Community college does end up saving you a lot of money, and it is a very good method to get to the same point, like you said. Tuition as an international student is super expensive so community college does sound like a really good plan. What are the main benefits of going to a UC for all 4-years compared to 2 years after CC?
I did a quick google search and got the same answer that re-classifying as an OOS student is very difficult. But, if it is an option, it is much better than paying 80k a year. This is all considering UCs, but I still have to broaden my view and check other colleges.
About the qualification for AB 540, I have to look into it more and will talk to my counselor and my parents as I donāt know too much about my status. I didnāt even know that was an option! As far as I can tell, I do qualify for it, and itāll be a great help. Thank you so much for that information. Do you think Iāll still be considered an international student application-wise, though? If itās yes, Iād have to compete for a smaller number of seats, correct. But because student visas are halted (I am not sure if that is still in effect) does that mean there are less people competing for those seats?
I have talked to my parents and they told me that 80k for 4 years is a stretch so they wanted me to look into ways that reduce that hefty price. In my opinion CC is a smart path to save money but Iām not sure if my parents have the same view. They would much rather me go to a UC for all 4 years and take a loan. But, I donāt want them to pay that much, and they donāt either. I have to look int AB 540 and ask them about it, so hopefully I qualify.
Thank you! I have accomplished all parts of my profile apart from the SAT score (which UCs are test-blind for mostly as far as I know), and research. My extracurriculars are still ongoing, so that could change. I will definitely come back here to add on next year, hopefully with a better profile!
By being test-blind apart from course placement, does that mean the UCs only factor it in for certain courses? If so, is there a list of those courses I could look at?
Yeah, I understand my plan is definitely not efficient. I just posted for UCs to see how Iād be chanced for them. But reading all the replies, I think I have to consider other options. Iāve heard of situations like your colleaguesā too, so I have to be really careful and understand my position. There are many other schools for Cog Sci, but the only setback is that others are not as close.
Thatās great to hear! What do you think the best method to finding out if my family is eligible for this? If you know somebody, I would like to contact whomever and hopefully they can give me more insight specifically regarding my situation and status.
I chose CogSci because it sounded interesting to me and I feel like it would help me in the future. As per specialty, I am interested in Machine Learning and Neuroscience. I understand they both lead to different fields, and Iām not sure if I am allowed to take both. I havenāt visited those campuses so I have to soon, hopefully before the end of the year. And if Iām lucky I might be able to find someone on campus to talk to about my interests.
The PDF links in that link above donāt seem to be working. The below is from Cal, which will have the same policy as other UCs- there is a list of eligible non immigrant visa categories in this link.
Iām assuming your family is most likely H1B/H4, which is on that list, but there are many on there (basically any visa that allows living and working in the US) so check if itās something else. Do note the condition āIf you hold one of the following visas, to maintain eligibility for residency for tuition purposes, you must provide documentation of your current eligible immigration status every semester of attendance.ā
A student is considered a resident for admission purposes if he or she can answer yes to any of the following questions:
Have you attended high school in California for at least three years during grades 9-12 and will graduate or have graduated from a California high school?
Have you lived in California for the last 12 months?
If youāre under 18, does your parent or legal guardian live in California?
Is your parent, legal guardian, spouse or registered domestic partner an employee of the University of California or a UC-affiliated national laboratory?
Non-immigrants (students on a foreign/non-immigrant visa) are not eligible for California resident status for admission purposes.ā
Re AB 540:
āWhoās not eligible:
Students in possession of nonimmigrant visas (including, but not limited to any of the following visas: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T*, TN/TD, TWOV, U*, and NATO) are not eligible for this exemption.
* UC policy permits T and U visa holders to establish residence for a limited-duration Resident Classification for one academic year, during which time they may establish their residence for tuition purposes permanently by satisfying the Residency Requirements.ā
Students can self-report ACT and/or SAT scores in the admission application, but they must first submit the application without scores. Once the application has been submitted, the student can log back into the application to report ACT or SAT scores. If a student self-reports a test score, they should provide the official score report when they receive an offer of admission from UC.
Test scores submitted as part of the application may be used as an alternate method of fulfilling minimum requirements for eligibility (a-g courses) or the SAT/ACT scores can be used to fulfill the UC Entry Level Writing requirement.
We have already established they are international for admission purposes (the sentence you bolded). The link I posted clearly states some non immigrant visa categories are eligible for instate tuition assuming the other residency requirements are met, so there seems to be some contradiction between the various official UC pages. OPās best bet is to directly contact the UCs of interest to enquire about their specific situation.
Thank you so much! I just checked and verified with my parents, and we are eligible for in-state tuition, which makes things much clearer. But I will still contact the UCs so I can get a direct answer to be 100% sure. You made things very clear. I canāt thank you more!
This is for admission purposes which I am sure I am considered an international student. I think I have to take the L admissions-wise, so I just need to clarify if Iām considered the same for tuition. Thanks to the info SJ2727 provided, I can verify that it is not the case. But Iāll double-check as it doesnāt hurt to do so.
Ohh ok that makes more sense. I should be fine if that is the case as Iām on track to fulfilling my requirements. Either way, Iāll try to get my SAT score above a 1500 but now I know I donāt have to worry about it too much.
All of the published stats Iāve seen bundle international admissions with domestic non-residents, so itās hard to tell whether being categorized as international puts you at a meaningful disadvantage. I donāt really think so for UCSD - they accept a lot of internationals, and even more so now: UC San Diego accepts more international students, expects fewer to say yes | KPBS Public Media For Berkeley and UCLA, I could see it potentially being a tougher admit as an international, but I donāt know for sure that this is true, and even if it is, it may be shifting.
I donāt think youāre in a bad spot admissions-wise; itās the tuition issue that is pivotal. Itās a tough job market for new grads, and I wouldnāt want to be graduating with a pile of debt. But it seems like things are looking up vis-a-vis tuition; I hope you can get confirmation from the schools that you are good in terms of paying in-state costs. If thatās the case, you can focus most of your effort on applying to UCās, since you prefer to stay in-state, but keep a few OOS opportunities on radar just to cover the bases. And the CCC pathway will always be there as a fallback. (Applying to a few CSUās is a good idea too, although there isnāt really a CogSci program in that system, if youāre fully set on that major. Best bet in that case could be to apply to a more computational major like CS or data science, and add in the brain-sciences piece as a double-major, or one or more minors, in psych, linguistics, etc. These schools would also have a less appalling OOS price tag if it comes to that.)