<p>I'm not trying to cheat the system, but I want to know when I can apply for in-state tuition. My story:
I'm 16 and live with my parents in New Jersey. My boyfriend lives in California (all his life) and we've been together so far over two years. Our plan was to move together once I move and figure out where I'm going to be during college. However, I recently found out that the best job opportunities for my future career (regenerative medicine type things) are actually in California, as well as many of the best schools for it. This is my plan right now: senior year of highschool, apply to colleges. Once accepted, defer for one year. Move right after graduation (June 2013) to California and rent an apartment with my boyfriend. After my gap year is over (which, yes, I'd already planned to do to find a job, become acclimated, and join an organization for in-state community service), I'd go the the college, while still living in the apartment with him. </p>
<p>I'm not looking to move just for the schooling; yes they are good, but it's also timing in general. I'm looking to stay in California with my boyfriend for the rest of our lives (as long as someone will hire me, of course, but it's a center for my major anyway). I would receive no finances from my parents and I would not be a dependent on them after I move. However, up until i graduste, i would be a dependent. I also wouldn't really go "home" for school breaks...maybe once a year or every couple years. </p>
<p>I'm wondering if I can be considered a resident after my gap year...or just when would I be considered one? Would I be able to get In-state tuition (if not for freshman year, perhaps sophomore?). I really like many of the state schools (although I'd apply to others too), but it's so expensive for out of state... </p>
<p>Oh, and for the FASA, would I then put just my finaces?</p>
<p>Also..I don't want to marry my boyfriend. We want to live together for a few years first.</p>
<p>You are either a dependent or you aren’t, you can’t choose which particular circumstances you want to be considered a dependent. That’s like wanting your cake (parents tax break) and eating it too (IS tuition).</p>
<p>T26E4: I looked at California’s state residency, but I wasn’t sure where to find the college’s rules on their website. </p>
<p>entomom: I wasn’t saying that I’d be both. I meant they’d file me as a dependent for taxes 2013, but not 2014 or anything after that because they wouldn’t give any aid. I don’t know if that’s long enough in the state, though. </p>
<p>Where can I find the self-sufficiency rules? </p>
<p>I was also wondering if my life with my boyfriend counts any weight because it shows I’m not just going there for school, since he always lived there. Will they take that into consideration?</p>
<p>I know this will fall on deaf ears, but I have to say it: You’re 16. It’s unlikely that you’ll still be with your boyfriend by the time you finish college, much less for the rest of your life. You’re still maturing and evolving (as is he). You may become a very different person with different desires and goals as the years pass. Please don’t plan your life around a boy at such a young age. I’m sure your parents would be very upset to hear of your plans. Have you discussed this with them?</p>
<p>I forgot to mention before: thanks entomom; I didn’t know that you couldn’t change your status. I’ll look more into that. Does anyone know if they’d count my status from the time I apply and am accepted (senior year of high school) or when I start the college (which will be more than a year apart because of the gap year)? </p>
<p>T26E4: thank you. Finding the page helps for a lot. </p>
<p>MommaJ: I realize that nothing is certain, which is why we’d definitly do some visiting first to make sure we’re still happy. I understand how concerning it can be to read something like that, but I can assure you (or at least try to) that we mean what we say. Ties with parents are going to probably be cut because I’m giving them the choice of accepted both of us or neither, and they may pick the latter. Also, there’s an age difference so he wouldn’t be in school at the time and, while I believe that we continue to mature and developed forever, he wouldn’t be in the sense that you mean with teenage years.</p>
<p>Crazy - I handle appeals of in-state status at a college in another state, but the principles are pretty typical across states. Until you’re 24, your status is that of your parents unless you’re completely emancipated from them. That means that you receive no support from them or from any other out-of-state source, and that you have a sufficient annual income to provide for your own living expenses. Even after age 24, if you’re supported by parents, claimed as a dependent, or not earning a living wage, you still can’t get in-state status on the basis of your own domicile. And you typically can’t change to in-state status while enrolled at a college in the new state.</p>
<p>It’s a little easier in Texas, even though they’ve just tightened up the rules a little. You CAN use your first year in school to gain residency. If your parents buy you a condo that you live in (and put in your name), and they don’t claim you as a deduction on their taxes, it works. My son got in-state residency this way (actually, my parents added him onto the title of their house in Austin). UT’s residency people were quite willing to help us with the process. I was upfront with them every step of the way.</p>
<p>Sufficient annual income within 40 miles of Cal or UCLA probably means having earned about $40,000/year, although it would probably be hard to actually survive on that.</p>
Funny, at all the UC schools the registrars seem to tell how to apply to do this
That said, I echo sentiments along the lines of what MammaJ says; at 16 it is unlikely that you have sampled enough prospective spouses to know that you’ve found a good match compared to others out there, nor is it likely your personality and goals are so fixed at age 16 that you can comfortably make these kind of choices. I know its not how you feel in your heart; you are certain this is all right and perfect. But indulge me and talk to a few kids who are in their 20’s and ask them how much their current life matches what they would have predicted at your age. This won’t be compelling, but I hope it at least gives you pause that you <em>might</em> be a bit hasty here.</p>
<p>from the same site;
"To verify financial independence (self support) you need to provide copies of your state and federal income tax returns along with your parents’ returns verifying that you were not claimed as an exemption for two tax years prior to your request for residence classification (e.g., tax years 2005 and 2006 for the Fall of 2007). In addition, you will also be required to present a budget showing how you are able to support yourself with the funds you claim. Types of funds listed below can be used to support a claim for financial independence.</p>
<p>*
What is self-support?</p>
<p>Self-support is defined as money you have earned through your own employment or loans obtained on your own credit, without a cosigner. Financial aid loans obtained without a cosigner can be considered in your income. A bank loan made to your parent who turns over the funds to you would not constitute self-support. A bank loan made to you with a parent or other adult cosigning would not constitute self-support. In most cases, a gift to you from a parent, grandparent, or other family member would not constitute self-support."</p>
<p>Yes, with all the stipulations on age, financial independence, etc. that I cited earlier. If this were a 24 yo, that would be a different thing.</p>
<p>Ok, this is all I can say. Someone I know uprooted her life to go after an older boyfriend. And in this case, she was already an adult so parents couldn’t do anything. Within a year, found he had no intention of marrying her and had actually moved on. Fortunately her parents never gave up on her and welcomed her back.</p>
<p>If he is worth it, he will wait for you. For now, finish your high school and see how things go with him at the time you are ready to apply to college. Things change all the time.</p>
<p>Guys…first off I’d like to say that I’m not uprooting my entire life for him. Our plan was that I would pick my college and start going and, if he had the right money at that time, he’d be able to move too so that we could be closer. Because it doesn’t make sense for one of us to waste a lot of money right now if I’m going to be moving somewhere for college anyway.
With that said, I found out that the life I want is in California; all of the progressive discoveries in the career field that I want, as well as the best schools for it, which is a nice coincidence since he’s there so he wouldn’t have to move (at least not far), saving us money. Like I said, I’m not running away to get married. However, I know that UCLA and others are state schools, meaning that they don’t provide as much financial aid for out-of-state students as the other colleges that I was looking for, and because I’ll be with him, making my life there, and without parental assistant, if I would be able to be considered a resident after my gap year. </p>
<p>My parents not paying isn’t because I’m completely cutting them off; I’m giving them the choice to accept both of us and I hope that they’d choose that. But I have two older sisters already in college, and they haven’t been given any financial help from my parents - we just don’t have the money for it - so I know that I wouldn’t be different. </p>
<p>So far, the only main problem that I see with gaining residency is that I don’t think I’ll have been two complete years without being a dependent, right? It would just be a little over one. That is why I was asking if I could re-apply and try to change to in-state after freshman year; because that’s the only requirement I wouldn’t have (I think). Do you guys have any ideas or advice? </p>
<p>If I’m living with my boyfriend, I’d still be considered self-supportive, right? I’d still have a job and an income - filing taxes and paying bills, etc. We’d have separate bank accounts so, in the eyes of these types of things, I’d think that it would basically be sharing the things with a roommate. I just want to make sure that it would be okay. </p>
<p>gadad said that in order to have in-state tuition, I’d have to “receive no support from them [my parents] or from any other out-of-state source.” I’m wondering if scholarships are okay. Obviously not scholarships that are for a specific state besides California, but what about ones that are open to any student? Would be be allowed to use them for the college if I wanted to be a resident. I would think that I could because children from California are obviously granted them, but it could be different for me.</p>
<p>If it were possible for a fresh HS student to move to CA, rent a place for a year, and then qualify for in-state tuition and be independent from parents for FA purposes, then that would become our number one plan - along with virtually every other parent. Nobody would be paying OOS prices; everybody would be sucking up great financial aid.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is not the way it works.</p>
<p>You better think a bit about these “choices” you plan to offer to your parents. You’re going to need whatever financial support they can provide in college, because no school is going to treat you as an independent. You should probably start looking hard at your in-state options.</p>
<p>Never say never, but you should be aware of the following in the FAQ posted by the UCLA registrar
That alone will be a deal breaker; if they check off the “dependent” box on their tax returns, you won’t possibly qualify for CA residency.</p>
<p>I’m not a UC official so you should check with them regarding your question about the scholarships you assume you’ll get, but also consider carefully the following from their FAQ
The residency requirements differ between schools in CA such as the Cal-States and UC system. From what I’ve heard the Cal-State system tends to be more lenient, and they have some reciprocity agreements with other states that you may qualify for; what state are you from?</p>
<p>This is just a train wreck from the word go, but like an earlier thread by someone determined to go to school in CA I’m going to bet any nay-saying is going to fall on deaf ears.</p>
<p>First off, the UC schools generally don’t let you defer admission. So already the plan is derailed; assuming you get accepted (no sure thing with admit rates around 22%) you’ll fill out the deferral form and with no good reason other than wanting to delay a year for financial benefit they’ll deny it. </p>
<p>But the train will have left the station in your mind so you’ll “adjust” your plans a bit; you’ll move out to CA even though you don’t have a college in the bag anymore. Living with your BF will bring a whole new set of stress, although he might enjoy having a full-time worker around to cook, clean, and pay for the fun stuff he wants to do. Of course there is the chance he might change his mind about the whole thing by the time he’s a senior and decide he wants to live in the dorms instead of in an apartment with the GF. His parents might push this, and senior year he’ll be hearing from friends a year ahead who are in college what a blast they’re having in the dorms.</p>
<p>But lets assume you move in together, get thru a year of that and reapply to the UCs. Now you get in but discover the scholarships you were counting on didn’t appear; you’re on the hook for 50K in expenses (and it will be higher in 2 years, almost certain, since the CA budget just lost another 4 BILLION dollars in anticipated tax revenue) and no way to pay for it. And you’ll be between a rock and a hard place; even if you were willing to beg your parents to cosign the loans, once they do you’ve just made yourself ineligible for being a CA resident for tuition.</p>
<p>So you enroll at a CC, hoping in 2 years to transfer to a UC school. But the OOS rates will be jacked up due to the budget crisis, and there is no financial aid to be found for CC students. You can’t earn enough to pay for school and live independently, and if you don’t live independently you can’t become a CA resident for tuition. Oops!</p>
<p>There is, of course, plan B. Go to school in your state, get the degree you need for the field you want to enter without a ton of debt, and move to CA which will still be there (barring earthquakes that slide it into the sea, I suppose).</p>
<p>This is getting ridiculous. I can tell from your replies that you guys haven’t even read my full description or the comments below that. There are a ridiculous amount of gap year agencies which offer programs for both abroad and local services and experiences; I’d be doing a local one obviously. and as I’ve already mentioned, I’m not running away to live with my boyfriend; I’m looking at colleges and deciding my future and we’re hoping to use the opportunity to bridge the geographic gap Of our long-distance relationship. And if it so happens that california has awesome regenerate medicine labs and that it would mean only one of us would move instead of two…well I was asking how it would work tuition-wise. I was not nor am I looking for information on teenage relationships, so please don’t respond if your opinion is based on that. residency is not because I want to go to school there and I’m trying to cheat the system. It’s because I want to make California my home and my life and I recognize that I don’t understand everything about a moving process, so I wanted to become informed when I looked for finances and what I’d be able to afford. If anyone has anything more useful to say, please do. Otherwise, hold your tongue.</p>
<p>I think what you are hearing is how frustrated many of us are, even at 30, 40, or for me, 50 plus years, in not realizing all our dreams. I am 50 plus years old, a physician married to a physician, and still struggling to realize our dream, and those of our kids, in this crazy-cost-of-living, why-can’t-we-have-ut-all state.</p>
<p>And for what it’s worth, I am grateful for what we have been able to achieve, but MORE grateful I didn’t get my high school dream.</p>
<p>But you sound way more mature than I was. Good luck!</p>