UCSD - as non resident $55K per annum- Is it a good move.?

<p>We are connecticut residents. MY D got into the following</p>

<p>Got admitted to UCSD - Eleanor Roosevelt College as a major in Bioengineering: Bioinformatics. Any possibilities of any of the regents scholarships.?</p>

<p>Tuition and fees - $36,078 (as a non-resident $22,900 is add on)
Books and supplies - $ 1,500
Room and Board ----$ 1,300
Transport-------------$ 2,200
--------
$54,578
For four years it is a staggering $225k. We both are employed and exeed the house hold gross total income for any scholarship purpose. We are keeping our savings to buy a house. If we pay this we cant afford to that. We are first generation residents in U.S and living here for the past 12 years.</p>

<p>Also she got into the following.</p>

<p>Honors Program in Bio-medical Engg - UCONN (University of CT with a partial Merit scholarship)
Honors Program in Bio-medical Engg - SUNY Stony Brook @ NY with a WISE scholarship almost 50% of total cost
Chemical Engineering @ University of Illinois Urbana Champaign ( No scholarship - but Loan availability)</p>

<p>And awaiting decisions from UC-Berkeley, UCLA (almost the same fees as above). And also from Cornell, UNC, Boston University. </p>

<p>My D is really interested in UCSD as she got into the exact program which she wanted to get in. </p>

<p>can you please share your views whether it is worth to spend $55k per year..? Is there any way we can shrink this cost.?
I would appreciate your valuable guidance and views. </p>

<p>Thanks
psr251</p>

<p>We are facing the same situation. My son is accepted to Muir. He has a very large scholarship to U Miami, which is going to be hard to turn down. He loves Miami, but he thinks he also loves California. We assume we will pay full freight at all UC schools.</p>

<p>I’m in the same situation being from kansas, and I have other options that would be close to no money. Regardless, I think UCSD is a good education that your D won’t regret. I think there is a way where you can apply to instate tuition after a year, change residency. My friend did this, and succeeded, but it’s quite complicated. I would advise you all to visit during Triton day and then decide. On the other hand, UIUC is a very good school for engineering too, so I wouldn’t rule that option out as well (I’m decided between UCSD, Uminn, and UIUC). I wish you the best of luck!</p>

<p>Same boat here :(<br>
Although the total cost will end up being less expensive than a private, travel expenses will end up making up the difference. Airfare is > $500 so that’s at least $2000 traveling for my s alone. When we visit, it will be even more for hotel, car rental etc.</p>

<p>It will be interesting to learn more about the change in residency option. If anyone knows more about that, can you please advise? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>CA Board of Education residency rules: (from Berkeley’s page)</p>

<p>[Legal</a> Residence Information - Office Of The Registrar](<a href=“http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Residency/legalinfo.html]Legal”>http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Residency/legalinfo.html)</p>

<p>My understanding is that it’s a very difficult thing to do.</p>

<p>What if one of the parent shifts to california and lease out a rental apt and establish the residency for one year, but work from home for a company in CT. Will that be considered as established residency for one year and make you eligible for a instate tuition.?
And BTW, my D’s concentration is on Bio/bio-medical engineering. Which out of the three is a better choice…? (UCSD - already admitted…, UCLA - awaiting results, UC-Berkeley - awaiting results)</p>

<p>Appreciate your responses… </p>

<p>thanks
psr251</p>

<p>You have to establish intent to become a <em>permanent</em> California resident. It doesn’t appear that is your intent, so no - you would not likely be able to get in-state tuition in the scenario you describe.</p>

<p>This is taken very seriously. California taxpayers don’t want to subsidize “temporary” residents who come only for the education.</p>

<p>I mean…we intend to move. By relocating one of the parent first and then the other.<br>
we dont own a home. So, if my wife moves first and lease out a place and started working from home from there till I get a job there… Will that be considered atleast from the second semester as local residents… ?<br>
It is a real intention…to be closer to my D where she lives and change our job accordingly.</p>

<p>psr251- No your scenario you described will not work to establish residency. I am from CA so I do not recommend you not buying a house or going into debt to financial your child’s education. You need to also plan for contingencies. What if one of you were disable or lst your job? what would you do then and trust me I have seen this happen. </p>

<p>The better plan is to take the best academic and financial fit for your family. You have some good choices there with the scholarships you have listed. Studies show it is the student that makes the success not the school. If your daughter wants UCSD then have her plan on it for graduate school where she can move out here and after a couple of years be considered a resident. </p>

<p>Also as a lesson for future applicants. Always do the financial fit test first before you construct the list of colleges you are going to apply to. It is not a good idea to apply to colleges you can’t afford. If you are accepted it just leads to unnecessary heartaches. Especially with California colleges our budgets simply do not offer merit money like other state colleges. I did this myself with my now junior DS. Where does he go- Ohio State and I don’t pay a penny of it because he has a full merit ride. he got into UC’s here in Cal and we are state residents but it doesn’t make sense to pay for something you can get a discount on. He loves his school and is getting a great education. He will graduate in 4 years and could do so even earlier. </p>

<p>A great website for advice on money issues as colleges that I use is [The</a> College Solution](<a href=“http://www.thecollegesolution.com/]The”>http://www.thecollegesolution.com/)</p>

<p>I know this is a tough lesson so good luck making it.</p>

<p>Also be aware that our California regents raise UC tuition every 3-7 months so that figure you gave is no where near where it will be all 4 years. In fact tuition at the UC’s has gone up over 70% in the last 5 years. [A</a> Truly Devastating Graph on State Higher Education Spending - Jordan Weissmann - The Atlantic](<a href=“A Truly Devastating Graph on State Higher Education Spending - The Atlantic”>A Truly Devastating Graph on State Higher Education Spending - The Atlantic)</p>