<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>