<p>Its been a dream of mine to go to school and live in california. Unfortunately as a PA resident, I cant afford the OOS tuition to UCs, and private tuition is always to high. I'm going to penn state this fall, mainly because I have a large tuition discount as PSU. I was thinking maybe I could go to psu for two years, then 2nd semester sophmore year do an internship in california and live ther during the summer too to try and establish my residency and transfer to a UC. This is just a theory I have honestly I dont know the specifics about establishing CA residency. If anyone has any advice about wether this is feasible or advice about establishing CA residency I would really appreciate it. Also, I have considered taking a year off and living in CA to establish residency, would doing so make it more difficult to get into college?</p>
<p>That wouldn’t work. CA is really cracking down, so they would probably nits you are a resident of whatever state your parents live in until you’re 24. A way that “might” work would be to move to CA without going to college, work and fully support yourself for one year and then apply. It would take 12 months minimum and you could not go to school during that year.</p>
<p>It takes two full years of working and not going to school. How about changing your dream to working in CA after graduation?</p>
<p>To be classified a resident for tuition and fee purposes, a student who is not dependent on a California-resident parent must demonstrate financial independence (total self-sufficiency) for two full years immediately preceding the residence determination date of the term for which the student is requesting a resident classification, in addition to 366 days of physical presence and intent. Relevant documentation to support a finding of financial independence may include tax returns from the student to verify the students income and from parents to verify student was not included as a dependent (tax returns amended after admittance to UC are not accepted), student W-2s, two-year budget of income and expenses, apartment rental contracts or leases, copies of all financial documentation (bank statements, loans, trusts, etc.) to verify the sources of the students income/savings. The student must have accepted no financial assistance from any individual, including California-resident relatives, during the required two years.
- Requirements
An undergraduate student or a student enrolled in a non-degree program who is not dependent on a California-resident parent will meet the financial independence requirement if 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 (federal and state income tax returns for 2010 and 2011 for the 2012-2013 academic year),
AND
b. student is self-sufficient. Student has supported own self with own resources (employment, commercial/institutional loans in students 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
2.</p>
<p>That isn’t going to work. and, because you didn’t go to high school in Calif, you wouldn’t be eligible for Cal grant and some other aid.</p>
<p>Do well at PSU, and apply to a UC for grad school.</p>
<p>BTW…it’s very hard to transfer into a UC without coming from a Calif CC. Those kids have priority.</p>
<p>You are 18 years old, and presumably when you graduate from college you will be 22 years old. You have your entire life to live in CA - it’s far wiser to finish your degree at Penn State and move to CA after you’re finished to get a job and work.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies I see the wisdom in what you say.</p>
<p>It isn’t how to get California residency that is the issue for students who want to get in state tuition rates for a college in CA. It’s how to qualify for instate rates at a given school. It has to be that specific because schools in the same state, the same state system may have different rules and different enforcement policies from each other. You can be a California state resident in that you pay state taxes, vote there, have your bank account there, live there, have a driver’s license from there, but still not be considered one for in state tuition at a particular school. At another school, maybe they don’t care.</p>
<p>I just went with my son to register for a summer school class at a local college. They didn’t blink an eye about in state. You fill in that you are and if you have an in state address on the form, they don’t give it another thought. They don’t even ask for ID. My kids and I have taken a number of courses at this school over a 12 year time period, and have found that they truly do not check or seem to care. Whatever my state laws or whatever the stated policies are, taking a course there at in state rates is easy. </p>
<p>Not so for some other state schools. They will check you out carefully and if you don’t meet their definition of having a parent who has lived there a year and filed state taxes, then you are OOS and pay as OOS unless you can prove that you are independent, and going there is a trip in itself with their definitions for that.</p>
<p>THere was a case in Georgia not long ago where it turned out that a student who was illegally in the US was going to college, and getting in state tuition at a state school. All this came from an incident that revealed the status. A fall out from that publicity was that the school announced it was going to be enforcing its in state/OOS tuition rules. This is an additional risk when dealing with a school that is lax in enforcing its own rules.</p>
<p>Whatever you decide to do, just be aware of the rules and risks involved.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I moved here from NJ and all I did was show the school the address where I lived, a copy of a utility bill in my name, a copy of my new CA drivers license or ID card, and a copy of my new CA car registration. I think that’s all I did. If they asked for W-2 forms, I just told them I didn’t have a job yet and lived off savings I had towards my first year of college.
They gave me residency!!! - San Diego, CA</p>
<p>skelly…were you an independent student over the age of 24? Were you attending a community college? Did you really NOT have a job (because if you did and you lied, that is considered fraud).</p>
<p>To the OP…the only way to get instate residency in CA is to move to California with your whole family sometime prior to the start of your senior year in high school…so you have 12 months residency prior to starting college. The residency of MOST undergrad students is that of your parents…and it’s the parents who have to establish a domicile in CA to gain that residency.</p>
<p>As folks have said…you have a lifetime to live in CA. You need to be very honest in answering any questions about residency.</p>
<p>You might want ask yourself:
Without the large tuition discount from PSU, could you afford PSU?</p>
<p>PSU’s COA is about $27714 a year, I think UC or CSU would have comparable COA too.</p>
<p>This thread is more than three months old. I think the OP has moved on . . .</p>
<p>question for those in the know.</p>
<p>My wife and I have split up and she now lives in CA.</p>
<p>My son has decided to finish school in PA. He is a sophmore.</p>
<p>Would he have two state residencies or just pa?</p>
<p>I’m not sure, but some of Calif’s financial aid depends on the student going to a Calif high school.</p>
<p>I believe he’d qualify for in-state tuition rates based on your wife’s residency, but not for Cal Grants (California financial aid). And the latter isn’t fixable (unless your son is willing to repeat 10th grade) - it requires 3 years of attendance at a California high school, including graduation.</p>
<p>Old thread, but the above is incorrect. That is the criteria for AB540. One of the qualifications for Cal Grant is that one must graduate high school as a California resident. Doesn’t matter if it’s one year or three so long as the student is a California resident at the time of graduation. Doesn’t even have to be a California high school. It just means more scrutiny if the high school is outside of California, but such a thing is meant to protect, for example, military families.</p>
<p>I think the confusion comes from the fact that meeting AB540 criteria counts for meeting a lot of Cal Grant requirements.</p>
<p>Also no, even if one parent is living in California, the student will not be granted California residency for tuition purposes if that student lived with a parent that held residency in a different state. This is at least true for the UCs. The student must live with the California residency holding parent in California on or before the student’s 18th birthday to gain residency for tuition purposes in California.</p>