Potentially Going to California for College - Help?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey everyone,
I currently am going into my senior year at a high school in Georgia. I want to go to college in/around Los Angeles, California. I just have a couple questions:</p>

<ul>
<li>What are good colleges in this area?</li>
<li>How do i get "in-state" tuition in California?</li>
</ul>

<p>GPA: 3.2
SAT: 1780</p>

<p>I am willing to go to a community college, as they are cheaper, but i just really need guidance as to what to do! I am currently thinking Santa Monica College then transferring to UCLA. Is this possible?</p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

2

<p>If you are applying from an alternative state, I believe that you need to have lived in California for at least three years of high school in order to acquire the in-state benefits.</p>

3

<p>There are sooooo many colleges in the LA area, I’m not going to pretend I know enough to answer the first question.</p>

<p>But for the second, I’m pretty sure the answer is going to be that you can’t. To get in-state tuition, the person/people who are providing for most of your expenses generally need to have had their primary residence in the state for at least a year. So you can’t like buy a cheap “summer home”, or rent an apartment and have your parents pay for all your stuff.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

<p>Can anyone offer me a list of schools in Los Angeles that are on the cheaper end of out-of-state tuition? I’m guessing these are going to have to be Community Colleges, huh?</p>

5

<p>Community colleges are generally cheap, and they’re a good way to obtain “residency” in California if you pull off all the strings correctly. There’s so many of them and the tuitions are all similar – extremely cheap compared to regular 4yr institutions.</p>

<p>So, you should be selecting by choosing the area/environment you like instead of by price. It’ll probably cost you at most $10,000 to complete an associate’s degree.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, if you obtain California residency during the time and do extremely well in community college, you’re a prime candidate for one of the many great colleges in California.</p>

<p>Take a look at the Cal State system as well as the University of California system. With your stats, you’re likely able to get into any of the Cal States and some of the “lower” UCs (inc’l Riverside, Merced, and maybe Irvine).</p>

6

<p>Unless you are financially independent, or your parents move to California, you will NOT be able to obtain residency for tuition purposes. Even community colleges will charge you OOS fees.</p>

<p>Yes, Santa Monica College is a huge feeder to UCLA, but a UC at $50k/year?</p>

7

<p>Check out a little gem called Whittier College (near LA but not near the beach alas). It offers generous merit scholarships and financial aid.</p>

8

<p>From your post it appears that your interest is primarily in the California public system, and that you’re willing to start at one of the Community Colleges.</p>

<p>The best approach is for you to move to California after graduating from high school and get established – with a job, an apartment, etc. That’s easier said than done since like much of the United States the job market is poor. But if you are flexible you’ll find something. Keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be LA. From the point of eventually transferring to the UC system or to to State University system, all community colleges in the state are equal.</p>

<p>Work for a year. Perhaps take courses in the evening or part time. Then the following year enter the community college full (or part?) time. You would have established residency. The bar for admission to community colleges is low. Keep in mind that many CCs are oversubscribed, so proceed with patience. It may take you two years, or perhaps a bit longer to graduate. You’ll then be able to apply to the state universities as a transfer student.</p>

9

<p>thank you guys so much! </p>

<p>My initial plan was to go to college full time and have a part time job and have my parents help support me. maybe with a high enough income i can become an independent ? …The only way i will be able to transfer to UCLA is if i establish in-state.</p>

<p>Would it be much easier to transfer to UCLA from Santa Monica College as apposed to another community college around los angeles? or from somewhere such as Cal State?</p>

<p>Kolijma - I’ve looked into Whittier but it is SO expensive for it to not even be a top notch school. With such a high tuition fee i dont think i’d be able to get enough scholarship to make it cheap enough.</p>

10

<p>*Check out a little gem called Whittier College (near LA but not near the beach alas). It offers generous merit scholarships and financial aid. *</p>

<p>Uh…not so fast…</p>

<p>There’s a mom on this board whose daughter had high stats (much, much higher that this student’s stats) who got one of the few full tuition scholarships. The mom and D have to take out loans for the rest - which a student alone could not (should not) do. </p>

<p>In any case, this student’s stats aren’t high enough for such merit from WC.</p>

11

<p>“My initial plan was to go to college full time and have a part time job and have my parents help support me. maybe with a high enough income i can become an independent ?”</p>

<p>I’m not sure I understand. For UCLA, you have to demonstrate the ability to support yourself without your parents help. I think attending a CC, or getting residency while attending a CC helps, but I don’t think getting help from parents can be part of your plan for becoming independent.</p>

<p>UCLA
<a href=“http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/residence/establish.htm[/url]”>http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/residence/establish.htm&lt;/a&gt;
Residence for tuition purposes at the University of California is governed by the California Education Code and implemented by the Standing Orders of the Regents of the University of California order 110.2. Under these rules, adult citizens and certain classes of aliens can establish residence for tuition purposes. Decisions on residence status for tuition purposes are not made until after the student has been admitted to the University and has completed a Statement of Legal Residence and Statement of Intent to Register.</p>

<p>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:</p>

<pre><code>* 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

  • has the intent to make California his or her home (as opposed to coming to California for the purpose of attending school)
  • is financially independent (see note) if his or her parents are not California residents as defined by UC.
    </code></pre>

<p>Note: The financial independence requirement makes it extremely difficult for most undergraduate students whose parents are not California residents, including students from community colleges and other post-secondary institutions within California, to qualify for classification as a resident at the University of California. Transfer students who were classified as residents of California at their previous school should not assume that they will be classified as residents at UCLA.</p>

<p>Santa Monica
<a href=“http://www.smc.edu/apps/pub.asp?Q=6[/url]”>http://www.smc.edu/apps/pub.asp?Q=6&lt;/a&gt;
Residence Of An Adult</p>

<p>A student who is 19 years of age or older and who has maintained a home in California continuously for the last two years shall be presumed to have the intent to make California his or her home.</p>

<p>A student under 19 years of age shall be presumed to have the intent to make California his or her home if both the student and his or her parent(s) have lived in California continuously for the last two years.</p>

<p>A student who is 19 years of age or older applying for admission with less than two years, but more than one year, of residence in California should be prepared to show proof of residence. Examples of evidence that aid the College admissions officer in identifying intent include, but are not limited to, these documentable activities:</p>

<ol>
<li>Continuously occupying rented or leased property in California;</li>
<li>Registering to vote and voting in California;</li>
<li>Holding a California state license for professional practice;</li>
<li>Paying California state income tax as a resident;</li>
<li>Possessing California motor vehicle license plates;</li>
<li>Possessing a California driver’s license or a California Identification Card;</li>
<li>Maintaining a permanent military address or home of record in California while in the armed forces;</li>
<li>Establishing and maintaining active California bank accounts; and</li>
<li>Petitioning for a divorce in California.</li>
</ol>

<p>Any two or more of the above items will give some indication of a student’s intent to the Admissions Office. Dates on documents must correspond with physical presence of one year and one day prior to the start of the term.</p>

12

<p>i’m aware getting help from parents doesn’t make me an indepedent, haha, i was just stating that i would be getting their aid while trying to become one. In Georgia all you have to do to get in-state is reside here for a year… no strings attached… its so much more complicated in California!</p>

<p>p.s. - thanks for the list, that helps alot!!</p>

13

<p>^ I mean you have to get a job with pay stubs that show you can pay your rent, etc. You have to show your budget and an income to cover it, that doesn’t include money from family or "gifts!</p>

14

<ul>
<li><p>Also bear in mind that if the reason you move to California is to attend college - even a community college - the time you are attending college generally does not count toward the time you need to reside in California to establish residency.</p></li>
<li><p>OOS costs at Santa Monica College for a 16 units/semester schedule [Summary</a> of Fees](<a href=“http://www.smc.edu/apps/pub.asp?Q=11&B=1]Summary”>http://www.smc.edu/apps/pub.asp?Q=11&B=1) :
$416 enrollment fee ($26 per unit)
$2,976 Out of State enrollment fee ($186 per unit)
$576 Capital Outlay Fee ($36 per unit)
$46 Student services fee</p>

<hr>

<p>$4,014 enrollment fees (“Tuition”) per semester, $8,028 per year</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Typical rent in Los Angeles = $600 - $1,000/month (shared room in apartment). You plan to live there year-round = $7,200 - $12,000 per year. Groceries and expenses; $300/month = $3,600/year</p>

<p>Per-year oos cost for Santa Monica Community College:
$18,828 to $23,628</p>

<p>Cost to complete two years at SMC = $37,656 to $47,256</p>

<p>There must be some more affordable options in your home state.</p>

15

<p>I’m only factoring college expenses in this, because no matter where i go whether it be in or out of state i will still be paying for rent, groceries, etc as i wont be living with my parents. so im not factoring that in. also, the point of getting to one of these colleges is to get out of my home state, and into the state i love! I’m not trying to stay in Georgia. I’m really curious as to see how much scholarship money i get so i can see how realistic my california dreams are :slight_smile:
Also, my cousin has an apartment in studio city that i would probably living in free of rent, so it may be cheaper than i think.</p>

16

<p>im not gonna read all the posts above mine so sorry if this is repetative but some good schools in the LA area that I know of are UCLA, Occidental College, and USC</p>

<p>i got into UCLA but couldnt afford it so im not going, they pretty much designed it so you cant establish residency in california for tuition purposes.</p>

17

<p>

Are talking about local scholarships? You will not receive scholarships from Santa Monica College.

You will not be able to establish residency for tuition purposes living in a family member’s apartment free of rent. (And, as mentioned in my post above, you will not establish residency while attending community college.)

The cost of living in Los Angeles is likely to be far more than you are accustomed to.

It is likely to be far more expensive than you think.</p>

<p>suxess, I am not trying to be mean, I am trying to communicate to you that the taxpayers of California support the California Community Colleges, California State Universities, and the University of California systems. We do so for the benefit of our own children, not the children of people who have never paid California taxes. We expect and demand that those systems charge a higher rate for out of state students - and in the current budget crisis in California, the qualifications to earn California residency for tuition purposes will hopefully be made even more difficult.</p>

<p>The UC system has increased the number of out of state students it accepts because, simply, they need the money. The unfortunate result of this is that California students will be turned away from the UC in favor of out of state students who can pay full cost. Believe me when I say that if California taxpayers find they are paying for out of state students to attend because they were able to manipulate the residency rules - when their own children are being rejected to make room for those out of state students - there will be even tighter rules put in place very quickly.</p>

<p>For inexpensive public higher education I suggest you investigate the offerings of your in-state community colleges and universities.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

18

<p>

</p>

<p>Wait.</p>

<p>Believe me, I understand how you feel–I’ve been there myself–but now is not the time. California’s an expensive place, there’s no guarantee of being able to get a job there…there’s no guarantee of anything, really. You’ll have better luck doing your undergrad at a USG school and applying to California schools for grad school, or getting a job there after you have your degree.</p>

19

<p>The closest CC to Studio City is Los Angeles Valley College, with similar costs to Santa Monica. If you wanted to attend SMCC and commute from Studio City, figure on an hour’s drive time each way during the work week, and add on the costs for owning, maintaining and insuring a car, along with a parking permit. Otherwise, add an additional half an hour to an hour each way if you want to use the public bus system. </p>

<p>California’s budget troubles mean that there are fewer community college courses available, so it might take longer than two years to receive an AA degree. If you stay in Georgia, save money, and get through school as quickly as possible, you can move to California afterwards without worrying about the residency requirements.</p>

20

<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>Hmmmm…no mention of cousin…</p>

<p>"If I was classified as a resident of California at my California community college, will I automatically be classified as a resident for tuition purposes at UCLA?</p>

<p>No. The UC financial independence requirement makes it extremely difficult for most undergraduate students whose parents are not California residents, including students from community colleges and other post-secondary institutions within California, to qualify for classification as a resident at the University of California. Transfer students who were classified as residents of California at their previous school should not assume that they will be classified as residents at UCLA."</p>