Hi, I graduated from High School in 2016. My junior year in high school I got out kicked out of my house due to family issues (parents got divorced, crazy dad, too much of a hassle) and moved to a friends. After high school I moved away and decided to take time off college due to financial reasons. My best friend attends UCLA and is getting an apartment this summer. He offered me to move in and I’m really thinking about moving in with him. My grades and standardized test scores weren’t great in high school. I plan on attending a community college this fall. I hear California is really friendly to community college transfers. However, I am from Louisiana which makes me an out of state student. How hard is it to transfer from a community college to a 4 year university as an out of state student? Any stories would be helpful too. Thanks
Correction: California is really friendly to California community college transfers.
If you are looking to transfer into a California institution successfully (and not having to pay ridiculous tuition), perhaps it may be best to move in with your friend, and establish residency there, attend a California Community College, and transfer into the UC/CSU system.
Establishing residency isn’t particularly hard, you can read up on it here:
https://students.ucsd.edu/finances/fees/residence/criteria.html
Best of luck!
To correct the above poster: gaining residency for tuition purposes in California is actually very hard, if not impossible, if you’re under the age of 24.
As you stated you did not attend college right away for financial purposes, and it does not seem like your parents will be contributing, your hurdle will not be getting in, but being able to afford a public CA college. You will be expected to pay ~60K at a UC or ~40K at a CSU.
If you’re under 24, you will be classified as a resident of the state (for tuition purposes) where your parents live. It is not the physical presence requirement that is difficult, it is the financial independence requirement that is extremely difficult to fulfill. You must prove that you’re in California for non-educational purposes by paying for all of your expenses (including rent) entirely by yourself (your tax forms must match your rent, etc) for two years before being able to qualify for in-state tuition.
Every year, there are many out of state students who ask about ways to establish CA residency, and are told that it’s not possible. You can search for these threads to see the replies.
If you truly want to attend a public school in CA, I suggest moving to CA, working full-time for these next 3 years to save up money (most parts of CA have high costs of living, especially Los Angeles), and then attending school. Keep in mind you cannot take classes at any CA college during those 3 years or it becomes clear that you’re here for educational purposes.
Another option would be to look at private CA colleges, as their costs are the same for in state/out of state to see if they will offer you need-based aid.
Good luck!