Resident at a community college, but not at UC Berkeley?

Hi all,

I’m a transfer student, transferring to UC Berkeley on this upcoming fall.

Few days ago, Cal sent me an email that I have been classified as a non-resident for the following reason:
You did not meet the financial independence requirement since you were not self-sufficient
and/or were claimed as a dependent for tax purposes on another individual’s tax return for this
calendar and the two previous calendar years.

I was born in Washington, and I left the states when I was 5 and came back in 2015 when I attended a California CC.
During the first year, I paid an out-of-state tuition, and after I worked part-time and reported tax, I was classified as a resident and paid in-state tuition. (I submitted the tax return documents to the college office)

As I was classified as a resident at my college, I just thought that I would be classified as a resident at Berkeley as well (Stupid me). I submitted nothing with my SLR.
Of course I’ll appeal to Cal again with my documents, but was someone in a similar situation with me?

Would Cal classify me as a resident after reviewing my tax report documents?
Any comment is valid. Thanks!

Have you finished HS in Cali? Or took CHESPE?
AB540 will cover you for that.

Per the website:

The term “California resident for purposes of tuition” is different from other definitions of California residence. Here are some examples:

-A person who is a California resident for tax or voting purposes is not necessarily a resident for purposes of tuition at the University of California.
-A person who is considered a resident at another California postsecondary institution is not necessarily a resident at the University of California.

So, you have found out that just because your CC wound up classifying you as a resident, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that Cal would as well.

As for self-sufficiency (financial independence), you have to prove you’ve been independent for two full years. Working part-time and going to school is NOT being financially independent:

  • If you are an unmarried undergraduate under the age of 24, you must be financially dependent on a California-resident parent. If your parent does not meet the UC residency requirements, you must be able to verify financial independence for the two full years immediately before the term in for which a resident classification is sought.

Do your parent(s) meet the UC residency requirements?

  • You (or your parent) must be physically present in California on a continuous basis for at least 366 days immediately prior to the residence determination date (the first day of instruction).
  • Residency may not be established in absentia and the prior residence must have been relinquished.
  • You or your parent must be able to demonstrate physical presence in California with sufficient documentation.
  • Within the 366-day period, you or your parent can be absent from California for a total of six weeks.
    • A residency classification will not be granted for absences that exceeds six weeks.

If the answer is no, you may be out of luck and will have to pay non-resident tuition:

  • The process of obtaining California residency for tuition purposes is extremely difficult for undergraduates under the age of 24 with nonresident parents (this includes transfer students from community colleges and other postsecondary institutions within California). Virtually all nonresident undergraduates with nonresident parents remain nonresidents for the duration of their undergraduate career at UC Berkeley.

You can try appealing, but I’m not sure how you are going to be able to provide what they are looking for.

Hello ucbplease, I am in the same situation as you, but at least i think you can get at least Cal grant competitive to cover your tuition and that only leave you with around 25K in tuition. And it depends on your income in your tax document to determine if you satisfy financial independence.