California State Universities - Which Campus?

Hi! So I’m applying to a BUNCH of CSUs for college, and I’ve heard from all my friends who are in college that it’s important to find a college with an environment that matches my personality. So generally I’m a little bit shy at first, but once people get to know me I’ve heard I become extremely outgoing. I don’t like going to parties, but avoiding them shouldn’t be an issue. I don’t like overly-competitive campuses, ultimately I’d like an environment that is lively but not boisterous. Which of the CSUs do you think I’d be the best fit for? And I will be visiting CSUs in the upcoming months to see for myself.

What are your stats? Which CSU’s are you applying? Intended major? Do you want a more residential college or are you OK with having a more commuter campus? Are you interested in Greek Life? Any location preferences?

State: 4.35 GPA, 1350 SAT // Applying to: SFSU, SDSU, CSULB, CSUS, CSUF, CSUN, CSUEB // Intended Major: Communication Disorders/SLP/Speech Language Hearing Sciences // Residential College is preferable, but having a commuter campus is totally ok // Not interested in greek Life // Not really any specific location, but I do want a lively environment, so preferably in a city or close to one.

Greek life is an integral part of SDSU’s social scene but there are many like minded students that are not interested also.
Not sure CSUS is Stanislaus or Sacramento but the majority of the schools should fit your needs.

Really the only “residential” college on your list would be SDSU since now they have a 2 year on campus living requirement and many students when moving off campus will live close by.

Best way to know if a school fits you academically, financially and socially is to visit.

Out of all your choices listed (and assuming they all have your major), I would say SDSU is the liveliest and close to many places you can explore now that they have the trolley line there, plus as gumbymom noted, SDSU is more residential now. My second choice is Long Beach in terms of lively campus and proximity to urban center/beach.

SFSU is cold, dreary and very expensive once you live off campus but if you don’t mind that and you love SF then that would be my third choice.

It may seem counterintuitive, but the liveliest CSU environments tend to be the ones that are not located in or near major cities. Places like Chico, Humboldt, or Cal Poly-SLO.

Most CSU campuses are active during the day, but go dead on nights and weekends. This is because they primarily serve a local student population, and local students can save big on college expenses by living at home. So they commute to school in the morning, then leave the campus area after their classes are over.

But what if your CSU isn’t located within commuting distance of any major cities? In that case, you have to move to the campus area, and so does everyone else. And everyone stays there on nights and weekends, because it’s too far to go home. And when there are tens of thousands of college students in the same place at the same time, the environment tends to get lively. So places like Chico and SLO are known as fun college towns, while places like Northridge and Hayward are not.

Agree with the post above that SDSU has the most residential feel of the schools on your list. It does have many commuters, but it’s a big school and there are also lots of students living in the campus area.

not sure they have your major but, Sonoma should be high on your list of must see tours.