University/College in California

[pichusboy 0]

To my surprise, yesterday I found out that in California you cannot attend university/college unless they can establish residency, this means: (and I quote)

Under California law, a person who is married or 18 years of age, or older may establish residency if the person

1. Is a US citizen or is under an INS status that allows them to establish domicile, AND

2. Has lived in California continuously for at least one year and one day before the semester begins, AND

3. Can prove that they intend to make California his/her permanent home with concurrent relinquishment of the prior legal residence.

I wanted let people know so that if they were planning on studying when they made it to the US they could at least not be surprised when they find out they cannot..

Peace

[kcoyclay1 98]

They can if they want to. They can attend school online and transfer their credit to their state after a year. There are certain priveleges given to residents of a particular state like cost for tuition which is lower than out-of-state students. If you want to begin right away, think about colleges that offer online courses to start off. There are people all over the globe who attend university online and residency is not a factor; however, the cost may be higher.

Also, you need to clarify your last paragraph. People can study when they come to the states but they have to research their options. By the way, is that a California law or information received from admission for colleges you are interested in.

Edited May 3, 2012 by kcoyclay1

[VanessaTony 3,567]

To my surprise, yesterday I found out that in California you cannot attend university/college unless they can establish residency, this means: (and I quote)

Under California law, a person who is married or 18 years of age, or older may establish residency if the person

1. Is a US citizen or is under an INS status that allows them to establish domicile, AND

2. Has lived in California continuously for at least one year and one day before the semester begins, AND

3. Can prove that they intend to make California his/her permanent home with concurrent relinquishment of the prior legal residence.

I wanted let people know so that if they were planning on studying when they made it to the US they could at least not be surprised when they find out they cannot..

Peace

please post links when "quoting".

[LeftCoastLady 441]

Cali residency requirements: http://www.cpec.ca.gov/CollegeGuide/Residency.asp

As the above link says, you should check with the specific school to which you want to apply because there are some variances. And you can attend a school in Cali before establishing residency, however, you would need to pay the tuition and fees assigned to a non-resident.

Also, please note the residency requirements apply to state colleges and universities, not private institutions in Cali, which set their own tuition and fees.

[pichusboy 0]

please post links when "quoting".

I would post a link but I was quoting a document I had been given at the college I was interested in.

At Saddleback college (the school I was looking into) they told me that these same rules apply to all California pubic and private universities and colleges, it is a state law. I realize that you can study as a non-resident but I think that it is either necessary for you to be a US citizen or for you to have the appropriate student visa..

I haven't looked into online courses yet, thanks for the reminder. I'll consider my options.

[ladyrant 0]

At Saddleback college (the school I was looking into) they told me that these same rules apply to all California pubic and private universities and colleges, it is a state law. I realize that you can study as a non-resident but I think that it is either necessary for you to be a US citizen or for you to have the appropriate student visa..

I went through the exact same thing while trying to apply at Saddleback for ongoing art classes. While waiting for the time to pass, I took courses through the city's recreation/class listings, classes at local galleries, studying on my own at the local library, or online classes through other means (ie. lynda.com, teamtreehouse, etc.). The year goes by pretty fast.

[cherryswife 3]

Yes, I learnt the same thing late last year when I attempted to enrol. Unfortunately I cannot afford 'international student' fees and by the start of this college year I will be about 2 months off being here one year! :/