income and expenses, official apartment rental contracts or leases, and copies of all financial documentation (bank statements, loans, trust, etc.) to verify the sources of the student’s income/savings. The student must not have accepted any type of financial assistance from any individual, including California residents, during the required two years.

Requirements: An undergraduate student or a student enrolled in a degree or non-degree program who is not dependent on a California-resident parent will meet the financial independence requirement if s/he meets the following criteria:

a. student was not claimed as an income tax dependent by any individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which resident classification is requested.

AND

b. student is self-sufficient. Student has supported self with own resources (employment, commercial/institutional loans in student’s name only, financial aid and savings from earnings, all of which require official documentation) for two full years prior to the residence determination date for the term s/he proposes to attend the University.

7

Yes, I will be moving to California with my parents and my brother. My pell grant will cover more than 85% of OOS tuition when I’ll attend a CC. I’m 20, so I will be able to be dependent. I believe this shouldn’t get me worried about tuition since i will join SDSU I’ll be in state student.

However, since we’re moving as a family my brother is also coming and he’s 24 and will live with us but his taxes is independent. Will he be able to establish residency in 1 year like me or he’ll need 2 years.? He’s in the same educational situation as me.

8

Does both of my parents have to be present for 366 days? My mother will be living with us and will register her car in CA and her driving license but every year she leaves for 2 months to visit her home country.

9

The above information seems to indicate that all of you need to be present in California for a year and follow all requirements before you are considered to be CA residents. It says you cannot be away from CA for more than six weeks.
And an independent student would have to prove that they are self-sufficient.

How many years do you have left in community college?

10

If your mother is the parent who is establishing residency in CA so you can have instate residency in CA, then she just might have to omit that trip to the home country.

@Gumbymom one of the criteria is that the new CA resident relinquish all ties to their previous state. If these parents are married, and one is staying in another state, would this be considered “relinquishing” ties?

@Basheer100 will your mother be working in CA? If not, who will be supporting your living expenses in CA. If your parents are married, and your dad from another state is supporting you…this could be an issue.

11

@Bashum100

Please clarify…is your “family” all moving to California, or just your mom, brother and you?

Your other thread says your family is moving…and I think this would be a different situation for you if both parents are relocating to CA, than if your dad is staying where he is, your parents are still married, and your dad is providing your support.

12

@thumper1: Relinquishing ties may be depend upon if the Mother is being supported by the Husband in the other state or if she will be working and supporting the student here. This seems to be a grey area since both parents will not be living in CA. I am no expert but it will come down to how the school(s) interpret the students/parents CA residency status.

@Basheer100: You probably want to also check with your SD CC and SDSU about your residency status since both parents will not be living in-state. You do not want to have any surprises once you move and find out you cannot get CA residency and in-state college tuition. Also as stated above, your Mom cannot leave the state for more than 6 weeks during the 366 day period while trying to establish CA Residency.

13

@Gumbymom am I misreading this? It says to prove residency a “required” needed document is CA tax return. The student won’t have this until they complete the 2022-2023 financial aid forms…which use the 2020 tax return info.

14

@thumper1 sorry for the confusion. My whole family will be moving including both parents.

@Gumbymom My dad will be the supporter and i will also be working there. However, My mom won’t work but will register a car there and driving license. Can she still visit her home country in this case?

Since I’m going to apply to sdsu next fall to attend fall 2021 I’m not going to have residency at time of applying but definitely will have it before they relay acceptance letters in late February or march. Will they still consider me a priority?

15

Your dad will need to deal with his residency things also…drivers license, voting, etc.

But he won’t have CA tax forms until he files his 2020 tax return which is after Jan 30 2021. In one of your posts, you note perhaps not starting your 4 year CA school until that time. Is that correct?

Another thing…will your dad have a higher income in CA? And will you still even be Pell Grant eligible by the time you transfer to the four year college? Something else to consider.

ETA…you can always go to college part time, and work full time to get that degree if need be for financial reasons.

16

You would not be a priority until you establish CA residency so at the time of application if you are not a resident, then no you would not get local priority. Make sure you talk to your SD CC and SDSU admissions to clarify which documents will be required to confirm your CA residency since it can vary from school to school.

@thumper1: Each California school can determine which document(s) of proof are needed to establish CA residency, so SD CC’s appear to have the Tax return forms are their requirement.

17

You can estimate your FAFSA EFC for 2021/22 because it will use 2019 income.

18

@thumper1 I will still be eligible for pell grant.

@Gumbymom do I get transfer priority to SDSU if i get my business admin AS-T from a local college for SDSU. I’m thinking about applying as a business admin student then switch once I’m in.

19

@Basheer100: This question would be something you need to confirm with your San Diego CC and SDSU since you will be an OOS applicant upon application.

I cannot find anything specific to the ADT requiring you to be a CA resident so this is what you need to clarify.

An AT-T/AS-T gives you priority but it is still not a guarantee for a specific Cal State campus.

20

Are your parents aware of how expensive it will be to establish themselves in California??
Are they moving to get both you and your brother into California schools???

As stated by @Gumbymom, you need to be aware that the CC will use one residency determination date and the university may use another date. The university may interpret your OOS status differently and they may not accept some of your courses from OOS.

You are presuming that you will be automatically accepted into SDSU. There is no guarantee that they will accept you. It is tough to gain admission even if coming from local CC’s; the local CC’s are tough. There is another CSU, San Marcos, in the county which local students can also attend.

You cannot assume that just because you move to San Diego that they have to accept you. GPAs, impacted majors, student competition all play into the acceptance.