Also beware, many people make the mistake of thinking they will be charged in-state tuition after a year in college in CA. This is not the case. You can’t count time in a state as residency if you are in college. My friend made this mistake and it cost her 40 grand in student loans, which she is now defaulted on.

The detail on this varies with state. Decades ago, Iowa said you had to live for two years without being in college. I was married in Iowa and drafted from there and because my wife stayed there, I became a resident while out of state (and country) in the Army.

Meanwhile a guy sued, successfully, because he had been a resident of the state for years, had married an Iowa girl and bought a house, but was denied resident tuition because he had attended college and law school (!) in those years. Even worse, the college tried to tell him that his wife lost her residency because she married him – a non-resident – just as a woman marrying a resident male became a resident. Dumb college.

You will need to read the residency requirements in the application information for whichever colleges interest you.

Study hard. Good luck.

The current trend for most West Coast schools is to consider a student who is registered for 6 or more credits per semester in a state primarily for educational purposes only. You may not qualify for resident tuition as long as you are registered for at least 6 credits. Your time in school will not count towards your physical presence requirement.

Residency is determined primarily by:

*filing State resident tax returns,

*physical presence

The secondary factors are:

*Voter registration,

*Full-time employment,

*Bank accounts,

*Owning, renting or leasing property

Each school has different criteria for determining residency. Check on the school’s website for more information.

Best wishes!