Hi,
I have been strongly considering UC Irvine as my college of choice next year. However, I currently live in Arizona which is not going to allow me in state tuition. To cut down on the cost, I was going to do community college the first year in California and then transfer the following year to UC Irvine. But my thought is, what if I move to California, have an address to establish residency, am working, yet complete my first year of community college through an online program in Arizona? Therefore, i am getting instate community college tuition in Arizona and then will be eligible for in state tuition the following year after being in California for 366 days. Would this work due to the fact that I am not moving to California for educational purposes?
https://www.reg.uci.edu/navigation/residency.html
In general, it is difficult to get residency for tuition purposes in California. Note that if you are not considered “independent” for FAFSA purposes, your parents’ residency will matter.
Why do you not have Arizona residency for tuition purposes? Do you have residency for tuition purposes in any state?
My mom claims me as a dependent in Arizona, my dad does not claim me but lives in California.
I understand it is difficult, but I am asking if I would qualify because I am not moving to California for education,
You’re not? It sure sounds like you are. What other reason do you have for moving to Cali?
I am moving to California to reside there, but I also plan on attending college there, just not for the first year if I am able to take college online from an Arizona CC.
Are you under 18? Can you move in with your dad in CA…right now?
And if you enroll in community college when you move to CA…and then try to transfer to a UC or CSU as an instate student…how will you prove that you did not move there for educational purposes? It’s not like you moved there to establish residency, got a job, rented an apartment?
You will have gone to CA and enrolled in college. Good luck proving you didn’t go there for educational purposes.
Yes, under 18 and currently enrolled as a senior in Arizona.
I also lived in California for a majority of my life, but moved prior to high school starting, not sure if that makes any difference.
i loved I Ohio most of my life prior to my kids applying for college. It did not make them OH residents. It did not continue to make ME an Ohio resident. I moved. I was a resident of another state.
Why won’t AZ allow you instate tuition?
And checking for clarity…you are expecting IN state tuition for AZ while you are establishing instate status for CA? Um…how would you think that is possible?
Arizona will allow me instate tuition because my mother claims me as a dependent.
Yes I am expecting in state while gaining residency because of the fact that I would be doing ONLINE college from an Arizona school while living in California.
Technically, I would be an Arizona resident when I apply and begin community college, I would not have moved to California until the start of college.
If you want to establish residency in California, you can move in with your Dad. Do not attend any college for 365 days after moving here or take any on-line college classes. After day 366, you can then apply to UCI as a Freshman or start attending a CCC to transfer. UC’s only take Junior level transfers so you usually need to spend 2 years at a CCC prior to transferring (60 semester/90 quarter units).
To your point earlier, I plan on renting an apartment, getting a job, purchasing a car, getting a CA drivers license, changing my voting status, and some of the other things that consider you a CA resident.
I do plan on staying there after college, hence why I want to establish residency.
Thank you Gumbymom. Quick question, if I did take online classes would they not consider me a resident after 366 days?
Then technically, you can NOT be concurrently establishing residency for instate tuition elsewhere. If you are an instate tuition recipient in AZ, you can’t be establishing instate residency in CA at the same time!
What is the matter with the instate public universities in AZ where you DO right now have instate residency status?
why don’t you have your father claim you as a dependent? Parents can do that, ‘allow’ the NCP to take the deduction. It would cost your mother some in taxes, but you’d save $24000 every year in tuition.
Look at the requirements for an instate parent to qualify for instate tuition for an OOS child.
As for your plan, I think taking community college credits online is fine and will not cause you not to qualify for California instate tuition. However, other things may cause you to not qualify - getting the job, being independent. If you really want to go to college in California, move there, get a job, and plan on it taking perhaps two full years before you qualify. You may have trouble finding a job and thus not get the 366 days started. I wouldn’t take the CC classes just because you are going to be busy working and establishing yourself.
I do not want to go to the Arizona schools, plain and simple. Lol.
But thank you for explaining the first part, both of you answered my question. Thanks.
twoinanddone- my father has a business in California, having a job is not an issue.
If you are going to live with/near your father, and be independent, your mother will not be able to claim you on her taxes after this year anyway. Why not just change the claiming parent this year? A $4000 dependent credit for one year may turn into a $100,000 instate tuition benefit.
She said she can’t answer as to wether it can change or not at the moment. Legal things would have to be dealt with. I don’t know what all that means but I’m not going to count on it happening.
Why does tax dependency matter? Is this a criteria for him being considered a resident if he uses his father as the oarent? He doesn’t live in CA…so would,this be the tipping point?
If not…tax dependency doesn’t define residency for instate status. It’s where you reside.and four the vast majority of undergrads…it is also where your custodial parent resides.
That is why I suggested he move in with dad. Then dad could perhaps be his custodial,parent…
But I do think having instate tuition in AZ for,the year is not going to support being a CA resident.
How to establish residency
These are general guidelines on what it means to establish residency. If you are hoping to establish residency, contact your campus residence deputy to assess your situation.
Establishing physical presence and intent
To meet these requirements, you must be continuously physically present in California for more than one year (366 days) immediately prior to the residence determination date (generally the first day of classes) and intend to make California your home permanently. You can demonstrate your intention to stay in California by relinquishing legal ties to your former state and establishing legal ties to California.
Here are some ways you can establish intent:
Remain in California when school is not in session.
Register to vote and vote in California elections.
Designate your California address as permanent on all school and employment records, including current military records.
Obtain a California driver’s license within 10 days of settling in California. (If you’ve never had a driver’s license in any state, then obtain a California identification card.)
If you have a car, obtain a California motor vehicle registration within 20 days of settling in California.
Work in California and file California resident income tax forms from the date of entry into the state. Income earned outside of California after that date must also be declared in California.
Establish and maintain active bank accounts in California banks and close out-of-state accounts.
Surrender all out-of-state identification (including driver’s license).
Establish a permanent home where your belongings are kept.
Obtain a license for professional practice in California.
You’ll need to relinquish out-of-state ties and demonstrate intent while simultaneously meeting the physical presence requirement.
Absences from California
In order to demonstrate intent, it is important to stay in California during nonacademic periods. If you’re a nonresident student who is in the process of establishing California residency, and you leave California for more than one month during the summer before the term in which you are establishing resident status, your intent will be questioned.
Graduate and law students who must leave for nonacademic-related reasons for more than a month during the summer should contact the campus residence deputy to seek advice prior to leaving and filing for classification.
Financial independence
Nonresident undergraduates
This requirement makes it extremely difficult for most undergraduates who are not financially dependent on a California-resident parent to qualify for classification as a California resident.
If you’re an unmarried undergraduate under the age of 24 and your parent(s) are not California residents, you must be able to document (for example, using tax returns, W-2 forms, bank statements) that you have been totally self-sufficient for two full years prior to the residence determination date, supporting yourself, for example, through jobs, financial aid, commercial/institutional loans in your name only, and documentable savings from your earnings. This also means you can’t have been claimed as an income tax dependent by any individual or have accepted gifts (cash or other support) that contributed to your subsistence for two tax years immediately preceding the term.