Half your family…like what? Does one of your parents reside in CA? If so, move there asap and complete high school IN CA.
Chance Me for Georgia Tech, UF, UNC, the UCs, and UGA [GA resident, 3.83 UW, 1430 SAT, prefer <$45k]
Your state of residency is determined by where your parents reside. If your parents are divorced and one parent lives in California and is currently an established resident then you can get in-state tuition rates through the Condit Bill. Other relatives do not count.
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BUT if your parents are divorced….the net price calculators might not be as good an estimate…especially for colleges that require financials from both parents.
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Along the way you might also look at the Common Data Sets for each school, specifically Section C7 (academic/non-academic admissions factors and how they are weighted by each school) and Sections C9-C11 (objective information – GPAs, test scores – for recently matriculated students at the respective universities.
Also, check out Purdue’s Data Digest, https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/, especially the links to “Applications, Admits, and Matriculations” and “New First-Time Beginner Profile”; these should provide objective data that can be compared to your own information.
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Well, yes one of my parents resides in CA. I don’t think that is a wise choice right now because this is a crucial time for me.
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Thank you for this. I am currently in this situation.
Ok, so not do the net price calculators?
How do I apply for this bill? Do I just need to apply to one of the UCs and tell them this? I went to the website and its giving me this:
Dependent of a California resident parent (Condit Bill)
A student who is a dependent child of a California resident parent (if the parent has been a resident for more than one year immediately before the residence determination date) may be entitled to a one year conditional resident classification. During this one year conditional resident classification, the student must fulfill the residency requirements by the relevant deadlines in order to qualify for a continued resident classification for subsequent terms.
Some folks recommend that you do the net price calculators and for schools requiring both parent financials…add them together. Clearly this is an estimate…and could be a very gross one.
For colleges that don’t require the non-custodial parent info…those net price calculators might be set up with the assumption you are entering married parent data…so again…not necessarily accurate.
Really…the total dollar amount your parents can and will pay is important. If they say they will pay no more than $30,000 a year…and you have high income parents (and thus don’t qualify for need based aid) you need to stick to that budget.
You might want to consider schools with either auto merit or merit you very likely will get to bring your coat close to that $30,000 number.
Would you like some suggestions? Your current list has no auto merit awards, and a bunch of colleges with very competitive merit aid.
By OSU, do you mean the Ohio State University (tOSU)…or what?
For cost…you probably can’t beat the Georgia schools and the Hope.
Please give me some suggestions. Both parents are above low-income, but one of them used to be low-income. OSU means Ohio State. I will try for Hope/Zell Miller. I also have a few other questions. When do I need to fill out my FAFSA and how does the Condit Bill work? I am staying with the parent in GA not CA, so will I not qualify for in-state tuition because the residency policies states that I need to be in CA with my other parent for at least 366 days or one year?
It doesn’t matter if they used to be low income, it’s based on income now.
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All students who are enrolling at a UC have to complete a Statement of Legal Residence, which is used to determine if you have to pay nonresident tuition. I’d suggest looking at this more detailed information (especially page 11) to see if you would be eligible to pay resident tuition at UCs for the first year (and then evaluate if that amount would be reasonable), and note that you’d need to satisfy the residency requirement for the second year: https://www.ucop.edu/residency/files/rpg-2024-25-final-6.18.24.pdf
I just found that online too. I completely understand now, so that means I am eligible for the Condit Bill. Nice to know.
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Ah, that changes things. Then you may qualify for in state tuition - that is great news for you. The UCs could be a good way to go, and very close to your price point.
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Yes. Thank you. Now, enough of pricing, I know that my SAT will not be considered for the UCs, so I have to rely on my AP Exams to carry me, which I have only 3s and 4s for (so I can probably get credit for all of the AP courses, but I am not too competitive since I don’t have a single 5!). I need to work on my essays now. Is there any good way to approach to essays?
The FAFSA is supposed to be available on October 1. Hopefully this year, there won’t be delays like last year. @kelsmom
Are there any other recommendations for any other colleges for me to apply to? I want to develop my college list because college vine isnt too accurate.
@Gumbymom do the UCs use AP scores in the admissions process
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Ok. Thank you for your confirmation!
Meh, my daughter didn’t submit a single AP test score and got into UC Berkeley (as a Regents Scholar), so I wouldn’t be terribly concerned about that.
Yes, put A LOT of time and thought into your PIQs. These are likely much more important than you AP test scores (at least for most campuses, but each campus weighs the different factors in its own way). PIQs should be approached differently from your Common App personal statement. Think of PIQs like a job interview. You just want to state the facts. Nothing fancy, no quotes or literary references or complicated metaphors or poetic reflections. Just answer the question in a fact-based manner.
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