California State University campus recommendations for out of state students

I am looking for recommendations for CSU campuses for out of state students. To my understanding, most CSU schools are commuter schools that don’t have a traditional college campus feel. However I am from New Mexico so I qualify for WUE tuition, and I also don’t think that my GPA/Test scores are good enough for any UC school. My weighted GPA is a 3.692, my ACT is a 20 and my SAT is a 1030. I also intend to study hospitality, or some sort of hospitality management. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

The WUE program excludes many of the most popular and selective state universities in California, including nearly all of the UCs and some of the best-known CSUs.

There appear to be 14 CSUs that offer hospitality/tourism degrees.
https://www2.calstate.edu/attend/degrees-certificates-credentials/hospitality-tourism-management-alliance/degrees/Pages/degrees-by-campus.aspx

Of those, only 6 appear to participate in the WUE program: Chico, East Bay, Monterey Bay, Northridge, Cal Poly Pomona, and Sacramento State. You would have to pay full out-of-state tuition at the other 8.
http://wue.wiche.edu/search_results.jsp?searchType=all

Of the 6 WUE schools, the only one with a traditional, residential feel is Chico. Chico is a small friendly city in the Sacramento Valley with a fun college town vibe. However, it is not located near any of the major cities in California. This is why Chico is not a “commuter school” – it’s too far from anywhere to commute. All the students live on campus or in town nearby, which leads to a lively social atmosphere. It wouldn’t surprise me if Chico also has the least expensive housing, which costs a lot in California (could be as much, or more, than tuition).

East Bay, Northridge, Cal Poly Pomona, and Sacramento State are located in large urban areas, but not in the cool or glamorous parts. EB is in a less exciting part of the SF Bay Area; Northridge and Pomona are in less exciting parts of the LA area, and Sac State is in the less exciting city of Sacramento. They are all usually regarded as commuter schools, with relatively little activity in the campus area in the evenings or on weekends.

Monterey Bay is located near Monterey, which is an attractive and touristy small city on the California Coast. However, the campus itself does not have a particularly appealing location: it is in the middle of a former military base that is still undergoing redevelopment. Also has a commuter school atmosphere.

Even if you go to a “commuter school”, there are still lots of interesting things for students to do in places like the Bay Area or LA or Sacramento or Monterey. You may have to look beyond the campus though.

Thank you so much for the info it was extemelg helpful!

Seconding Chico. Add Sonoma as more residential - see what their business/management program is like. (You can just major in management even if you want to work in Hospitality management after college).

Sonoma State is one of the 8 CSUs that have hospitality/tourism programs, but do not participate in the WUE program. So while Sonoma is an attractive CSU, it would cost significantly more for an out-of-stater.

For example, out-of-state tuition/fees at Sonoma are estimated at $18,548 per year. Other non-WUE CSUs are probably similar.
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=802

WUE tuition/fees at Chico are only $10,223 per year. Other WUE CSUs are probably similar. So WUE would reduce the cost of a CSU education to an out-of-stater by over $30,000 over four years.
http://www.csuchico.edu/admissions/apply/out-of-state/wue-exchange.shtml

Thanks. So, Chico’s the only reasonable choice, unless OP widens her choice to general Management. (A Management degree is equally likely to lead to a job in Hospitality.)

CSUMB has 84% of frosh living on campus, so it is not really a commuter school. However, the campus location does not seem to be all that interesting, unless you like beaches with cold ocean water.

In case you overlooked it, UNLV is supposed to have one of the best hospitality programs in the country, and it looks like it’s eligible for WUE tuition.

I actually thought about UNLV but the idea of living in Las Vegas doesn’t thrill me. but I might reconsider.

Could you tell me where you found that statistic? I’ve been trying to look at the percentage of students at Chico that live on campus but I haven’t had any luck.

3rd nod for chico here… UNR is another WUE candidate nobody has mentioned yet.

http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg05_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1083 says 62% of frosh living in the dorm for CSU Chico, though there seems to be an error for all students, where it says 2%. Common data set section F1 has the same information. https://www.csuchico.edu/ir/InstitutionalData/CDS/index.html has those for CSU Chico.

I used to live about an hour away from Chico, and loved the campus and the town.

According to the Chico State catalog, 80% of their students live within 2 miles of the campus, i.e. either on-campus, or in the adjacent off-campus neighborhoods.
http://catalog.csuchico.edu/viewer/17/HOUSING.html

The high concentration of students in the campus area is what makes Chico a fun place to go to school:

http://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/article/Chico-an-outdoor-destination-as-well-as-a-great-11206116.php

San Luis Obispo and Davis are great too, but they aren’t WUE.

my son is a current student at Chico - no question at least 8/10 freshmen live in campus housing. A quick visit when school is out of session will confirm the high concentration of students around campus. You can hear a pin drop and parking is plentiful. The difference when school is in vs out is pretty stark.

Chico is also home to the US’s 3rd largest ‘urban park’, fantastic hiking, mountain biking and creek swimming and even a golf course. The there’s Sierra Nevada Brewing… mmmmmmm

That said, it isn’t for everyone. The train is loud, Summers are HOT and the town is surrounded by Ag which isolates it from a major population center. Homelessness is an increasing problem. You have to drive to Sac to see a major music act and their airport has on again, off again commercial service, it is a long drive to Nordstroms.

A visit is certainly required.

You could 100% be accepted into a majority of UCs with your GPA and test scores.

But like someone else mentioned, UNLV does have the best hospitality program in the nation with opportunities to work at some of the most high-end hotels right out of college. That is very appealing to some people.

UC Riverside and Merced are possibilities. Also, CSUMB is only an hour from San Jose and Santa Cruz.

@onthewestfence
Do you mean CSUEastBay or CSU Monterey Bay? Yes, both schools are easier to get in, but the living cost over here is pretty high. CSU East Bay has built a lot of living facilities on campus and there is another living facility across the street on Hayward Blvd. I know, because at one point it was in Auction and I was trying to buy it. :)>-

CSUMonterey Bay is not an WUE school, but East Bay is.

Apparently CSUMB has just pulled out of the WUE program. They aren’t shown on the current list of WUE institutions at: http://wue.wiche.edu/search_results.jsp?searchType=all

However, CSUMB was on the WUE list earlier this year, as shown by this archived version of the same page from July 5:
https://web.archive.org/web/20170705085931/http://wue.wiche.edu/search_results.jsp?searchType=all

They were on the list as recently as October 1, when this thread started.

UCM is a WUE school. Don’t know if they have hospitality. Don’t know if they’d accept an oos student with an ACT 20.

What are your parents saying about how much they’ll pay for college each year? Even with WUE discounts, the cost can be 30k+ per year.