What CA School Can I Get Into & Afford?

[aunt_bea]

I don’t think you understand how expensive it is to live in California. San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities in the country. There is no street parking in the city, without paying big bucks, and being able to find a place to park. My neighbor just moved up there. She owns a home in SoCal, but she bought a condo in the city of San Fran. She can’t afford to have a car in San Francisco because she has to pay to garage it. There is no free parking in the city. San Francisco has good city transportation, so she uses that to get around town.

If you go to a community college in California, you will be charged OOS tuition which averages about $20K per year. That is not including paying for food. That is not including the cost of transportation. Our gas prices are always higher than other states.

Then, to transfer, you will not be a priority student for financial aid. Transfers receive very little aid if any, OOS are out of luck.

The UC’s will be $55K per year. The Cal States will be $40K per year.
The privates will run from $50K-70K.

You won’t be able to become a resident for instate rates because you are coming out to California for educational purposes. So you will always be OOS.

So you will spend all of your money for your first year. What happens after that first year?

If you attempt to live in your car, it will be difficult because of the parking limits and parking statutes; you will get ticketed and will have to pay.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/california-colleges/1802004-so-you-want-to-come-to-california-for-college-p1.html

from @NCalRent

As someone who was born and raised in CA, (and a recent visitor to Santa Barbara) I understand the allure - particularly to an 18 year old who live somewhere where the weather stinks 300+ days a year.

While it is true that living near the coast and major employment centers like LA, San Diego and the Bay Area is absurdly expensive. A crappy 2 bedroom apt on a busy street in a sketchy neighborhood is $1600+, gas is $4/gal+, utilities, taxes, insurance, etc add to the expense. Then there’s the traffic and the drought… I can’t imagine living in those areas as an unskilled worker or a struggling student.

There are vast swaths of CA that aren’t crowded and are affordable - The San Joaquin Valley and pretty much anything North of Sacramento County for example. In these areas, you can rent the same crappy apartment for $800 or less. Of course, jobs are more scarce outside metro areas but, I’d argue , for most the quality of life is much better in these areas.