<p>I recently moved to California, from Arizona, where I attended a community college. I have been living here about 6 months, and have decided to hold off on going to school in California until I have been here a year, so I can pay resident tuition.</p>
<p>Despite this, I still want to find some way to move forward with my education while I wait for residency. I have came up with a plan to attend online classes from my former school in Arizona, which I am still enrolled in, so I can attend classes for cheap and avoid having to wait almost a year to do this.</p>
<p>Would doing this affect my eligibility for residency in California? Would the fact that I attended an out-of-state school matter so long as I was living in California the whole time? Furthermore, would it be fraudulent to pay in-state pricing for classes in Arizona if I wasn't currently living in the state? Or would I still be considered a resident of Arizona for tuition purposes, since I am not currently a resident of California for tuition purposes?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Ethically, I’m not sure what the answer is, but practically, colleges tend to think of you as what you were (resident/non-resident) on the day you enrolled. It can be a bureaucratic nightmare to get them to change your status, and no one ever volunteers that they have switched from being resident to non-resident.</p>
<p>Way back in the Stone Age, I had two friends who came from out-of-state to our school. One technically became a resident after a year, when his parents bought a house in-state, though they continued to live in both places. The school never changed him to in-state status, despite repeated attempts, because his parents didn’t live here full time. The other friend, who came from the same city, was mistakenly classified as in-state, and never paid out-of-state tuition. They even sent his tuition bills to his home - out-of-state.</p>
<p>To make it even weirder, the guy who was never classified as in-state, his brother came to the same school after he graduated, yet was classified as in-state from day one. That’s bureaucracy for you. YMMV may vary with your state institution.</p>
<p>I think you have to pick one state. Just living in CA won’t be a guarantee you will be considered a resident for tuition. If you are under 24 and not completely self supporting it may be an issue. Taking credits at another state college using instate tuition isn’t consistent with being a resident of CA.
<a href=“http://www.ucop.edu/general-counsel/_files/ed-affairs/uc-residence-policy.pdf[/url]”>UC Legal - Office of the General Counsel | UCOP;