Best Csu

College Search & Selection
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<p>Thanks for all your inputs and insights drj, they are HIGHLY appreciated. I'm still contemplating on whether to choose CSU Sacramento or SDSU. I'm a business management major and I want a minor in finance by the way. I know SDSU is the better school and your input has helped me lean more towards SDSU. It's just the cost of living and the distance that's keeping me from fully dedicating myself to SDSU. Initially SDSU was my first choice but I recently put CSUS into consideration since it's close to home, cheaper and is also accredited by the AACSB. Also what is meant by SDSU being a 4-tier school? I never heard of tier and how the rankings work...</p>

<p>Anyway, since you know so much about CSU's, what would you rate Sonoma State in business out of all the CSU's? I live in the area and I learned of all the bad rep of the school from SRJC. Does Sonoma State have a bad business program? I know it's not even accredited by the AACSB but I hear people on here saying it's a good school...</p>

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<p>my wife is a professor of finance in the CSU system.</p>

<p>if this is your specific area, here are her recommendations:</p>

<ol>
<li> San Diego State--best in strategic and corporate finance</li>
<li> Cal Poly Pomona--strength in international finance and real estate finance and emerging in entertainment finance</li>
<li> Cal Poly SLO--probably that faculty published in more high-ranked journals. a smaller program but very good one.</li>
<li> Cal State Fullerton and San Jose State--both large programs and accredited by AACSB as are the three schools above.</li>
</ol>

<p>sonoma is okay, a solid program as is chico. sac state a step down by most accounts.</p>

<p>avoid: CSUDH (unaccredited), CSUB (too small) and CSUSB (disorganized and huge class sizes).</p>

63

<p>management is a more broadly defined area than finance and is easier to fill with faculty. therefore, the programs are more closely spaced.</p>

<p>in this area here is how i rank the system:</p>

<ol>
<li> San Diego State--strong in all aspects, particularly organizational behavior</li>
<li> Cal State Fullerton--perhaps its strongest program</li>
<li> Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly SLO--pomona for its diversity and size, SLO smaller but highly selective</li>
<li> San Jose State and Chico State--both very solid.</li>
</ol>

<p>again, sonoma is a good mid-level program within the system and two upcoming programs right now are Long Beach State and Cal State San Marcos in management.</p>

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<p>it is no where near selective cal poly SLO or even sdsu for that matter. the student body aren't the brightest around. the alumni arent the most succesful. cal poly SLO, although known for its engineering and architecture programs, produces very succesful graduates out of its business program. from what ive read, the most succesful business grads out of the 23 csu's are cal poly SLOs, something like 70-80% finding jobs immediately after college with an average starting salary of around 40k. although sdsu international business program and curriculum may be stronger i remember it being said cal poly slo business grads are still the most recruited out of the state school system. </p>

<p>the stats show pomona is just a lackluster school with the key words "polytechnic" and "pomona", 2 words that cause confusion with 2 other elite schools "cal poly slo" and "pomona LAC" give it the false impression of being more prestigious than it is. not saying that it is a bad school, just saying that i wouldnt consider it top 3 csu's. for me it would definately be cal poly slo, sdsu, and finally chico, with humboldt and long beach following behind. </p>

<p>average gpa of business majors for incoming freshman accepted at SLO was 3.83 with a 1226 sat score, it is clear that business students at SLO are at a much higher level than those at cal poly pomona and even sdsu.</p>

65

<p>you seem to leave the impression that one of the two cal poly campuses is trading somewhat fraudulently upon the other along with one of the colleges from the claremont congregate, which is where my wife received her Ph.D. degree. it of course is merely a coincidence that the poly campus is barely on the fringe of pomona, while pomona college has this strange name even though several miles from pomona's city limits. if anything, it is pomona college with the misleading name.</p>

<p>now, let's once again clear away opinions and discuss facts since that might be of greater use to readers:</p>

<p>toward the latter decades of the 19th century the new state of california wrestled with how it would organize its state university system. it began with a university of california system but as the state grew the general assembly envisioned three systems, a UC system, a polytechnic system, and a normal system which later became the CSU. when funds became tight, the normal system and the planned polytechnic system merged.</p>

<p>in 1901 the california state polytechnic college was founded in the center of the state with subsequent plans for additional campuses in the north and south of the state. the first part of that dream was realized in the 1930s by president julian a. mcphee who christened a new campus of the college just outside los angeles that previously was a 1,500-acre winter horse ranch for multimillionaire w.k. kellogg of cereal fame. from the 1930s through the 1960s mcphee presided over both campuses that remained one entity. eventually, the one school became two, which now are officially known as the california polytechnic state university (at SLO) and the california state polytechnic university (at pomona).</p>

<p>in truth, and this can be verified, the academic programs are almost identical other than certain institutes and centers that punctuate one or the other, with the significant exception being the nationally ranked collins school (ranked with cornell and purdue among the top three in the nation by every poll) on the pomona campus which you continue to ignore.</p>

<p>in truth, and this also can be verified, the quality of the faculty at both schools are remarkably alike, with the majority of professors, more than 90 per cent, holding Ph.D. degrees from highly esteemed universities, notably the Pac Ten (ie, UCLA), the Big Ten (ie, Northwestern) and the Ivy League (ie, Harvard).</p>

<p>now, somehow you mindgames leave the impression that the two schools are vastly different which in fact is somewhat supported only via higher selectivity numbers on the northern campus, and a still unreported factoid that 70 per cent of the student body at pomona are not caucasian, with asians serving at the plurality head. this phenomenon explains why pomona is so widely acclaimed for its international programs. while i do not have placement figures at hand for business, the documented numbers on the pomona campus for the collins school is 99 per cent and that for engineering above 91 per cent.</p>

<p>i believe i have correctly placed the SLO campus while you contine to trash the pomona campus as "lackluster" for still unsupported reasons. the hundreds of students who transfer between the sister schools annually know better, and please let enlightened readers determine the truth for themselves.</p>

66

<p>Thanks drj, I greatly appreciate the recommendations. So you are saying Sac St. isn't a good school and that Sonoma State is the better of the two in business? Howcome Sonoma St. isn't accredited by the AACSB in their business program yet Sac St. is?</p>

<p>I also value your information since I always thought CSU-Fullerton and SDSU were the top schools for business along with the Cal Poly schools. I rarely hear about CSU-Fullerton on this board when it comes to business at CSU's, amazing. Also I'd like to mention, in my opinion Fullerton has the best accounting program in the state among the CSU's.</p>

<p>Taken from their website: " </p>

<p>Located in one of the most vibrant business communities in the United States, the College of Business & Economics at California State University, Fullerton is the largest, accredited business school in the State of California and the second largest accredited undergraduate business school in the country. </p>

<pre><code>AACSB International Accreditations

</code></pre>

<p>The College of Business & Economics at CSUF has the distinction of holding two AACSB International Accreditations – one for the College and a separate one for the College's Accounting Program."</p>

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<p>smebbs, while i have some trouble putting fullerton in first place for accounting with so many other strong alternatives in the system, it is surely in the top tier, and plans are under way on that campus for a new multimillion dollar building with state of the art everything. the business programs in the south on the move are fullerton, long beach, and small but starting to show good signs, san marcos which also has a new building in the works. in the north, sac and sonoma are both solid, and the advantage of sac is that you are in a large city with all of those advantages while sonoma is in relatively rural rohnert park. sonoma recently hired cal poly pomona's dean of business to become its provost, by the way (a great hire), and sac has a highly energetic president with grand plans campuswide that are beginnng to materialize. don't feel sorry for CPP, though, as its new dean just left as CEO of a Fortune 500 company, has a Ph.D. in finance from Illinois and is a multimillionaire who knows how to raise huge money.</p>

<p>in sum, you have many fine options. if you are certain about what area of business you want i can target you even better.</p>

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<p>you cannot compare the two schools. what i am saying is cal poly pomona is inferior to cal poly slo however people falsely assume they are in the same league simply because of the "polytechnic" and "pomona" name. i have no idea what you are talking about, calling the two "sisters" and claiming the faculty and programs are nearly identical. this is far from the truth. </p>

<p>cal poly SLO's engineering program is very distinguished from cal poly pomonas, cal poly pomona doesnt even offer concentrations in architectual engineering or environmental engineering, 2 very popular programs at SLO.</p>

<p>cal poly SLO's architectual program towers above pomona's, cal poly SLO is recruited nationally in architecture, and something like 1 of 4 architects working in california are cal poly SLO grads. </p>

<p>and all you have to do is check out the quality of students at both schools. average gpa of those accepted at SLO for 2004 was 3.91, of those admitted and enrolled was 3.83, at pomona the gpa drops down to lower 3.1 - 3.3. obviously, quality students and people seeking better educates flock to cal poly SLO and dont even consider pomona. </p>

<p>im not saying cal poly pomona is a bad school, i just dont like it when people assume it to be some prestigious college with the likes of cal poly SLO or pomona LAC. one can possibly get a great education at cal poly pomona, however comparing it to SLO is ridiculous. and sdsu and chico are more competitive than pomona. US News ranks pomona behind long beach state, san diego, and chico. </p>

<p>sure both cal poly slo and cal poly pomona are similar in that "polytechic" encourages a learn by doing teaching style at both schools, however UC's such as UCLA and UC riverside share the same teaching philosophy and even share academic programs however the two are not comparable. comparing poly pomona with poly slo is like comparing ucr with ucla. just ridiculous.</p>

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<p>Actually Mindgame, drj is right. </p>

<p>First of all they are sister schools and second their programs are nearly identical. </p>

<p>You said</p>

<p>"quality students and people seeking better educates flock to cal poly SLO and dont even consider pomona"</p>

<p>For your information Cal Poly Pomona is considered, along with SLO, USC, UCI, and Berkley. sdsu and chico are not even looked at. I've never even heard of these schools until I entered the CSU system. These are students in the top 1% of their class. I should know I work at a high school in an upper crust city in Orange County. I hear and see everything. Cal Poly Pomona is highly regarded by staff members and students.</p>

<p>Oh, and you talk about low gpa. That's the average. Have you considered the students with gpa's of 4.0 or higher when entering.<br>
Mine was a 3.8 and I took AP and honor classes along with clubs and volunteer work, the whole show. I applied to CPP and UC Davis. Cal Poly Pomona being my first choice. And I did get into Davis. </p>

<p>Have you ever been to Cal Poly Pomona? You have no idea of what you're talking about. You're giving CPP a bad rep, what you need to do is keep your ignorant opinions to yourself. Everything you say is based on numbers and opinions of others. </p>

<p>Oh, yeah for your information, CPP and SLO were the same school once upon a time. Therefore their programs are the same, nothing much has changed since they separated.</p>

70

<p>that was a good read.</p>

<p>im planning to go to Calpoly POmona as a landscape architect and im not sure whether to go or not. </p>

<p>im debating wheter i should go to CC and then SLO after 2 years or take this oppurtunity and go. Can i switch different CSU/UCs if im in Caloly Pomona?</p>

71

<p>sadly, mindgame will have difficulty making the high school debate team with such transparent arguments and others are beginning to see this. but let's break down just a few of these forrest gump-type pearls:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>banging on the reference of sister schools: this is a term used by dr. warren baker, who just happens to be the president of SLO. perhaps you, mindgame, know more than dr. baker? even dr. charles reed, the chancellor of the CSU, has used this reference.</p></li>
<li><p>picking out two programs in engineering to "prove" the vast superiority of SLO. i can pick out more than 20 that pomona has that SLO does not have, not the least of which is the nationally ranked program--in some circles the best in the nation--in HRT that you keep ignoring. but Fortune 500 firms don't when multiple offers await CPP seniors.</p></li>
<li><p>using the metaphor of a top three UC to the campus in last place as symbolic of the differences between the two campuses. nice catch, forrest. you must have confused pomona with dominguez hills which typically is ranked from 20th to 23d. nobody has contended that pomona is better than or even as good as SLO--all due respect is accorded the senior of the two campuses--but to call pomona names like "lackluster" not only trashes pomona but also SLO, its "sister" campus.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>now vyan has a legitimate question rather than trash talking:</p>

<p>hundreds of students shuttle between the two cal poly campuses each year. the difficulty you face is that both campuses have impacted all their ARCH programs. last time i looked only six per cent of applicants were admitted to SLO and eight per cent at pomona. that means you can't shuttle like in other lower demand majors. if you were in the 94 per cent at SLO and the eight per cent at pomona i would consider yourself very, very lucky and take the gift right now as it may not surface again. also seriously consider the multitude of internship opportunities around the Basin that SLO students do not have. this is one reason why many students admitted to both places still pick pomona.</p>

<p>were you to begin in a CC that admit letter to pomona may not return. very hard to get into ARCH on either campus as an upperclassman unless you wear an "S" on your shirt. if your preference is structural arch over landscape i'd take my chances trying to slide over. they're in the same college on both campuses. just wow your professors and then get them to convince the dean of the college.</p>

<p>and by the way, a significant number of arch graduates from the pomona branch are working in california as well. most of them sort among multiple job offers. best of luck to you, vyan!</p>

72

<p>So, if you can find 20 different programs that Pomona has that SLO does not, how are the academics at each school "almost identical?" Also, SLO does have a recreation administration major, which seems like it would be very close hospitality management.</p>

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<p>giants,
universities are structured around colleges and schools such as engineering, business and agriculture, the last of which of course very few universities have. at that level of governance the two universities are almost identical, differing only in that pomona has the collins school which in part explains why the pomona campus is bigger with about 2,000 more students. what i meant by 20 different programs are specialized centers and institutes such as pomona's center for promotional management, the center for entrepreneurship, its equine research center, or the real estate research institute. none of the these are academic majors but rather various structures that support and enrich teaching, research, and service which are unique on the pomona campus. SLO for example has a specialized program in packaging that pomona does not have but its IT department is otherwise largely similar to pomona's CIS department.</p>

<p>parks and recreation programs are typically linked to physical education and kinesiology. that has nothing to do with the mission of the CPP collins school. check the web site and you can see this.</p>

74

<p>drj, I plan on majoring in Management with a minor in finance (learn how to invest in stocks). I want to be a manager for health care, I heard they make good money or if I can, a non-profit health care org.</p>

75

<p>your hypocricy is hilarious. first you go as far to claim that SLO and pomona's programs are nearly "identical".</p>

<p>then when i offer a rebuttal to that statement, using two random majors offered at SLO that pomona doesn't offer, you argue that pomona has "20" majors that SLO doesn't have. </p>

<p>now lets go back to your original statement, SLO and pomona are nearly "identical" in their programs at each school. i would beg to differ seeing as the schools vary in majors offered in the range of 20+ (according to you) majors offered at pomona and SLO.</p>

<p>then, you use agriculture as a way of saying that these two schools are nearly identical in programs. hhmmmmm.....are you claiming that SLO and pomona are unique and identical because they have concentrations in agriculture? first of all, 2 universities are not identical because they share a same unique field of study. second, agriculture is not a unique area of study. UC Davis has an area of study in agriculture, as does several other schools.</p>

<p>am i saying pomona is a bad school? not at all. is it a great school? not really. can someone get a great education there? sure. but is it as prestigious academically as many assume it to be? no. the "sister" relationship you use as a way of arguing the two schools, SLO and pomona, are somehow comparable, is a joke. </p>

<p>did you know UC Davis was the brainchild of UC Berkeley? did you know UC Davis was originally an extension of UC Berkeley, a part of the UC Berkeley campus located in the town of Davis, until it stemmed of into its own entity, and till this day research and curriculum between students in both schools tradeoff all the time? so according to your logic are we to assume they are "sister" schools, and that UC Davis somewhat shares the same prestige on the level of an elite school as UC Berkeley. assuming that because UC Davis stemmed from its sister campus, Berkeley, we can assume that Davis is a better school than UCLA and UCSD? the answer is NO. UC Davis is a good school, but just because it was an extension of UC Berkeley, shared some faculty and runs programs with Berkeley, we cannot grant it more prestige than it really has. </p>

<p>and i hate referring to these reports, because i don't agree with them all the time, but just to let you know there are many who don't share the same admiration for cal poly pomona: according to US News Report, Cal Poly SLO is rater the number #1 public "largely undergraduate" school in the west. largley undergraduate referring to schools that don't have concentration in graduate studies, so UC's are not included in this list. Cal Poly Pomona was completely off the radar, not even making the top 30 list. While San Diego State, Chico State, and Long Beach State all made it past Cal Poly Pomona.</p>

<p>Then you refer to SLO's and Pomona's schools of ARCH being impacted. I am currently a ARCH student at SLO, i will start fall 2005. you use this statistic, 6 percent admit rate at SLO, and 8 percent admit rate at Pomona, to somehow make the 2 schools ARCH programs somewhat comparable. The truth is, according to a National Survey on Architects across the country, Cal Poly SLO is rater the second best school, #2, in the nation behind Harvard for preferred architectural graduates. Let me repeat this, Cal Poly SLO produces the best architect graduates in the country behind only Harvard. Yes, Cal Poly SLO tops the famous USC ARCH program, UCB, it is nationally an elite program. So you get the picture right, SLO Architecture is on a elite level. What about Cal Poly Pomona? Well despite your 8 percent admit rate, Cal Poly Pomona's ARCH program didn't even make the list. So please, don't compare the two based on admit rates and how "impacted" the major is. </p>

<p>I hope i don't offend any Cal Poly Pomona students here. I am sure the possibilities for great learning are there. And I'm sure they have great professors and programs like Hotel Management available for students. But it is not a prestigious school, nor is it anywhere close in the ranks of Cal Poly SLO. Despite being a "Polytechnic" school, in my honest opinion, i am confident in saying that i would choose San Diego State, Long Beach St, or Chico St. ahead of Cal Poly Pomona because they offer a better education for what i am interested in and is more prestigious than CPP (US News.) I see so many college hopefuls out there apply to Cal Poly Pomona for the wrong reasons, hearing Cal Poly, then assuming the same prestige as SLO or even Pomona LAC, which is just far from the truth. </p>

<p>And Drj the reference to forrest gump, not funny, just a little advice, leave the jokes out, nobody is laughing here. nice try though.</p>

76

<p>san diego state has a distinguished program in management, smebbs, with an extensive curriculum. that would be on my must list, along with cal state fullerton which is stronger in finance than management given its two excellent centers of learning in finance. the third school worth a peek is cal poly pomona, which has in recent years hired management faculty from both harvard and yale and like san diego and fullerton also is very strong in finance. all three of these business colleges enroll more than 4,000 students so have more than ample choices and opportunities and of course all are fully accredited. if you are local go pay the three schools a visit to see for yourself.</p>

77

<p>I only applied to CSU Sac and SDSU. If everything works out w/finaid and all, I should be at SDSU this fall, thanks again.</p>

78

<p>Admit rates really don't impress me because part of that equation is due to the POPULARITY of a particular campus...the more applicants there are the more picky the campus becomes, and it feeds off itself.. but POPULARITY is often for no other reason than location (ie: on/near the beach, college town, etc.) and has nothing to do with quality of academics. I've witnessed this first hand with my D's graduating class. Not to underplay the importance of atmosphere but this isn't the most important factor if your looking for quality learning. Sure, the more selective a school becomes the higher GPA's and SAT's your going to see there, but the best students will rise to the top no matter where they are physically located, while a mediocre one will be mediocre regardless of where they go and the name on the diploma isn't going to be a golden ticket to success.</p>

<p>Mindgame, you nailed it when you said:</p>

<p>"Despite being a "Polytechnic" school, in my honest opinion, i am confident in saying that i would choose San Diego State, Long Beach St, or Chico St. ahead of Cal Poly Pomona because they offer a better education for what i am interested in"..</p>

<p>however, this part makes me shrug:</p>

<p>"... and is more prestigious than CPP (US News.)"</p>

<p>If your a top student at any of those colleges the prestige factor is only meaningful for impressing your friends, after that it all depends on you.</p>

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<p>DRJ</p>

<p>are you saying im lucky to even get in as landscape architect?
so i should take this oppurtunity and switch majors?</p>

<p>is it easier to go to CC first and transfer to an impacted major, such as arch?
or is it easier to be in landscape arch. and switch into an impacted major?</p>

<p>it seems like everyone has their own opinions about their CSU's.</p>

80

<p>"For your information Cal Poly Pomona is considered, along with SLO, USC, UCI, and Berkley. sdsu and chico are not even looked at."</p>

<p>Perception is reality. If you think Cal Poly Pomona is in the ranks with Berkeley and USC, it might make people question your perception. </p>

<p>It's hard to rank CSU's because they're so vastly different. You can however rank them in specific majors as DRJ did.</p>