<p>Would I get California Residency if I took a year off, worked in California and reapplied at the end of the year? I have already filed my own income taxes for this year and I am planning to do that for next year as well. Would this establish financial independence?</p>
<p>Requirements for financial independence go far beyond filing your own taxes; see starting on pg. 16:</p>
<p><a href=“UC Legal - Office of the General Counsel | UCOP”>UC Legal - Office of the General Counsel | UCOP;
<p>No. You need to live in California and earn an income high enough to entirely support yourself for two years… The state needs proof that you did not move to CA for an education as a state resident - but that is what you WOULD be doing, so it won’t work.</p>
<p>State schools offer discounts to state residents because those residents have been supporting the school through the payment of state taxes. It would be obvious to the college that your high school diploma is from an out of state school, and that your parents are not CA residents.</p>
<p>from the document linked above:</p>
<p>C. Financial Independence </p>
<p>To be classified a resident for tuition purposes, in addition to 366 days of physical
presence and intent, a student who is not dependent on a California-resident parent must
demonstrate financial independence (total self-sufficiency) for two, full years
immediately preceding the residence determination date of the term for which a resident
classification is sought. </p>
<p>Relevant documentation to support a finding of financial independence may include tax
returns from the student to verify the student’s income, as well as W-2s, two year budget
of income and expenses, official apartment rental contracts or leases, and copies of all
financial documentation (bank statements, loans, trust, etc) to verify the sources of the
student’s income/savings. The student must not have accepted any type of financial
assistance from any individual, including California residents, during the required two
years. </p>
<p>Parents’ tax returns may also be required to verify the student was not claimed as a tax
dependent within the two year period. Any tax returns amended after a nonresident
determination has been rendered will not be considered for the term in which they were
originally provided as proof of having satisfied the financial independence requirements. </p>
<ol>
<li>Requirements </li>
</ol>
<p>An undergraduate student or a student enrolled in a non-degree program (e.g.,
non-degree program) who is not dependent on a California-resident parent will
meet the financial independence requirement if s/he meets the following criteria: </p>
<p>a. student was not claimed as an income tax dependent by any individual for
the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which resident
classification is requested (2012/2013 federal/state returns for 2014-2015
academic year) </p>
<p>AND </p>
<p>b. student is self-sufficient. Student has supported self with own
resources (employment, commercial/institutional loans in student’s name
only, financial aid and savings from earnings, all of which require official
documentation) for two full years prior to the residence determination date
for the term s/he proposes to attend the University. </p>
<p>OP said he/she has been independent financially for a year. That would mean one additional year to satisfy California requirements. The two years do not have to be in California, so one year in a different place, and then one full year (366 days) as an independent California resident would work.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that for many CA universities, the 366 days of physical presence is counted prior to the residence determination date, not the start of the school term. For example, the residence determination date for the UC’s is typically around May 1st prior to fall term.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The OP didn’t say that they have been financially independent, they said that they filed their own taxes, those are two very different things. My sub-24 yo kids file their own taxes, but that doesn’t mean they’re financially independent. The OP MAY in fact have been financially independent, but they need to clarify that point as it’s not what they posted.</p>
<p>This is from another post by the OP:
</p>
<p><a href=“Stay at a better school that I hate or transfer to a lower tier school? - Parents Forum - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1622614-stay-at-a-better-school-that-i-hate-or-transfer-to-a-lower-tier-school-p1.html</a></p>
<p>Based purely on that I doubt the OP is financially independent.</p>
<p>The state of residency for the very VAST majority of undergrads is the state in which their parents reside. </p>
<p>Agreed with Erin’s Dad. Unlikely the OP is independent. He/she would have to demonstrate that they earned enough money to completely support themselves. I seriously doubt that this is the case for someone in college currently.</p>
<p>ETA…to the OP…did you file state income taxes as a resident of CA this past year? </p>
<p>Also, you cannot establish residency while going to college in a state. In other words, if you are currently attending a college in CA, but your family resides OOS, the state of residence for your parents would be your residence now.</p>
<p>sounds like the student is already attending a UC and doesnt like paying OOS rates.</p>
<p>So basicly no,but it’s not that bad.Just stick with your degree and apply for financial aid/outside scholarships,programs, and fellowships. If you wanna skip college before/when you’ve turned 20, check out the Thiel Fellowship.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>At ca. 60k/yr COA for an OOS student at a UC, ending up with possibly over 200k in loans could be VERY bad.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The reason the OP is asking about gaining CA residency is because little to no need based FA outside of loans is given to OOS students. The vast majority of outside scholarships are for entering fr. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The Thiel goes to 20 students and is very specific about the type of applicant they are looking for, and there’s no indication from the OPs posting history that they are interested/qualified in this program.</p>
<p>My son left college as a sophomore, went to work, supported himself for 3 years, and then returned to college. He wouldd have been a California resident in any case – as his parents are state residents and he graduated from a California high school – but I think that if he had not been, then the 3-year work history and other indicia of residence (voter registration, paying state income taxes as a resident, etc.) would have sufficed. He was making about $25K a year and living on his own. </p>
<p>If you are unhappy with the college you are in – then one option is to take some time off and work. I think that my son made the right choice to wait several years before returning to college, because he got some good work experience and was much more disciplined, and focused when he returned to school. </p>
<p>He is now finishing grad school in another state, where he qualified as a state resident as well, because he moved to that state in 2009 to take a job, and started grad school in 2012 - so I am thinking he had already been living in the state more than 2 years before even applying to grad school. He wasn’t taking jobs with the idea of maintaining or establishing residency; rather he was working and then applying to public universities in the states where he happened to be at the time.</p>