<p>I have a friend who's been living with his mom in Florida his whole life. His parents are divorced, and his father lives in California. Would he be eligible to go to a California state school and pay in-state tuition?</p>
<p>He needs to have his father investigate the policies of the various public institutions that he might like to attend in California.</p>
<p>However, if his GPA is good, he will probably qualify for Bright Futures in Florida which will make the public universities in Florida very affordable for his family. Before he gets too excited about going to California, he should inform himself about his options in Florida.</p>
<p>Under California’s rules, the student of divorced parents is presumed to be a resident of the state in which the custodial parent lives, which would be Florida and thus your friend would be considered a non-resident for tuition purposes in California. However, under what is called the Condit Bill, the student may be considered a resident of California for tuition purposes if the non-custodial parent has lived in California for at least two years at the time of applying to college, provides child support, AND has over the years since divorce claimed the child as a dependent on his federal and state income taxes (the non-custodial parent won’t be able to do that unless the divorce decree so provides). Also, after arriving in California, the student has to establish his own permanent California residency to continue to get in-state tuition such as actually living with dad, not going home in the summer to mom, getting a California driver’s license, and if he has any employment paying California state taxes.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. The Condit Bill tip might end up making quite a few people very happy.</p>