Regarding In-State Residency and Appeal (California)

State Forums
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Hey guys!

So my ultimate question (if you don’t feel like reading this) is: how can I appeal to be reclassified as a resident?

This fall will be my first semester at Cal as a junior transfer student. I was born in california, grew up in another country, and came back to california after my senior year of high school. I have stayed in my CC for three years, establishing residency and financially supporting myself while being a full time student. If it matters, I’m 21 and turning 22 this year.

After I submitted my SLR, I got a notice saying I was classified as a non-resident. Basically the reason was because I did not provide rent receipts, which I don’t have any because I used the cash tips I got from the restaurant and left it aside for just rent. (So that I wouldn’t use it for anything else). My name was in every single rent contract that I have submitted.

Is there ANY way I can be reclassified as a resident? I could barely afford this school with the residency status, and I don’t know how in the world I will be able to afford the next two school year with the non-resident tuition. I really do feel like this is absolutely unfair (sounds childish, I agree), because I have literally established residency and paid everything without any contribution from any family members. I have emailed the residency department, but have not heard any reply from them; which I am running out of time because I need to make the tuition payment in about 20 days…

If you know how I can successfully appeal my residency, please please let me know how I could. I will forever be grateful, because if nothing works out, I am considering to withdraw my admission… The only reason I chose Cal is because when they offered my financial aid package upon being offered admission, it was the tuition fee for residents and it was bearable to work park time while attending school. And now, I can’t turn to any other private universities that have offered me less than the non-resident tuition because fall term for all the schools will start in about a month from today.

And if you think I will have no chance at all to change my status, is there a way I can apply for more aid? I know there is some kind of parents plus loan that I was offered, but my parents don’t live here nor do they have SSN to apply for even if they are willing to help me out.

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Your landlord should be able to provide you with a statement showing your monthly cash payments. Their bookkeeping should be able to help.

3

@Happy2Help I had two other roommates and it was required to have only one check for rent (my roommate was the one who payed it with her name…) Is this situation as bad as I think it is now…?

4

Maybe you can get copies of her deposited checks and a statement from her that you gave her cash for your share?

5

Perhaps a notarized statement?

Were you considered a resident or nonresident while attending CC?

6

The problem you have is that the UCs are extremely strict about residency because so many OOS students try to get around the system. I’m not saying that you are one of these students, it’s just that you are lumped together in the same category:

When someone comes to Cailifornia for
*“educational purposes”,
*without a California HS diploma and
*with parents who don’t reside in this country or state,
the scrutiny is even worse, because the school has to assume that your parents are providing the rent money.

(They don’t look at elementary records; they want a California HS diploma)

It is your job to disprove the OOS status, by a paper trail and your name on EVERY piece of paper like the rent contract, as well as written bank transactions that match your earnings on your 1040.

http://www.ucop.edu/general-counsel/_files/ed-affairs/uc-residence-policy.pdf :
“Relevant documentation to support a finding of financial independence may include tax returns from the student to verify the student’s income, as well as W-2s, two year budget of income and expenses, official apartment rental contracts or leases, and copies of all financial documentation (bank statements, loans, trust, etc.) to verify the sources of the student’s income/savings. The student must not have accepted any type of financial assistance from any individual, including California residents, during the required two years.” pp. 17.

They have to have written proof, that as an adult, you paid rent with money orders or a check in your name.

Now that landlords and rental services are using computer services to collect rents, (and the UCs know this) they are listing all roommates on the contracts and quickly providing students with documented rental receipts accessible online for use with UCs and CAL states. My daughter’s landlord does this for all seven girls in her house because one girl is OOS and needed the proof; they all agreed (including the landlord) to use the online rent collection to help the girl document her rent payments.

If you want to prove your residency, you have to provide and show those monthly receipts, from whomever paid the rent. Your roommate should provide written monthly documentation to you, showing that you paid your portion of the rent. It may need to be notarized for each receipt-the UCs are strict.

That’s where you are stuck and that’s why you are being charged out-of-state tuition.

1 Like
7

Using your cash tips to pay your roommate, may have been convenient for both of you, but it did not show a paper trail since she didn’t write out a receipt, and/or you didn’t deposit it into your checking account; no documented proof that you paid cash on a specific date and specific time.

8

You are exactly who they want to be paying OOS tuition. You graduated HS elsewhere, came to CA to attend college and have been attending a local college.

To make your residency case you’d need to quit school for a year or more, get a job and support.

9

@2018eastorwest I’m thinking of doing that if my appeal is accepted! I mean, that is probably the only thing
I can do as of right now.

@Happy2Help I was considered in-state after a year and a half since I had to go through the same strict process as the UCs except the rent receipt. I definitely will try to get a notarized statement from the roommates, and also see if I can submit her written checks that she gave to the landlord.

@“aunt bea” I thought only the “official apartment rental contracts or leases” was primarily focused instead of monthly receipts, which I guess I should’ve looked into this a bit more. I’ve got every documents of all my incomes but am just missing the rent receipts. Sigh.

@NCalRent It could look like I only came to CA just to attend college, but I also did come back to live here again regardless of wherever my parents are. I’m not sure if putting off school another year or so would be worth all this frustration just for a UC. I’ve been at my CC for 3 years for residency and working while being a full-time student, and waiting another two (since I need 2 years of rent receipt) plus 2 years to graduate once I transfer again is dragging this college journey too much in my opinion. But then again, I don’t have any other choice right now.

10

Thank you guys for your reply! I’ll just wait and see if my appeal even goes through in order to know what kind of rent relating documents they might accept, or find another school to attend.

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I wanted to add that the UC’s have their own residency determination dates and they don’t look at the CC residency. Additionally, part time employment doesn’t appear to suffice for residency status.

Good luck.