<p>Hey Guys:
My daughter has been accepted for Fall 2008 and since we are from the east coast I have never seen the campus. There is no thread on here for this school. If anybody has kids attending, do you think we could get a thread started?</p>
<p>Any info about the school, social scene or surrounding area would be great.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I don't have a kid there but I live about five miles from the campus and know tons of kids who have gone there. I can't say much about the school itself but I can talk about the surrounding area. CSUN is in the heart of the San Fernando Valley and the surrounding area is quite safe. To the south is a very lovely area with nice homes. The north and east sides are also residential. To the west is a street with lots of businesses (stores and restaurants) but past that is again a residential area. About a mile away is a large mall. I don't know about the social scene but I do know that many kids from the surrounding area go to school there and do not live on campus. Some of the kids I know lived off campus, held down jobs and commuted to school but I also know there are dorms and so forth so some kids are living on campus. It's a pretty big campus, clean and attractive. It is a very popular campus to attend which may make getting some classes in certain subjects difficult. My son's best friend took longer than four years to graduate because he was in a very impacted major. Sorry I can't help more but I'll try to talk to my kids who have friends who go there and see what they've heard.</p>
<p>CSUN is a large, urban commuter campus. Not much of a campus student life, lots of older students and part-time students who work. The quality of teaching is very hit or miss and depends a great deal on which major your child would be in. The campus feels safe, and parts of it are new due to reconstruction after the Northridge earthquake in 1994. LA and the beaches are within a short drive, but the surrounding area is very congested with traffic 24-7. Lots of ethnic diversity both on campus and in the surrounding areas. A wonderful and quality program for the hearing-impaired, so your D would see sign-language frequently. I would definitely visit before deciding to attend, if you haven't already, because I can't see certain kids liking it (i.e. those who are looking for a cohesive student life experience, spirited sports or Greek scene, small classes, availability of professors to mentor). It's a good solid member of our CSU system; probably somewhere in the middle of the 20-odd campuses in terms of reputation.</p>
<p>Thanks for answering. I think she is leaning towards Early Childhood Education which would mean a degree in Liberal Studies and then a teacher credential program.</p>
<p>I guess she is really looking for the lifestylle at SDSU. I just don't know if she can get in there yet. I won't know until March 1st. But I have to register her for housing as soon as the application becomes available because we will be living in San Diego. So I might end up losing my housing deposit if she gets in to SDSU. </p>
<p>Any info from friends who go there would be helpful. especiallly if anybody knows anybody who lives there.</p>
<p>GratefulDeb,
So you are also moving to San Diego? I'm a bit confused..your post says we will be living in San Diego but also says you have to register her for housing as soon as the application becomes available.
As momof2inca has indicated, CSUN is very much a commuter school. If your daughter wants to take classes and perhaps get a part time job and is really not looking for college to be a social thing she will be fine.
If she is looking for a social atmosphere, to meet college friends, etc. SDSU would be a better choice.</p>
<p>If there's any possibility that she might want or need to go to Northridge, I would consider sending the housing deposit, even if you can't get it back. Campus housing is in very short supply there, as it is at most of the CSU's, so getting that deposit in is important to hold a space.</p>
<p>SDSU, by the way, has an excellent education school. I agree with ebeee - SDSU has more of a college atmosphere, but housing there is limited as well at present.</p>
<p>Deb:</p>
<p>once you relocate and obtain your own housing in SD, you might appeal to admissions for in-state status.....all Cal States give priority to thier local residents, so living in SD's catchment area would really help.</p>
<p>btw: if military, and you have transfer orders, then by all means send a copy to admissions.</p>
<p>CSUN is a real commuter campus, if you are not a commuter, you're going to want to live in the dorms to make friends/develop a social network. The campus itself is nice. The surrounding area is perfectly safe but completely uninteresting. You need a car to get around for sure. </p>
<p>It's a good place to study early childhood stuff, get a teaching credential, etc.</p>
<p>When I move August 1st to SD isn't that too late to appeal for admissions for Fall 2008?</p>
<p>Having grown up in Northridge and attended CSUN for my freshman year, I agree with all of the above. It is not the school for anyone looking for a campus life. Kids leave the area to attend SDSU, Humbolt, Chico and other campuses with residential atmosphere. The community arround Northridge is suburban and has little student feel. It's pretty darn middle-nothing. Sorry to be so negative, but I could not wait to leave. Don't know where you are moving from, so maybe it will be better????? Has your D been accepted anywhere else?</p>
<p>Not yet. She applied to all Cal States: Northridge, Long Beach, SDSU, San MArcos and Fullerton. Any info on any of those schools? Her top pick is SDSU and we will be moving from the East Coast to within 20 minutes of there. That is our dream school.</p>
<p>Deb, since you're not from CA, you may not know much about SDSU. It could be culture shock for your DD. This is the biggest party school in CA. Almost no one going in without a lot of APs graduates in 4 years. The 6 year graduation rate is about 25%. I know it has some good programs, but as a parent you may want to consider these things. If she can get in there she can get into a few UCs. </p>
<p>Since you'll have to pay OOS for the first year, that's a lot of money for SDSU IMO.</p>
<p>GratefulDeb- another route your D might look into is going to a Ca Community College for 2 yrs and then transfer to a UC or Cal State. That would be a much less expensive way to go. Someone from the San Diego area would probably be able to direct you to some schools in that area. Most CC's in Ca have transfer agreements with the UC's and Cal States.
If she is interested in dorms I know some communities have private dorms in the vicinity or student apartments. In Santa Barbara many Santa Barbara City College students live in Isla Vista (where UCSB is located) in student dorm like apartments. I would think that San Diego State has some similar type of housing that a Community college student could make use of.</p>
<p>My brother and his wife graduated from Long Beach State, my sister and her husband from Fullerton. They all loved their schools, though neither lived on campus. I'd say since Long Beach has (farely good) division I sports teams that it might engender more school spirit. And I do know Long Beach does have on campus housing. Neither has quite the four year college experience you would get at San Diego State.</p>
<p>I say she should go to SDSU, but if she doesn't get in, I would really check out Santa Barbara City College. The campus overlooks the beach, and by living in Isla Vista she will be in nice collegetown surrounded by 20,000 other students. And then after two years I'm sure she could transfer to a school like UCLA, UCSB, or UCSD.</p>
<p>Good luck. And if your daughter is completely against the community college thing, and SDSU doesn't work out...I would recommend Long Beach.</p>
<p>SBCC has a highly regarded program and has direct transfer agreements with the UCs. I would agree regarding looking at it as an option. San Marcos is largely a commuter school.</p>
<p>OP: We live in between CSULB and CSUF. Both are a better choice than Northridge for any type of campus life and I would definitely say Long Beach is the most "college-like" of the 3. LB is a nice area, close to the beach with a lot more young people around. It was ranked one of the "best values" in USNWR a few years back. It is very much like a big university, not quite at the UC level, but clearly up there! There are some excellent undergrad and grad programs, great sport teams, EC's etc. Much less a party school than SDSU, tho having said that, all colleges are party schools. If she really wants a campus like environment, Chico or Humbult (way up north) are non-communter campuses. Good luck.</p>
<p>SDSU has a ~50% acceptance rate but might be a tad harder to get into if you're out of state.</p>
<p>I live RIGHT NEXT to CS San Marcos, and I'll tell you it definitely isn't a good program if you are aiming for liberal studies. They have an ok teaching program, but it's mostly inhabited by part-timers.</p>
<p>I definitely would not recommend enrollment if you are coming from the East coast, especially when there are a billion different better alternatives.</p>
<p>SDSU is a MAJOR party school. It puts the party in party, seriously. UCSB is another big party school, but has a solid liberal studies program.</p>
<p>CSLB is nice, but a really really crummy area. I suggest you consider some of the UC schools, namely UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis.</p>
<p>It would be a lot easier to recommend if we new stats...but...</p>
<p>Can i get some advice too??</p>
<p>Hi I am a junior and I am very interested in the tv cinematic arts program @ northridge, plus it's so much CHEAPER than all the other schools out there and it seems like it is a pretty decent program. But I don't know if I should go because I reside in MD and my GPA is 3.6 and weighted 4.1.
I don't really want to direct films or write them but I want to work on a T.V crew on a show or work on a movie set or something, or do something in visual effects, or stuff that helps the creative director achieve his vision. Or i might want to do the buisnesss side of things like market films or work in tv programming/ tv management.</p>
<p>ANY advice on what I should do? I just want a school that has good internships or programs to help me get in the door and secure me a job. ANY other programs out there as CHEAP as northridge?</p>
<p>I don't really want to go that far for school, but thats where the internships are; i have looked @ schools like ithaca, syracuse, temple but they all cost way too much, I am low income but even with financial aid i don't wanna pay that much!!!</p>
<p>My other option in state is university maryland baltimore (UMBC), they have media studies, but i don't know if it'll get me any where.</p>
<p>ANY ADVICE IS APPRECIATED!!!</p>