I live in Florida and don’t plan on staying here for college.
A good friend of my parents lives in California and recommended I apply to a California Community College because after 2 years they have guaranteed admission to one of the 6 California UCs.
I am planning to major in finance or maybe Econ (I’m not 100% sure yet, but definitely something business related)
I would like to go to the best business school I can get accepted.
So should I do this or should I also apply out of state to good business universities?
Cost is a big factor here and it would be way cheaper to attend a community college for a little bit than go straight to a university but I am not planning to stay in Florida (I hate it here, I’m not even from here)
Anyway, any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks for re-posting this on the UC transfers forum!
Here is more info about the guaranteed admission http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/guarantee/ at all UC campuses except Berkeley, LA, and San Diego.
The UCs are all excellent, and I think the econ programs are all very good. I think @fncrane can talk a bit about the UCI (and maybe UCLA) programs.
One reason you might want to hesitate is the cost. Generally you are no counted as a resident of CA if you only come here for education, which means you will be paying out of state fees at the CC and the UC.
At the CC its not bad, here is the link to the SMC fee chart (but i think it is pretty similar across all CA CCs)
http://www.smc.edu/EnrollmentDevelopment/Admissions/Pages/Fees.aspx
At the UC it might be a bit more difficult, see ‘non resident tuition and fees’ on this page http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/tuition-and-cost/
However, since you are only doing 2 years at the UC, it might not be as bad as 4 years at the UC out of state.
CA also has a California State University (CSU) system, that is significantly cheaper.
http://www.calstate.edu/sas/costofattendance/
Hiiiiiiiiii! Welcome to the UC system! Haha I can try my best to answer questions about Econ programs as luckie said - I am transferring from UC Irvine (my major there was Business Economics) to UCLA, where my major is a joint degree in Mathematics and Economics. I can answer specific questions about those schools to the best of my knowledge, but I can try to direct you to other places if you have questions about other campuses.
Here’s a general rundown of business and economics in the UC system: most of the UC’s do not offer a traditional degree in Business Administration that you would find at other undergraduate business schools. The schools that do offer them are UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, and UC Riverside - all three of which are rather impacted. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business is very, very competitive as well. I do not think that any of them offer degrees in finance specifically, but a lot of them can prepare you for graduate finance programs. I am interested in finance myself, which is why I chose my major at UCLA.
All UC’s offer some business-related majors, which are broken down here: http://■■■■■■■■■■■■/home/uc-business-administration-and-other-related-majors-2015/ (I recommend scouring that website as well, it’s a great resource!)
Like luckie said, you will more than likely have to deal with out-of-state tuition once you get here if you decide to come, so that is a big factor to consider. If you’re going to come to a CCC and wish to transfer to a business program, I do recommend applying to other business programs out-of-state or in-state as well. For instance, USC’s Marshall School of Business is very prestigious. Do some exploring outside the UC’s!
Thank you so much!! All of this info is very helpful. Do you think it is worth paying OOS tuition at a community college in California rather than paying OOS tuition at Boston University, NYU, other state universities, etc?
Considering I quality for financial aid (I live with a single parent who earns less than $25k a year)
Also, when and how exactly do I apply to community colleges in California? Is it a process like the Common app? Are there application deadlines? I tried to look online at City College of San Francisco (I want to attend there if I do decide to come to California) but it’s very confusing.
One other question comes to mind, if I plan to live in California, can I get in state tuition eventually?
I can’t really tell you if OOS tuition one place over another is really worth one school over another. If I were you, I’d run net price calculators and see what you get in terms of tuition.
I know that the 23k a year OOS fee at UCs cannot be covered by financial aid, so that is something to consider.
Most CCs have rolling admissions, which mean you can apply at any time.
If you know what you want to major in, use www.assist.org and look at the availability or pre reqs at CA CCs you are considering.
As to your final question, it is incredibly hard to be considered in-state if you only come to CA for school. If you get a job, drivers license, utility bills, etc, you may have a chance, but it is very, very slim.
Wait so if I decide to come to UC, I would still have to pay 23k a year? Do you know if it is that way at other universities in other states?
And by the way, this is so much help to me! I appreciate all this advice, I don’t know where else I would find it.
I’m really not familiar with the other states’s university systems, sorry!
Yes, the 23k a year is hard to get rid of as an OOS student. However you are eligible for loans and may be given work study.
Also, look into the CSU system if CA is where you really want to be. Also look at Privates, which may offer you more merit aid
Here is some more stuff for residency as defined by the UCs http://ucop.edu/residency/index.html
If you take classes as an OOS student then you pay OOS rates for any state CCC/CSU/UC and you are always an OOS student. You will get zero money from a CCC. You can get your federal Pell and a federal loan only. CSU is 33k and UC is 55l for OOS. You would get zero money from a CSU. UC might give you some need aid but you would pay at least 23k plus about 8k student contribution each year minimum (up to 55k max). You would have to establish residency before attending any school here to get instate rates. That means living here and being self supporting for at least a year. Otherwise your parent address is your instate.
You are better off if you can find a private uni that will offer you need aid. Or a FLA school. You can always move when you graduate. Going to school wherever you can and graduating should be your priority, not where you live short term.
California residents pay a fortune in state taxes. A student coming from OOS to a community college would pay a OOS rates from the CC to the UC.
It is very hard to establish residency for in-state tuition. Especially, if you are coming for educational purposes and your high school is OOS you will be an automatic red flag and will pay OOS fees. Your financial aid won’t add up to even cover your fees.
I have read on these (college confidential) boards that Utah schools allow in-state tuition to be based on time living in state while attending college. Therefore University of Utah or USU may be OOS tuition for only a year, then reverting to in-state. I had no need to check this- it may be wrong, but it is a possible lead for you to run down and verify for yourself.
Sorry this reply is 3 days late, but the reason I was asking about California was because my mom and this guy have been dating for a while long distance and recently they talked and they agreed that to make it easier on me, my mom I could move to CA (where he lives) when I finish HS next year so I could attend college in California for way cheaper. By the way he made it sound, my mom and I moving to CA to live with him while I attend CCC (even though I would be paying OOS tuition), would be way easier on me than if I went out of state on my own. Is that Right? He wouldn’t help me financially in any way, but I mean, I would have a place to live for two years at least and not pay outrageous amounts of money for my first two years of college. Btw, is CCC expensive for OOS students?
Do you think that option is better than just going to another out of state school by myself? My mom would go to CA regardless
Oh and by the way, he makes a decent amount of money as a lawyer, so I don’t know how that would effect my financial aid situation. When I move in with him and my mom, would I be qualified for financial aid even at a CCC or UC? (Considering he makes around 200k+)
CCC isn’t super expensive for OOS, but it is still more than for IS students.
Here is the SMC page, but I think its pretty close to these numbers for other CCs (if not exactly the same)
http://www.smc.edu/EnrollmentDevelopment/Admissions/Pages/Fees.aspx
I have no clue about the Financial Aid aspect, you might want to post on that forum for better answers.
I don’t think you understand that having a place to live does not make you automatically eligible for instate residency. As an adult, you would have to pay state taxes. What happens if your Mom’s relationship doesn’t work out?
The cost of living in California is a culture shock to people who move here. It is very expensive and people from OOS don’t seem to understand that. If cost is such a big factor, how would you pay? You would be paying OOS tuition for your CCC and CSU/UC. See Brown Parent’s post. Having an OOS high school makes them clamp down on making sure you pay your full fees. You won’t quality for state funding because neither your Mother nor you have paid anything into the system.
No, I wasn’t implying that I thought it would make me eligible for in state tuition. I just wanted to know if it would be cheaper to move to CA with my mother (who has a degree and can help me out there financially and I won’t have to pay for rent because I would be living at home and attending a CCC). I wanted to know if it’s cheaper when you add California’s OOS tuition + other expenses + the fact that i’ll be living at home VS. if I went OOS to another college like University of Boston or NYU (or some other college, and applied for financial aid, since you say that CA colleges won’t give me much aid), but I wouldn’t have the help of my mom there and would have to rent. Which option is better cost wise?
And I know it’s stupid to rely on my mother’s relationship and I should be thinking for myself by now because you’re right, it might not work out.
I also have another option, her ‘future husband’ said that if we move this summer for next year (for my senior year) to California and I finish High School there, I will qualify for in-state tuition, is that true?
Does your mom already live in CA? If so, go live with her as the primary and you can get in state, I’m pretty sure.
Then go to the CCC.
Update: it looks to me as long as you move in with mom before age 18, you’ll be classified as in state. So, yeah, going to a Ca high school might also be a good plan:
http://registrar.ucdavis.edu/tuition/residence/parents/out-of-state.cfm
No, I live in FL with my mom right now and I turned 18 in April 
Thank you so much everyone for the help!