<p>I wasn't even sure if I was going anywhere by March 2nd, hence why I didn't submit a FAFSA by then. I did get admitted to UC Davis and UC San Diego. How much can I still get from Federal Aid?</p>
<p>Also, I currently live in Arizona, but I still count as a California resident because I graduated High School from California. Can I get financial aid from Arizona? What is the deadline for Arizona? I tried looking up but I couldn't get any answers, the FAFSA site just has "check with your financial aid" advisor.</p>
<p>I am 24, so I qualify as an independent, but I have no income. I am not sure how much my parents can contribute since their financial status is complicated.</p>
<p>Okay, you’re not eligible for Cal Grants, even if you’d filed on time, because you graduated from high school more than a year ago. Whether or not you’d be eligible for any other aid, from the colleges themselves, I don’t know. You should contact the financial aid offices at both Davis and San Diego and ask. Even if it’s too late for this coming year, it’s worth knowing if they might give you aid in subsequent years.</p>
<p>As for federal aid, there’s no deadline, but it’s not going to be enough to cover the UC cost of attendance. The maximum Pell grant (assuming you qualify) is $5,550. The loan limit for an independent student is $9,500. See [url=<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/]here[/url”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/]here[/url</a>] for more info - click on the link for “Types of Aid.”</p>
<p>And I can’t imagine that Arizona would give you money to attend school out of state. I don’t know ANY state that would do that!</p>
<p>How long have you lived in Arizona? Or out of California? Just because you graduated from high school does NOT guarantee you instate residency status if you have established a domicile as an independent student in another state.</p>
<p>It does in California. Under Assembly Bill 540, a student qualifies for in-state tuition who meets the following requirements:</p>
<p>[ul]
[<em>]Have attended a California high school for 3 or more full academic years (between grades 9 through 12. They do not need to be consecutive years);
[</em>]Have or will graduate from a California high school or have attained a G.E.D.; or received a passing mark on the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE);
[<em>]Register or be currently enrolled at an accredited institution of public higher education in
California;
[</em>]File or plan to file an affidavit as required by individual institutions, stating that he/she will apply for legal residency as soon as possible;
[li]Not hold a valid non-immigrant visa (F, J, H, L, A, E, etc.)[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>See [url=<a href=“http://ab540.com/whatisab540.html]here[/url”>ab540.com - ab540 Resources and Information.]here[/url</a>] for more information on AB 540.</p>
<p>Well, like I said, first contact the financial aid offices at both schools and see what you might be eligible for - both this coming year and the following year(s). You need at least that much information in order to figure out where you stand.</p>
<p>Then figure out, realistically, what your actual cost of attendance will be. Which would be less expensive - Davis or San Diego? How much will you really need to spend on housing, food, books, etc.? (There have been some interesting threads in this forum about how to save money - buying used books, etc. Take a look through the forum and see what you can find.)</p>
<p>Then do the math. If you work part-time while you attend school, will you be able to pull it off?</p>
<p>Also, your federal loan limit will be higher than what I indicated earlier. As an independent sophomore, your limit would be $10,500. As a sophomore or junior, it would be $12,500. Add that to your Pell grant, and you’re a lot closer to the cost of attendance. Add in that part-time job, and you might be okay.</p>
<p>By the way, if you apply earlier next year, you might also be eligible for a SEOG grant. It’s a federal grant, but they are limited in number, so it’s to your advantage to file your FAFSA as soon after January 1 as possible.</p>
<p>I think I have a solution now for housing. That saves 12k immediately. Is it possible to get enough scholarships to amount to at least 10k or so? I am of mixed race and both of my parents are immigrants, I am the only one in my family to go to a UC and I major in psychology and am a woman with divorced parents but I have no work experience.</p>
<p>I know you can’t do anything until Monday, but you really need to call the financial offices at Davis and San Diego and see what they have to say.</p>
<p>But look at the numbers I posted above, and follow that link I gave you (post #6) for info on federal aid. You won’t get enough federal grant money to cover your cost, but once you add in the loans, you should be fine, at least so long as you’ve got housing covered. Tuition, fees, books, etc., shouldn’t be much more than your federal grant and loans . . . and a part-time job should give you whatever else you need. Getting your housing cost covered really helps! :)</p>
<p>Let us know what the financial aid office have to say after you speak with them.</p>
<p>CA residents…this seems very odd to me. This student is a resident of another state and wishes to have instate status for CA. With the state of CAs finances, this is a loophole they should close! If someone has established residency elsewhere, they should be paying OOS rates in CA…just my opinion, and I know it’s not going to be a popular one.</p>
<p>One of the requirements is an affidavit stating intention to become a resident. I wonder how carefully these are scrutinized…and if some of the UCs view coming to the state to go to college as NOT fulfilling some of that requirement.</p>
<p>Dodgersmom has put the info up…but if it were me, I would be carefully checking the residency requirements at EACH CA university as these DO vary.</p>
<p>It’s not a “loophole” - it’s a deliberate decision by the CA legislature to afford certain benefits to kids who grew up in California, moved away, and want to return.</p>
<p>According to someone I spoke with who works in the FA office of a California state school, AB 540 residency is used most often by students just like the OP - students over the age of 18 who previously lived, attended school, and graduated in California, later moved away, and now want to come back. It is expected that the students will have established residency elsewhere . . . but they are now declaring their intent to return. And they’re the students AB 540 is intended to benefit.</p>
<p>And the requirements to qualify for in-state tuition under AB 540 are statewide - they’re no going to vary from one college to another. All the student is required to declare is an intent to remain in California following graduation. And, to be honest, I’d guess that a student who grew up in California, and is now going to all the trouble of returning, probably does want to stick around after college.</p>
<p>Nope, AB 540 has nothing to do with undocumented aliens. They come in under the Dream Act, which sort of piggybacks onto AB 540. To qualify for the Dream Act, a student must meet some of the same qualifications as an AB 540 student . . . but the two are not the same.</p>
<p>I talked to a UCSD counselor last year about it and she confirmed what dodgersmom said. I am California born and raised and only have been in AZ for a few years due to financial troubles and a medical issue that caused me to turn down UC acceptance admissions I had prior to that. I don’t think it’s fair that someone who has lived all their life in one state and lives in another for 3 years or so is no longer a resident of the state they were born in.</p>
<p>Actually, to clarify, AB 540 covering undocumented students is not a piggy back. It was a very deliberate intention of the law and I’ve seen many (even a few on these forums) mistake it for being only for undocumented. What it didn’t allow for was financial aid. Dream Act covers financial aid eligibility.</p>
<p>If you look at the official AB 540 documentation, it discusses first undocumented students and then addresses that even citizens are eligible. The only not eligible ones are non-immigrants who were in California on ineligible visas.</p>
<p>As a tax-paying California resident who has lived in the state her whole life, I personally like the law. It makes me feel a sense of peace that in some way I can always come home to Cali should I ever move away in the future. I’ve never looked at it as a loophole as it blatantly states its purpose. It probably only seems like one because not many appear to know about it (not even Cali residents). Also it’s not exactly an old law either. Didn’t become official until 2001.</p>