This is a short look at establishing California residency for tuition purposes. At UCLA, the only state school in the top five US film schools, being in-state will save you about $13,000 a year. No small fare. Here’s how to do it.
- Physical Presence: Establish a physical presence in California more than one year (366 days) immediately prior to the residence determination date of the term for which classification as a resident is requested. Continuous physical presence is not mandatory, but a student who leaves California after establishing residence has the burden of demonstrating that he/she intended to remain a California resident, and that his/her principal place of residence has been in California. It is the burden of the student to clearly demonstrate retention of California residence during periods of absence from the state.
- Intent: Demonstrate through objective documentation that your physical presence was coupled with the intent to make California your permanent home. Intent is evaluated as an independent element of residence, separate from physical presence, and is demonstrated by establishing residential ties in California, and relinquishing ties to the former place of residence. Physical presence within California solely for educational purposes does not constitute the establishment of California residence regardless of the length of stay. The physical presence requirement (above) will be extended until the student can demonstrate a concurrence of both physical presence and intent for one full year.
- Financial Independence: Students who will not reach age 24 by December 31 of the year in which classification as a resident is requested, and who are not dependent upon a natural or adoptive parent who satisfies University requirements as a resident for tuition purposes,will be required to satisfy the University’s self-sufficiency requirement in addition to the 366 day physical presence and intent requirements. It should be noted that this requirement makes it extremely difficult for most undergraduates who do not have a parent domiciled in California to qualify for classification as a resident at a University of California campus.
Number three is the big one. If you are not at least 24 years old, and cannot prove that you have been financially indpendent for at least two years prior to enrollment, you aren’t getting in-state tuition. That adds up to $39,000 over three years. Honestly, I would never recommend for anyone, especially screenwriters or directors, to go straight to film school after undergrad. I can speak from experience in saying I was too immature and to naive to really benefit from it. You need to be out in the world working, living and growing, creating opinions about the world that will influence later storytelling.
So, if you want to go to UCLA Film School and you’re an undergrad, please consider taking a few years after college. Travel, work, try a Fulbright scholarship if you are eligible, but gain experience. Make small films. Write small screenplays. Realize that most of them are bad. Love them for how much you learn from them.
Then you’ll at least have something to think about when you spend your five hours at the Los Angeles DMV.
