Does the University of California Berkeley assess Resident vs Non Resident status for Tuition purposes Once for a new incoming undergrad Or is this assessed each semester or each calendar year?
Read https://www.ucop.edu/general-counsel//_files/ed-affairs/uc-residence-policy.pdf to see what applies to your specific situation.
Yes, please refer to the Residency Guidelines for the UC’s.
Typically, when your child applies, if your residence is out of state, at the time of application, and your child is under 24 years of age, your child is assumed to be a dependent child, for tuition purposes, and will pay for all 4 years as an OOS ($65K).
The residency determination office doesn’t initiate a re-evaluation of all of the OOS students each semester or year. Typically, it’s the other way around.
If you think your child could become a resident, this is VERY difficult to achieve. Your child would have to forgo attending the university, for at least a year, and move to California, independently, with his own funds. He would have to work full-time in California, pay taxes, maintain a residence and adhere to a very strict budget that matches his California income tax form (540). ANY funds received from parents or relatives could not be used for proof of California income and his application for residency would be rejected. He must pay the going rate for rentals. (Which in California is ridiculously expensive). His income would have to match his California tax forms and he would have to delineate and account for every expense noted in his name. Credit history, to rent an apartment, would be difficult.
Because of these rules, it would be really hard for him to do this on his own. Rents in California, that are not in agricultural areas, are very high. As a high school graduate, without a college degree, finding a job that paid a minimum of $2K (rent+expenses for 1 bdrm, not including food, transportation, etc.), would be extremely difficult to locate. Parent loans or any “friend” help, in any area, would be rejected.
California residents pay a large amount of instate taxes that fund the public universities. Funding is prioritized for in state residents. As a nonresident, he has to pay full fees for all four years.
Thank you for your replies so far. I’ve read thru the UC Residency Policy and am trying to ascertain my understanding in the following situation -
Kid is under 18, we have resided in California for over 20 years. Kid is starting at U C Berkeley and has the in-state/resident status.
Due to my spouse’s job situation, there is a possibility that we may need to move to a location outside of California in 6 months. We hope that it does not happen, but it remains a possibility.
So the question is - A new undergrad admit is determined to be a resident at the time of admission at UCB. Will the kid’s residency be re-assessed if the parents end up moving while the kid is attending the school? Is the residency determination done each year or each semester?
Assume that the kid remains continuously enrolled in UCB for the 4 years undergrad.
Section II says that residency is checked upon new enrollment or returning after a gap. It does not say that it is checked at other times, but you may want to ask specifically whether that means that residency status is valid as long as the student maintains continuous enrollment.
However, if a student otherwise classified as non-resident graduated high school in California after at least three years of attendance in California and is not on a non-immigrant visa, s/he will qualify for exemption of non-resident tuition under AB540 provisions. See Appendix D.
I would hope that being a California taxpayer for all of those years would get you 4 years of in-state tuition as @ucbalumnus says. It would certainly be the fairest thing.
Yes, there is a section that describes that specific situation.
Section IV B.6
Double-Check this with the RDO on your intended campus. He should be able to retain his instate status.
@“aunt bea” Thanks.
This situation addresses a case of parents moving out during student’s minority and one year prior to new enrollment.
In our situation, kid is a minor, is a new admission to undergrad, has Resident status. We may have a need to move out in 6 months to a year from now. The kid would be 18+ at that time.
I did not see a reference that applies to this scenario in the policy.
Contact UCB directly to find out for sure. If he enrolls and attends UCB prior to you moving, he should retain his in-state status all 4 years. I personally know of a similar situation but the campus was UCSB and the family did call admissions to confirm.
If your child has resident status now, he should be okay for residency (at 18+ and attending/living on campus) because he’s had 3 years in a California high school, and he’ll be on campus for four years.
When your child applied and was accepted, your child was (and is) a California resident. This shouldn’t be an issue because you “paid dues” when you filed your 540’s every year. As an adult, he is a California resident.
Again, the residency determination office would be your point of contact. Your support system will be his high school staff. Make sure to get confirmation of resident status, in a written, printed format. He shouldn’t be penalized because of your move.