How does living in CA affect your chances of getting into a UC?

Answered

To qualify to apply to a UC school as an in-state applicant you have to live there for a full 366 days prior to matriculating into school or the 1st day of classes. You can't move to CA and then assume you will get the in-state rate. There is an elaborate process.

https://www.ucop.edu/residency/establishing-residency.html

Once you are officially deemed a CA resident and qualify for in-state tuition, there are positives and negative about applying to UC schools.

Positives:

1. You can apply to a UC school if you have 3.0 UWGPA. It's 3.4 for a non-resident.

2. If you graduate in the top 9% of your HS, you will get a spot if it is available at one of 10 UCs.

3. Tuition, room and board is close to 55% of what out of state residents or international students pay. So about $37,000 vs $68,000. The other answer is not correct it's not $16K vs $70K.

4. The avg. SAT/ACT scores are lower. Like 1300-1500 for UCLA/UC Berkeley

Negatives:

1. Since top UC Schools are self-selecting, what you will find is a mad rush of Californians in line to apply to the best UCs, like UCLA, UCB, UCI, UCSB and UCSD. This means there is more competition for spots amongst Californians versus non-residents who are willing to pay full tuition.

2. As a result the in-state admission rates are actually lower, not higher, than non-resident rates. So at a school like UCLA the in state rate might be 10% but the out of state rate might be 15-20%. So there is a better chance to get into a UC school if you are upper middle class applying from CT or NY or Ohio.

3. The middle 50% SAT or ACT score for admitted students is much higher like 1400-1550 for top UC colleges.

So if you are already living in CA, then you have to accept the in-state deal. If you are out of state, then the only legitimate way to become in-state is if your parent or guardian physically re-locates and changes their ID and pays CA income taxes.

Good luck.