Sounds like you have your answers then.
@Happy2Help I have my AA and did not take all of the courses because I was advised against taking them at a community college because some dental schools don’t take those courses from CCs. I have 61 credits so far.
The question I have now is, is it totally impossible for me to ever be considered a Cali resident for tuition purposes? Even after living there with the job I have for over a year and establishing myself with everything they laid out or more? I have not even done most of that stuff where I am now.
Totally impossible – hard to say. The requirements are rather strict otherwise everyone would do this.
One problem I see is, your 61 credits may not all transfer so you’d still have to go to a CC. We have several CCs in the Los Angeles area.
If you were to successfully transfer to a CSU/UC with your 61 units as a Spanish major, you may not be allowed to register in courses that aren’t related to your major. The CSUs/UCs want you to finish your declared major within the 2 years allotted for a transfer. It’s not easy to change majors upon transfer.
Oh, and I know at least 2 students who attended CCs and are in dental school.
@Happy2Help I know I already asked them about the courses because I wanted to be sure I would have room in my education plan. I don’t mind taking longer to establish residency since I am just moving there because I want to. Wouldn’t going to a CC in the meantime mess up my residency? They say a year without going to school (which I was going to do at least that anyway to establish myself in a new location) is required.
Asked who? A CSU/UC? A dental school? Only they can determine if your 61 credits may transfer before they can even accept you.
Yes going to a CC in the meantime may affect establishing your residency.
I asked a CSUF adviser who told me that I can be a Spanish major and still take the courses I need. But the major I choose doesn’t matter to me I just want something lenient that I can care about and excel at while being able to take my remaining science courses.
I considered classics (not at the schools) and Anthropology as well. I just thought Spanish made the most sense.
I live near CSUF and I know from different students there and at other CSUs that upon transfer, it is very difficult to register in lower division courses not in your major, so keep that in mind.
Where do your parents live? What state? Until you are 24 years old, your state of residency for tuition purposes will be where your parents live. You will not be able to get instate residency on your own.
You could move to L.A. Work at your job and save money. enroll in college when you are over 24 years of age.
OR convince your parents to relocate to California now, and then you might have instate status in CA a year from now…but no college classes until that time.
From a purely economic position, you will be far better off finishing your degree at a state school in FL, then applying to dental schools in CA if that is where you intend to settle. IMO, it would be a complete waste of money to pay OOS tuition for two years, when you have plenty of good public options in FL where it would be a fraction of the cost. Then, spend all your money on the best dental school you can get into. Much better economically and career-wise.
For a purely financial POV, it would be good to get your degrees, including dental school, inFlorida where you are a resident and costs would be less.
Then move to CA to practice dentistry.