<p>Hello I am seventeen and from Pennsylvania I have come to realize that my dream of living in southern California might have to wait. I've been accepted to CSUN but I am worried about the cost of being an out of stater. I will not be receiving money from any of my parents whether I go instate or out of state. My father lives out of state from where I am so I'm not relying on him to give me money and my mom would love to give me money but right now she is out of a job so I will be only relying on federal aid, loans and having a job. The only possible way I could get instate from California is if I live in So-Cal for at least three years and not have my mother list me as a dependent anymore. I read into the details already. So I'm wondering is should I just go to CSUN this coming year and then transfer over to a private school in California. I can keep my gpa up and possibly get into USC ect. I'm thinking of doing this because I know private schools will offer more money in aid and there is less impaction or none at all compared to a CSUN. Do you think this would be a good idea?</p>
<p>I've heard from friends in the area that for a job I could work as a waitress in around hollywood, bartend (but I thought you had to go to school for that yet they say some places train you). I've also heard I could waitress at strip joints....I know that sounds terrible but I heard you can make big money without taking off your clothes.</p>
<p>Is there any way you could go to a less expensive school in your home state for two years…do your general education courses and then transfer? The private school in CA are costly. USC and Stanford meet full need as do most of the Claremont Colleges but none of them are easy admits. Transfer %age of acceptances at all are low. </p>
<p>Most states do not allow folks under 21 to bartend. And many places will not allow underage (under 21) workers in places that serve alcohol. This would include the “strip joints”. </p>
<p>Did you apply to any other schools? If you are low income (you don’t mention that in your post) you might qualify for some financial aid that could fully fund a community college, for example. </p>
<p>Remember that moving to CA will also require you to find housing and that is not inexpensive in most parts of CA.</p>
<p>I actually will be living on campus for csun so I won’t have to worry about getting an apartment. I heard that I can work at a full nude club even though that isn’t what I want to do so I could waitress at the strip clubs (this is a final resort but if it makes good money I will work there) because they don’t serve alcohol. I’m just worried with all the budget cuts I will not be able to get accepted back to a school in southern California. That is why I’m thinking about just going to California right now. My family is considered low income…and private schools over here are the same amount as in California. I’ve have been accepted to one over here but I’m not going to pay for a private school that is in my own state. Kind of pointless when I could go out of state and pay the same price.</p>
<p>Can you PAY for the instate private school? Are your costs covered? You certainly didn’t imply that about the CA school to which you have been accepted.</p>
<p>I know you want to leave your home state, but you also have to be able to cover the costs of attending CSUN. The cost of attending as an OOS student is going to be very pricey and you will need to pay the bills. I’m sorry but I just can’t advocate for a college freshman working in a nude club to pay college bills…when it’s not ESSENTIAL that this happen…it’s a WANT not a NEED.</p>
<p>Please look at all of your options. I’m not suggesting you stay in your home state forever…I’m saying go there for the first year or two and save yourself some costs…THEN think about transfering.</p>
<p>Did you apply to USC as an incoming freshman and if not…why not? Did you apply to any other colleges in CA that meet full financial need…and if not, why not? </p>
<p>CA will be there forever. Your ability to live there in the future won’t go away. You could even get a bachelors degree and then look for jobs in CA. You don’t have to graduate from college in CA to work there after college.</p>
<p>I actually would be able to pay for the private school instate since the cost would be cut down to only 15,000 a year or even less. I talked to one of my teachers who did that and she said she paid for college all by myself and that it was very possible for me to do so. I didn’t apply for USC because I wasn’t sure my grades at the time would get me in so that’s why I applied for CSUN. I know California will be there after I graduate but I have a lot of friends over in Los Angeles and I could even live with them cutting out the price of dorm ect. I’m not moving to Los Angeles because the area theres a lot more personal situations included in the mix.</p>
<p>Really I would not care working in a full nude club because only the strippers get naked I do not. I’ve looked into it already but that is not saying I am going to do it. It’s just an option.</p>
<p>But I am thinking about finishing my general requirements instate but I’m just again still worried if CSUN will accept me again but by then I probably would transfer to somewhere else.</p>
<p>Hey, almost same situation here. I have applied and have been accepted to CSUN and it’s in my top list so far. Im from Florida and California is where I’ve always wanted to go and is the only state I applied to. I applied to USC (still waiting on their decision) and I got accepted into APU which I’m not going to since I got into CSUN. But yeah I’m right there with you, I am literally throwing away thousands of dollars by not going to my home state schools, I had full scholarships that will cover all my college expenses if I stay in the state but I have to go to California for personal reasons as well. Let me tell you, with the economy and the deep recession we’ve been in, if college was merely about money, most of us wouldn’t even bother applying to College. I’m from a family with an average single parent with 2 other kids so I don’t really expect any family contributions but if I don’t get accepted to USC i will manage to pay for CSUN. It’s really not that expensive, CAL STates are cheaper than UCS plus next year if you want to you can become a resident of California and pay much less. You should really do what your heart tells you to and not make the tuition cost your prirority. Believe it or not, the college you choose to go to will certainly have a big impact of your life in the long run. It does matter whether you go to California now or later on and if for whatever reason California is where you want to go, GO FOR IT!</p>
<p>This is NOT true for the vast majority of undergrads…you need to read the CSU policies on residency for TUITION purposes very carefully and make sure you understand them.</p>
<p>I will never understand this odd fascination with California… Don’t get me wrong, I love my home state, but some people seem to treat it like an oasis of fortune where all their dreams will be fulfilled. We’re struggling out here like the rest of the country. Trust me… we’d love to take your out of state tuition fees in to help ease the sting of constant budget cuts.</p>
<p>But I digress… Anywho, the following is for barbie93. I have no idea where you got the idea you could gain residency status for tuition purposes in just one year, but wherever you learned it from has given you false information. Below are a few key points that I have quoted below (particularly #4).</p>
<p>I’m vaguely amused the CSUs are more strict than the UCs… last I checked, the UCs only required two years of financial independence, not three :B</p>
<p>Yes, Kender I know all of these guidelines and I sure know what I’m doing. First of all, I’m not going to explain all of the details of why I wanna go to California but I was born there, my dad owns a home there and I really wanna go back and second of all I know people who are from out of state and in 1 to two years became residents, my cousin did this and now she’s a senior at CSUN. Anyway no offense at all, but last time I checked I really don’t know where you’re coming from into this conversation (thanks for the so-called info about residency which I already knew) but I was merely giving some advice to xxthisonesforyou because as someone who is almost in her situation she really needed some advices from her peer’s perspective.</p>
<p>Barbie, you situation may actually be quite different that xx’s since you actually have a parent who is a CA resident. Many states will grant instate tuition more readily to the dependent of a resident. I see nothing in the OP’s story to indicate that is true for her…her dad seems to live in another state altogether. She acknowledges that she knows the 3 year rule as well. No need for you to get snarky with Kender about it…most of the truly non-resident dependent undergrads who post on this board seeking instate rates for CA publics are not successful in their quest. As always, YMMV</p>
<p>Oh and also coming from Kender you saying<br>
I will never understand this odd fascination with California… Don’t get me wrong, I love my home state, but some people seem to treat it like an oasis of fortune where all their dreams will be fulfilled. We’re struggling out here like the rest of the country. Trust me… we’d love to take your out of state tuition fees in to help ease the sting of constant budget cuts.</p>
<p>You really shouldn’t say that at all cuz you don’t know people. Everyone has their reasons of choosing a school or a particular state, we’re different. The world is struggling not just California or the country. I really don’t know where all of these crazy talk came from. Chill please just because it’s online and technically anynomous does not mean you can say anything you want. Life is all about taking sacrifices so someone wants to go to California, to New York, to London, so be it if that’s the place that makes them happy. No place on earth is an oasis of fortune and I do have my reasons for wanting to go to California and nothing Nothing can stop me so I do sincerely respect your opininons but negative comments, just keep em to yourself and I am sorry life is going so bad for you that you want to put it on innocent high shool seniors like me.</p>
<p>sk8rmom: I would need to research the CSUs details on the matter a little deeper, but the UCs are pretty strict about using a parent you do not usually live with (and you did not live with before turning 18) to gain residency. It’s a little vague, though, on the precise details of why and under what circumstances you could get residency for tuition purposes. I imagine it’s for divorce situations? Or to prevent families from moving to California and getting in-state tuition after only a year? I know the CSUs will allow you to get residency while attending, not sure about the UCs, though…</p>
<p>This (the vague parent residency description for after the student is 18 years old) is the part that has always confused me on residency for tuition requirements in California. I’ve read it over and over and I still don’t fully understand this part of it.</p>
<p>barbie93: You said it would only take a year to gain residency. I was pointing out the falseness of that statement since it could be read by someone and believed to be true. No where did you mention about having been born here. Is your father a resident? Owning a home is not the same as being a resident. The home must be his primary residence and he must have no ties to another state in terms of potential signs of intent to make the other his permanent residence (this includes being registered to vote, paying taxes, license, etc). If your father is a resident, then that is a completely different situation than the OP and would have been helpful to mention.</p>
<p>Life is actually going wonderful me since I took advantage of the opportunities offered to me, but thanks for asking ;). You should not presume about people yourself either. Don’t take things a stranger on the internet says so personally especially since nothing was a personal attack, but a general confusion statement combined with giving facts missing from your own post about residency requirements. If anyone, I think you should “chill” as you so eloquently put it. I’m not the one who made two posts just to attack someone’s character without a response from them in between. I gave you information you appeared to lack from your post and expressed my confusion over what I see as a weird phenomenon. That is all.</p>
<p>Considering I pay taxes in this state (and have done so for many years and my family for many years before that), I feel I have a vested interest in those who try to circumvent the system to gain residency for tuition purposes. If you spend some time in this forum, then you will see there are almost daily posts for how to get around paying out of state tuition at various state universities across the country (it is not just California, but I do wonder why people would want to come here considering the condition of the education system right now*). I am glad it is extremely difficult to do in most states beyond just my own.</p>
<p>My comment about not understanding the fascination with a state that is in severe debt was more related that there are so many better opportunities that would better serve your situation. The OP has mentioned putting oneself into a potentially very dangerous situation along with high debt. No school is worth either of those situations. If it works out you can get residency because your dad is a resident: awesome. Go for it. But be prepared that you might be denied as well. I’m sure the state would love to have your out of state fees even if you are lucky and it’s only for one year. I mean that statement as a sincere one and as simply a fact.</p>
<p>*There is a new proposed $500 million budget cut each to the CSUs and the UCs at the moment.</p>
<p>The tuition costs must be paid. If you have no reasonable way to meet the costs, then it doesn’t matter what your heart is telling you.</p>
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<p>This is true, but you need to know that there is NO ONE school that is the trump card on this. There are thousands of colleges…and there are many choices that a student can make…and affordability has to be included in the choice making.</p>
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<p>You can always go to CA for grad school or a JOB. If you can’t afford out of state tuition right now, CA will still be there for you in the future.</p>
<p>It seems that both Kender and sk8mom are only quoting about the residence situation. That is not my concern at all. I just want to go to California for my personal reasons that I’m not going to explain over the internet. About becoming a resident for tuition purposes,really not a big deal I do plan on permanently moving to California because that’s the only place in the US I wanna be in but becoming a resident for tuition purposes, don’t really need it at all because first of all I have a full scholarship to Azusa Pacific University which is in California and I have a 30k grant to USC. I think both of you guys just kept on concentrating on the resident thing because I vaguely described it but of course I know it’s hard to become a resident for tuition purposes. What I was letting xxthisonesforyou know is that if she wants to go to college in California and that’s the state she wants to go she should just do it. With a job, a pell grant she should be good. A UC puts an out of stater more in debt anyway.</p>
<p>We both mentioned it because you gave incorrect information about how to become a resident for tuition purposes. A Pell and a job will not cover anywhere near the COA for a CSU for any out of stater. Even a Pell and a stafford loan will not cover that amount.</p>
<p>I really doubt that you could earn enough money in time to pay for the cost of fall’s tuition, R&B, etc. That money is going to be due in August. That will be about $15k for fall’s costs.</p>
<p>You seem to forget that if you earn a good amount of money…</p>
<p>A. You’ll lose your Pell Grant because your EFC will become too high</p>
<p>B. You’ll be paying a lot in taxes…you don’t get to keep what you earn…a chunk will go to: Fed taxes, State taxes, FICA (social security) and other deductions.</p>
<p>Barbie, as a high school kid, I’m not sure that relying on your vast knowledge and experience in financial matters is the best course for xxthis to follow. At the end of the day, bills have to be paid and there have been many kids who were forced to withdraw from school AND pay thousands of dollars for courses they weren’t allowed to complete. That is the cold hard reality…colleges are not very forgiving and quickly take steps to remove students who can’t pay the bill. You’re fortunate that you have scholarships and don’t seem to have big financial concerns. But, as with the residency question, this is not the position the OP is in. </p>
<p>We’re all for having dreams achieved and goal realized, but only if there is a solid financial plan in place to help make that happen. Working in a strip joint at 18, counting on getting instate rates, and other such schemes are not realistic. That stuff flies on the High School forum, but is not going to work very well in the real world.</p>
<p>a pell which is max $5000 will help you cover your fees. A job will help you with housing and other personal expenses. Then there are other options including loans. Now I’ve said it for mysef there is no way I would get a loan that is over $20000. But with federal financial aid and a job it’ll help you. I didn’t say it will cover up for everything. Everyone has different situations, I don’t know exactlly why xxthisones wants to go to California but I know why I want to go and no one can discourage me. If it’s something that can wait and you just want to go to California because you think it’s a cool state, now I don’t think that’s good enough reason to spend the extra money on going out of state but it all depends on the reason.</p>
<p>paying OOS fees to attend CSUN is one of the dumbest things that I have read on cc in long time.</p>
<p>No, you cannot obtain residency after one year unless you are financially independent from the parents. That means zero money from them. You would have to get a job that pays enough for rent, lights and OOS tuition. Good luck finding a job that pays an 18-year-old that kinda dough. More importantly, the Cal States are primarily commuter campuses. Why would you move across country to spend your weekends alone when all of your friends go home everyday after class.</p>
<p>If you really want to move to California, y’all come. But I suggest that you attend a juco (Santa Barbara, Santa Monica) first and take classes there. Get a job (good luck, with unemployment in double digits), pay some bills, earn instate tuition, and transfer to a UC or other instate college.</p>
<p>Barbie, the cost of attendance at CSU Northridge is over $30K a year for an OOS student. Pell is a max of $5550 this year and Stafford loans for freshmen are capped at $5500. Getting a job that pays a 18 y.o. full-time college student anything close to $20K is probably not a realistic plan…it would likely be something illegal, unsavory, or both.</p>
<p>bluebayou and Kender are actual CA residents with experience navigating the maze of college financial aid…I hope the OP would heed their advice if she’s still following her thread!</p>