I’m looking at some different states where I might want to go to school to finish a 4-yr degree. There are two ways I’m transferring, either one sooner rather than later w/about 30 credits, or later with a full 60 credit transfer degree.
I’m 40+, and ideally want to end up somewhere that I would like to stay after I’m done with school. I’m also a veteran (not sure if that helps make it easier), but I am lost as far as getting in-state tuition. My GI bill covers up $28k a year (that is all school expenses, no living expense in it).
All I know are things I’ve heard here and there, will happily admit don’t know if they are accurate or what. But have heard Cali schools are hard to get into, some states are more difficult for out-of-state, some make it near impossible to get in-state tuition, some are super easy. IDK if it’s different for ‘adults’, or what. Whatever state I end up going to I plan to right off the bat get a state license, vote, live on my own (or possibly student housing).
Like I said, ideally I end up staying long-term after school. But work requirement, I have a pension, no I don’t plan to run out and get a full-time job, nor do I plan to have to work a year or whatever before I start so I can get in-state tuition.
How is Cali with this? Is coming there first and going to a CC for 30 credit hours then transferring to a University make a difference? Are Cali schools even easy to get accepted to? Looking at the acceptance rates, they ALL seem very low.
I’m looking at for University, Long Beach State, Cal State - Fullerton, Cal State - Northridge, Cal State - Dominguez Hills, UofCal Riverside…
TIA!
Here are some veteran-specific provisions in California:
https://ucop.edu/residency/exemptions-waivers.html
https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/california-residency-for-tuition-purposes/Pages/exceptions-exemptions.aspx#miltary
https://www.calvet.ca.gov/VetServices/Pages/Non-Resident-College-Fee-Waiver.aspx
Note that most California public universities admit transfers with 60 credits by the time of transfer, so your options will be limited if you want to transfer to a university with 30 credits. Transferring to a California community college now and then transferring from there to a CSU or UC may be better than trying to transfer from out-of-state, because California community colleges are better set up to help CSU or UC transfer applicants.
Thanks for the info! Unfortunately, I don’t think being a vet is going to help anything, in Cali, without having lived there before or during my service.
Maybe I need to try the CC then transfer route, if I end up deciding on Cali. My first choice would be Long Beach State. Seems like it would be very hard to get in there. They have only like a 28% acceptance rate. I called and spoke to an admissions adviser, she seemed to say don’t worry about that. She said just enough to get my hopes up but at the same time was vague enough I’m not sure if I should even waste time thinking I could get in there.
CSUs typically admit eligible (needed courses completed) transfer students by college GPA within buckets defined by:
- California residency.
- Local area residency.
- Major applied to.
“Impaction” refers to when a CSU campus or major has more applicants than it can admit at minimum standards (2.0 college GPA for residents, 2.4 college GPA for non-residents). If there is campus, then the college GPA threshold may be higher than the minimum standards; if there is major impaction, then the college GPA threshold may be higher than the minimum standard for those majors. Some campuses, like SJSU and CSUN, are more transparent about past admission thresholds than other campuses. For example, http://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/impactionresultstransfer/index.html shows the GPA thresholds SJSU used for those applying to transfer for fall 2019. https://www.csulb.edu/admissions/fall-2019-major-specific-requirements-transfer-students has some information for CSULB transfer admission for fall 2019 (note: veteran status may cause CSULB to favor you like local area applicants).
https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/transfer has some general CSU transfer admission information. https://www2.calstate.edu/attend/degrees-certificates-credentials/Pages/impacted-degrees.aspx can show you what campuses and majors are impacted.
For UC, admission is a holistic process involving review of your academic record and essays, but college GPA is heavily emphasized. https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major can give you an idea of how selective each UC campus and major is for transfers.
Wow…that is some amazing info…Thank you so much! My dream has always been to live in Cali. But you always hear so much negativity about Cali, and of course the cost of living is so high. But I’m at least going to try see what happens. I’m hoping I can make things happen to get into UCB.
Also, https://www.assist.org can help with planning courses at California community colleges to transfer to UCs and CSUs (however, articulation by major appears to be updated only to 2016-17).
" 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."
Moving to attend a comm college would not start the residency clock. Even if you later were admitted as a transfer to a UC or CSU, you’d be categorized as OOS.
You noted CSUs. The links in #1 and 2 are from ucop (UC Office of the President.) Generally, these are definitive, over-arching. I don’t remember any twist or special exceptions for CSUs. You’d have to find that. But CA is not in a position to underwrite lots of OOS students who come for college (for “educational purposes” only) and want discounts. You’d need to establish pure residency first.
Perhaps an important unstated factor is how long ago the OP separated from military service. Note the 36 month window mentioned in the first two links from reply #2.