Chico State vs. Sacramento State Nursing!

Hello, I’ve been admitted to both for pre-nursing and I have been researching more about these colleges. I haven’t been to either yet, but will soon tour both soon.
I was hoping if anybody can give me answers to the following:

  1. How the campus is like for both (e.g. communter, college life active)
  2. Which nursing program is better
  3. How are their Womens Lacrosse teams, or recreational. 4.Weather 5.Academics/graduation rates
  4. Diversity

and any other important concerns or interesting facts about either college that may help me along the way!

Two main questions you’ll need to ask each school, in addition to your questions above:

  1. What is the percentage of students who successfully convert from pre-Nursing to Nursing?
    1a. How many seats are available for the Nursing BSN and what’s the typical number of applicants?
    1b. How many qualified pre-Nursing students get turned away due to space limitations?

  2. What are the programs NCLEX pass rates?
    This is almost as important as how many students they accept into the program.

As far as campus life goes, Chico is the most residential of the CSU’s with more on-campus activities, while Sac State has the more urban feel. The programs at both schools are comparable.

Visits to both campuses will go a long way.
Good luck with your decision.

congrats! both are excellent programs.

I agree a visit to both will go a long way to clearing things up. I went to Sac a LONG time ago and still live in the area.
My eldest son is a somewhat recent Chico grad. So, I’ll take a somewhat informed crack at all 6 of your questions.

Chico is a college town and it surrounds the campus, most of the students live within a couple miles of campus and walk/bike or skateboard to campus. (note how little on-campus parking there is). Its a mid sized CSU that’s been there for more than 100 years, lots of brick buildings and massive oak trees - and a creek that flows through campus. Chico is kinda isolated from major metro areas but has an urban feel near campus. The community is sill impacted by the Camp fire and housing is a little tight. Sac is the state capitol and a real urban center. Most of the students commute by car from the surrounding area. The campus has a lot of trees and open space but the architectures isn’t a pretty as Chico - a lot more angular concrete. Campus is adjacent the American River on one side - the American River parkway is the City’s crown jewel and goes all the way to Folsom Lake. lots of biking, running, fishing, kayaks, etc.

i think the programs quality are comparable so, i wouldn’t let that sway my choice,

lacrosse - i had to google but, it looks like Chico has a legit D2 program while Sac’s team plays at the club level.
https://www.wwll.com/team.cfm?id=1
https://www.csus.edu/soal/sport-and-recreation-clubs/lacrosse/

Weather is pretty comparable…HOT summers, really nice spring/fall and mild winters.

Grad rates favor Chico by a ton - about 30% 4 yr at Chico and 15% at Sac.For a while Sac was the lowest 4 and 6 yr grad rate in the CSU system but, they are investing and that probably has as much to do with the student makeup. More people living in family homes and that family life interfering with a prompt graduation. It is a legit concern and shaped our decision to send our kid to Chico.
https://edsource.org/2019/california-state-university-graduation-rates-show-uneven-progress-some-backsliding/608158

Diversity - everyplace in CA is pretty diverse these days the mixture is a little different but here you go.
https://www.csus.edu/about/
https://www.csuchico.edu/diversity/resources/demographics.shtml

Visit the schools, then ping me with any additional questions.

Very informative, thank you! I’m touring tommorow, so I will let you know if I do!