Community College Tuition

[reeses16 8]

contact EACH school as they may have different rerquirements! My school based my residency on my wifes residency. I had to bring a past State tax return for proof.

This is great advice. Our community schools here are part of a consortium, North, South and Central. They all had differing requirements for their programs.

[Chamy and Gatita 3]

Mu hubby went to a California community college last semester. We got two different stories from the school itself regarding when we can pay in-state tuition. Basically I dont think they know their own rules! The admin people told us he has to pay out of state tuition for one year. The academic counselor told us he pays out of state for one year past when he gets his green card!!!!! Be careful and well informed, because they are ready to rip you off, whether intentional or not! We never heard of anyone from the CC saying he's a resident based on marriage or I-94.

Also one other heads up-- if you are going to a CA CC for ESL: you take the assessment test and they assign you to a level. Once in this level, you have to take every successive class and you can't retake the assessment test to test out. I think you can take the assessment test once every 2 yrs or you can take it again if you have not taken ANY classes at that school for one full year. So to put this in practical terms, consider this:

your spouse tests into level A (for the sake of argument, im making up the names of the levels)

takes one semester at level A

over the summer studies a lot on his or her own and makes a lot of progress.

fall semester comes and the only option is level b, although your ESL spouse is ready for level D.

note you are still paying out of state rates for the class that is too easy for them.

hmmmm.....

also realize that the school wont allow the ESL student to take ANY other classes until they reach the top level of ESL testing or coursework!!!! grrrrr........

one thing the academic counselor told us is that if my hubby had applied for school before we married, he would have qualified for a free ride!!!!! and that is was too bad that we missed out!!!!

Edited June 10, 2009 by Chamy and Gatita

[chizkeyk 0]

My fiance wants to go to community college to study for real estate license after his arrival, i know there are many college classes offered in Real Estate. However, he would like to attend immediately or 1 month after his arrival.

We will get married immediately after his POE... but my question is... k1 visa--- I94 -- is that sufficient to prove his residence?

What tuition does he pay ? residence $20 a unit or non residence $190 a unit ?

Anyone know?

Wow, that's an awesome school for $20/ credit.

Here, in-state tuition that I am paying:

$96/ credit

$22/credit for general registration fee

$25 parking fee

$60/lab laboratory fee

$30/sem for enrollment service fee

$250 / semerster for Nursing Student Fee

$35 for student hospitalization

++++ so many other fees

much cheaper than Rutgers though.

My books for this semester cost me around $800, plus sthetoscope ($170 Master Littman Cardio, set uniform $120, bp $78, watch $20) ---gosh, there's no reason to fail..... have to return my hubby's investment on me.

education is really expensive here, but we have to have a degree. The degree that I got from my country is irrelevant, as I don't wanna settle for a $15/hour job.

I suggest, you better check school policy or meet with an academic advisor to give you a sound assessment if your fiance meet the residency requirement.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

I thought the fees had raised to 26 per credit for California community colleges at the end of July. Maybe I am wrong.

[SabrinaFrance 8]

also realize that the school wont allow the ESL student to take ANY other classes until they reach the top level of ESL testing or coursework!!!! grrrrr........

I was in a similar situation when I was an au pair. I knew my English level was high enough to follow any class but the community college I went to (in Virginia) insisted that I took ESL classes before end. I had no intention to pay for ESL classes which would have been boring. So I insisted back to see if a compromise could be found. They did offer me to take the English test that they give to American students before they can start to take classes at this community college. I passed the test successfully and was admitted to follow history classes without having to take (and pay) for boring ESL.

Here is my advice, before making any decision that doesnt sound right or fair to you, insist and try to talk to several people within the same organization to find out if there is a way around...

[rheanick 42]

My fiance wants to go to community college to study for real estate license after his arrival, i know there are many college classes offered in Real Estate. However, he would like to attend immediately or 1 month after his arrival.

We will get married immediately after his POE... but my question is... k1 visa--- I94 -- is that sufficient to prove his residence?

What tuition does he pay ? residence $20 a unit or non residence $190 a unit ?

Anyone know?

You have to verify the school you plan to attend.

I am enrolled for fall 2009 in three different community colleges. I have two non credit subjects and 1 credit subject. I am still considered out of state even though i already have my resident card and driver license. My in-state status would take effect 1 year after. The in-state and out-state tuitions only apply for credit courses. Non-credit course has fix tuition fee.

[Big Papa Zone 93]

Interesting read, this thread. It's just that I've just started a two year Associates degree course at my local community college in Illinois, and all it took was the presentaion of my Illinois driving licence (which I got less than 3 months prior to my admission) no more questions were asked, and I qualified for the in-district rate (which is $75 per credit hour here, btw).

Edited August 20, 2009 by Damian P

[Zoe and Hal 0]

I'm trying to start Columbus state this quarter, but as I still don't have my greencard it's going to cost me international fees ($200 and something as opposed to $79) - no matter that I live here - until I can provide proof that my AOS has been approved.... So I'm hoping it comes soon or else I'll have to put it off til next year... Guess it's different in every state, perhaps we should move to Illinois!

[GuardianOne 0]

Anyone have experience with this in Washington? She wants to take up Nursing, and it's insane to pay $25,000 for a degree when she will live here and it should cost only $8,000!

[redglasses 1]

In Nevada, an alien who established residence in NV due to marriage to a NV resident US citizen is automatically granted in-state tuition.

My husband had lived in Japan for 4 years and has recently come back, so he isn't really considered to be a resident even he kept his NV license for the past 4 years.

I paid $550 for 4 credits as a non-resident this semester

Edited August 23, 2009 by redglasses

[Big Papa Zone 93]

Just as an aside, did anyone fill out the FAFSA (the Federal student financial aid form) before applying for college? Because if you haven't then you should. I did, and received a Pell grant that covers everything.

If your household income (based on your spouses previous year's tax returns) is under the "poverty" guidelines, then you're good to go. Too late for this year, but absolutely fill one out just as soon as you have your '09 information in 2010.

[rheanick 42]

Just as an aside, did anyone fill out the FAFSA (the Federal student financial aid form) before applying for college? Because if you haven't then you should. I did, and received a Pell grant that covers everything.

If your household income (based on your spouses previous year's tax returns) is under the "poverty" guidelines, then you're good to go. Too late for this year, but absolutely fill one out just as soon as you have your '09 information in 2010.

Is the FAFSA only applicable for those under the "poverty" guidelines?

[Big Papa Zone 93]

Just as an aside, did anyone fill out the FAFSA (the Federal student financial aid form) before applying for college? Because if you haven't then you should. I did, and received a Pell grant that covers everything.

If your household income (based on your spouses previous year's tax returns) is under the "poverty" guidelines, then you're good to go. Too late for this year, but absolutely fill one out just as soon as you have your '09 information in 2010.

Is the FAFSA only applicable for those under the "poverty" guidelines?

Federal student aid is granted on the basis of EFC - Estimated Family Contribution. The lower your EFC, the more grant money you're eligible to receive. Your EFC is automatically calculated from the information you enter onto the electronic FAFSA form, which in turn is gleaned from your (or your spouses) latest tax return. This information will need to be verified by the financial aid office at your local college.

The best thing for you to do is to go ahead and fill one out. You've missed the deadline for this year (June 30th) but fill it out anyway (using your spouses 2008 tax return) to get a feel for it. It will also be good practice for when you fill out the FAFSA for the 2010/2011 schoolyear, which you can do as soon as you have your 2009 tax return. The sooner you do it the better btw, because state aid (as opposed to federal aid) tends to have a shorter timespan in which to apply for it. I mssed out on an additional Illinois MAP grant becuase I missed the May 15th deadline to apply.

Here's the link for the FAFSA http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/index.htm

Edited August 24, 2009 by Damian P

[rheanick 42]

Just as an aside, did anyone fill out the FAFSA (the Federal student financial aid form) before applying for college? Because if you haven't then you should. I did, and received a Pell grant that covers everything.

If your household income (based on your spouses previous year's tax returns) is under the "poverty" guidelines, then you're good to go. Too late for this year, but absolutely fill one out just as soon as you have your '09 information in 2010.

Is the FAFSA only applicable for those under the "poverty" guidelines?

Federal student aid is granted on the basis of EFC - Estimated Family Contribution. The lower your EFC, the more grant money you're eligible to receive. Your EFC is automatically calculated from the information you enter onto the electronic FAFSA form, which in turn is gleaned from your (or your spouses) latest tax return. This information will need to be verified by the financial aid office at your local college.

The best thing for you to do is to go ahead and fill one out. You've missed the deadline for this year (June 30th) but fill it out anyway (using your spouses 2008 tax return) to get a feel for it. It will also be good practice for when you fill out the FAFSA for the 2010/2011 schoolyear, which you can do as soon as you have your 2009 tax return. The sooner you do it the better btw, because state aid (as opposed to federal aid) tends to have a shorter timespan in which to apply for it. I mssed out on an additional Illinois MAP grant becuase I missed the May 15th deadline to apply.

Here's the link for the FAFSA http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/index.htm

big thanks.

[HWANG0926 0]

I wanted to update on my husband, they wouldn't give him instate tuition so we ended up paying for adult education schooling for him, its like $65 dollars for 5 weeks of golf classes & $50 for 5 weeks of english pronounciation classes.