High School Senior

[littlershak]

<p>Hello,
I am currently a HS senior from Washington State.
I applied to UCSB, UCD, UCLA, and UCI for fall '10, and I am not too confident that I will get into these 4 schools. Aside from that, I was wondering if I could get help on planning moving to California and attending CCC for a year or two. My main goal would be too transfer to UCLA. In Washington State we have a program called Running Start which is where you take community college classes instead of high school classes, and by the end of my senior year I plan to have 30 credits [ quarter system]. My questions are...</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Would UCLA look at my Washington CC transcript grades, or just the credits on my CCC transcript?</p></li>
<li><p>How do you become eligible for the TAP.</p></li>
<li><p>Establishing residency in California is usually hard, besides getting a job, license, car registration, and living physically in the state, is there any other things that could help.</p></li>
<li><p>Is community college for a year or two going to still give me a similar "college" experience? [I have been accepted to 4 year universities and this is semi-important to me]</p></li>
<li><p>What are the best towns/CCC's for transferring to UC's.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thank You.</p>

[ktb5555]

<ol>
<li><p>UCLA will look at your transcript for your CC classes. </p></li>
<li><p>you can become eligible for TAP depending on whether the CC you go to offers it. Most of the time if you school does offer TAP, you can become eligible by being in the school’s honors program. TAP is only for Schools of Letters and Science though.</p></li>
<li><p>Living in California is the same as living everywhere. The weather is just nicer and what not.</p></li>
<li><p>Community Colleges don’t give you that same experience as a 4 year. Some compare CC’s to high school more than universities to be honest.</p></li>
<li><p>The best place to go to for CC’s to UCLA is probably Santa Monica College near Westwood which is where the UCLA campus is. SMC has a string tie with UCLA so a lot of people from SMC actually get into UCLA statistically. #1 CC for transfers to UCLA actually.</p></li>
</ol>

[Kender]

<p>Unless you can establish financial independence, you will not be able to establish California residency.</p>

<p>Establishing residency:

To establish California residence, an adult student at least 18 years of age must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, other immigrant, or eligible alien who meets all of the following requirements:
[ul][<em>]has been physically present in the state for 366 days prior to the residence determination date (RDD) of the term for which he or she wishes to be considered a resident
[</em>]has the intent to make California his or her home (as opposed to coming to California for the purpose of attending school)
[li]is financially independent… if his or her parents are not California residents as defined by UC.[/ul][/li]

</p>

<p>Establishing financial independence:

A student is considered financially independent when one or more of the following applies:
[ol][<em>]the student is at least 24 years of age by December 31 of the calendar year for which resident classification is requested
[</em>]the student is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces
[<em>]the student is a ward of the court or both parents are deceased
[</em>]the student has legal dependents other than a spouse
[<em>]the student is married or has a registered domestic partner, or is a graduate or professional student, and was not claimed as an income tax deduction by parents or any other individual for the tax year immediately preceding the term for which resident classification is requested
[</em>]undergraduate students: the student is an unmarried undergraduate student and was not claimed as an income tax deduction by parents or any other individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which resident classification is requested, and can demonstrate self-sufficiency for those two years and the current year
[<em>]graduate students: the student is a graduate student instructor, graduate student teaching assistant, research assistant, junior specialist, post-graduate researcher, graduate student researcher, or teaching associate who is employed 49 percent or more of full time or awarded the equivalent in University administered funds (e.g., grants, stipends, or fellowships) in the term for which classification is sought
[</em>]the student reached the age of 18 in California while his or her parents were residents of California, and the parents left the state to establish a residence elsewhere while the student continued to be a resident of California after the parents’ departure[/ol]

</p>

<p>Verifying financial independence:

To verify financial independence (self-support) per item 6 above, the student must document his or her income and verify that he or she was not claimed as an exemption by parents or anyone else for the two years prior to the request for residence. The student is also required to present a budget showing how he or she is able to be supported by the funds claimed. Self-support is defined as money the student has earned through his or her own employment or loans obtained with the student’s own credit, without a cosigner. A gift or loan to the student from a parent, grandparent, or other family member does not constitute self-support regardless of the terms.</p>

<p>Parent PLUS loans cannot be considered self-support.</p>

<p>Residing in California with an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or friend who provides the student with room and board cannot be considered self-support, even if that person meets the UC residence requirement.</p>

<p>If the student’s income is a trust account, the student must verify that the trust was not set up for the purpose of meeting the financial independence requirement. The student must also verify that he or she has complete control of the trust and that the trust has been in use to support the student. Copies of yearly beginning balances, withdrawals, deposits, and ending balances of the trust account(s) will be required.</p>

<p>Nonverifiable income cannot be considered.

</p>

<p>Sources:
[UCLA</a> Registrar’s Office: Residence Classification for Tuition Purposes FAQ](<a href=“http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/faq/residencefaq.htm]UCLA”>http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/faq/residencefaq.htm)
[UCLA</a> Registrar’s Office: Residence for Tuition Purposes–Financial Independence](<a href=“http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/residence/finindep.htm]UCLA”>http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/residence/finindep.htm)
[UCLA</a> Registrar’s Office: Residence for Tuition Purposes–Establishing Residence](<a href=“http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/residence/establish.htm]UCLA”>http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/residence/establish.htm)</p>