Colleges in California?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>i'm looking for a city with:
good weather
"green" people
social scene- indie music, restaurants, shopping
outdoor activities/beauty
possibly near the beach</p>

<p>interested in art (photo, film, design), environmental studies, nutrition and fashion
somewhere with possibly some required courses but flexibility in course selection.</p>

<p>I had originally gone to school in brooklyn and although I like being in a big city, I'm pretty sure that's where i'll be getting a job AFTER college. So right now, smaller is okay for me, as long as there are still things to keep me occupied.</p>

<p>Weather is a big thing for me in my college search, and that's kind of why i'm looking into California. I would say more so northern California though because i really want to be somewhere green and outdoorsy. I'm used to have all seasons and like that, but really don't want the cold anymore. Heat doesn't really bother me, but extreme heat does.</p>

<p>I'm looking to go somewhere that doesn't have a ton of required courses (if i can't avoid that it's okay) and I want to be able to take art classes. I just can't decide if I want to go back to an art school necessarily. I had about a 3.0 in hs and a 1650 on my sats. I would say i'm a decent writer, better in english and science and not so great in math. I was also pretty involved with activities. </p>

<p>I'm not necessarily looking for a party school but somewhere I can enjoy myself and not be too overwhelmed. A school that is somewhat respected is important but not really anywhere too competitive. HELP!</p>

<p><em>if anyone thinks of a fit of a school that isn't in california, i'm interested to know</em></p>

2

<p>pitzer.....?</p>

3

<p>Are you transferring or entering as a freshman. Transfer stats may make a difference?</p>

4

<p>entering as a freshman. i left before getting credits on a medical leave.</p>

5

<p>University of San Francisco?</p>

6

<p>Why Nor Cal if you hate extreme heat?
So Cali meets your description..</p>

7

<p>Maybe Pepperdine? I think that it's in Malibu.</p>

8

<p>Santa Clara University - in Silicon Valley, never gets very hot other than a week or so in the summer, winters are mild. Campus is beautiful, the beach is an hour drive/bus ride away, as is the city of San Francisco via Caltrain. Social scene in nearby San Jose.</p>

<p>If you want a fun big city, look at San Francisco State.</p>

<p>UC Santa Cruz meets most of your criteria but your stats will keep you out, unfortunately.</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
Why Nor Cal if you hate extreme heat?
So Cali meets your description..

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Um, are you kidding? Everyone knows that NorCal has more moderate weather than SoCal. The Bay Area almost never goes below 50 degrees at its coldest, and rarely over 80 at its hottest. SoCal's summers are death, compared to the Bay Area's...
(Also, who calls it "So Cali"?)</p>

10

<p>"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." I grew up in Santa Barbara and went to college in San Diego. Both have, arguably, the best weather in the world...so why do I live in NJ?
Try UCSD, UCSB or USD</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
I had about a 3.0 in hs and a 1650 on my sats.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The op has respectable stats, but suggesting he/she apply to the UCs as an out of state student seems unrealistic. These are extremely competitive schools and are very difficult for in-state students who are under the top 12% in stats state-wide to get into.</p>

<p>Here is information about the CSUs where an excellent education can be had:</p>

<p>[url=<a href="http://www.csumentor.edu/%5DCSUMentor%5B/url"&gt;http://www.csumentor.edu/]CSUMentor[/url&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/p>

12

<p>yes, i'm aware of the UC's guidelines for admission. quite sad. </p>

<p>i'm wondering, will i be respected the same with a degree from a state school in california as i would in the north east? i have nothing against california, i've just been told by someone that i wouldn't.</p>

<p>(i originally went to pratt institute in brooklyn where i could probably leave and get a job easily, but really was unhappy.)</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
Um, are you kidding? Everyone knows that NorCal has more moderate weather than SoCal. The Bay Area almost never goes below 50 degrees at its coldest, and rarely over 80 at its hottest. SoCal's summers are death, compared to the Bay Area's...
(Also, who calls it "So Cali"?)

[/quote]

Eh. When I think of Nor Cal I think of my uncle's house up in Fremont, and don't tell me it doesn't get scorching up there. And quite the opposite, it gets COLD.
Don't waste your time replying about your beautiful weather up there. I'm not getting into who has the best weather.</p>

14

<p>If you can get admitted to San diego state I would recommend that. While it's not In norcal obviously, but the weather is exremely nice and moderate there. It's around 70s year round and rarely gets over 80. The city of San diego is pretty big, not comparable to NYC, though it has some good culture, Spanish based, sports teams and more. SDSU also is a rather large campus with like 40000 people and intercollegiate sports. Hope that helps.</p>

15

<p>* Eh. When I think of Nor Cal I think of my uncle's house up in Fremont, and don't tell me it doesn't get scorching up there. And quite the opposite, it gets COLD.
Don't waste your time replying about your beautiful weather up there. I'm not getting into who has the best weather.*</p>

<p>NorCal and Socal extend beyond Fremont and the valley & Inland Empire. San Francisco and Santa Monica both have average summer highs in the low 70s and winter highs in the low 60s.</p>

16

<p>Okay, so I go to Pepperdine & here's a bit of information on the school:I am currently a first semester freshman at Pepperdine and I came all the way from Pennsylvania in search of a unique religious perspective that I never found at home. Well, I definitely got that at Pepperdine, but it wasn't exactly the perspective I was looking for.</p>

<p>The professors are probably the most helpful teachers I've ever come across in my academic life, but unfortunately, I could not say the same for the students. Don't get me wrong, not all of the students are bad and I really like the friends I did make, but some of the students preach religious tolerance and then freak out if you aren't like them. I must say, I break boundaries a lot (i.e.: I have pink hair and was agnostic upon coming to this school so that makes me the devil), but I feel like Pepperdine has actually sapped my creativity so much in the past couple of months that it isn't even worth it to try to be your own person anymore. It seems like everyone here is so happy all the time, but sometimes I feel miserable and it seems like I'm the only one.</p>

<p>Pepperdine has something that I jokingly (but actually pretty seriously) refer to as "The Pepperdine Bubble." I am not making a common assumption, but a lot of people at Pepperdine have been sheltered for most of their lives and have been sent here by their parents in hopes of continuing their sheltered lifestyles. Most of them undergo culture shock upon coming here because they realize that the whole world isn't like their all-boy or all-girl school (some are home schooled too). They act condescending a lot because they feel like they are being "saved" and someone like myself who didn't believe much until now is going to hell. It's a strange feeling, but I believe that I am teaching people as much about the world outside of Pepperdine as they are teaching me about what goes on inside this secure little "bubble." I truly thank them for teaching me so much because I feel as if I had never learned anything at school until I came to Pepperdine, but sometimes I find myself asking, "Is who I am really worth changing for 'success'?"</p>

<p>About the wealth issue, wealth is a common misconception at Pepperdine. There are A LOT of wealthy people and yes, it is common to see a BMW or a Lexus as every other car when passing through the parking lot, but that shouldn't be a reason to diss the school and students really don't flaunt their wealth like it was rumored they do. I am probably the poorest student at Pepperdine and I get along just fine with the wealthy.</p>

<p>About the religion thing, Pepperdine isn't as bad as people think they are with religion, but the students can be. Sometimes I just wish there were more people like myself to give DIVERSE opinions. It's very frustrating being different, which is something I have never said before in my life because I'm a journalism major and we're supposed to get paid for our creativity. Pepperdine is mostly Republican, and don't listen to the Republicans on campus who try to tell you they are the minority. PEPPERDINE IS MOSTLY REPUBLICAN & VOICES VERY STRONG POLITICAL OPINIONS. That wouldn't be an issue for me if I didn't constantly deal with people freaking out when they ask me about my political views and I relate that I support Obama. If they're going to ask my opinion, they shouldn't freak out if it doesn't match theirs! I support their stance as Republican, so why can't they just support mine?</p>

<p>Yes, the nightlife at Pepperdine sucks. Malibu is a BEAUTIFUL area, but it is basically in the middle of nowhere and to get anywhere you have to drive at least 30-45 minutes. I don't have a car, which is AWFUL at Pepperdine, but I have friends who are generous enough to take me out on the weekends to Hollywood and so on and the nightlife here is great if you know where to go.</p>

<p>The nightlife situation brings me to my next point: RULES. PEPPERDINE HAS WAAAAY TOO MANY RULES! We are in college now and we're not allowed to have members of the opposite sex in our dorms after 1 am. It doesn't even matter what you're doing because you could even be studying, but you will get split up at 1am. Also, Pepperdine IS a dry campus and the rumours you hear as far as that goes are true. I personally don't mind this rule because I like being at a school that doesn't showcase bumbling drunk idiots falling down the staircase in your dorms while you're trying to sleep/study during the week, but I'm sure not everyone agrees with me on that. So, if you want to drink, either make some friends at USC or UCLA so you can go down there for the weekends and still enjoy the quietness and aesthetic beauty of the Pepperdine campus, or go to a different school because Pepperdine is not for you.</p>

<p>Also, no one is ever here on the weekends!!!! Everything in Malibu closes at 8pm, even on weekends, so everyone just goes out of town on the weekend and if you don't have a car or family nearby, most of the time you're stuck on a barren campus. I personally found this extremely hard to deal with because I am so far away from home and not only do I have to deal with homesickness, but I've never felt so alone in my life. I feel like I don't have any real friends here yet, but then again, I haven't really been here that long (like 2 months) so I think that's normal since I'm usually not very trusting to begin with, but I feel like there's virtually no one here that would get along with me anyway, even though most upper classmen I talk to tell me that you eventually find people with similar interests even though it is more difficult to find them the more eccentric you are.</p>

<p>Pepperdine is a challenge, and believe it or not, I'm truly not sure whether I want to transfer or not because I don't know where I want to be in my life and I have no idea where I'd like to go for journalism. Loneliness and conformity are pretty much the two biggest problems at this school, but I believe that if you're strong enough (which I really hope I am), you can fight them and become a better person upon graduation from this school. Don't be afraid to email me your questions about the University because I work at the school's calling center and usually know the most updated information about the school.</p>

<p>Hope this helps you decide!</p>

17

<p>Occidental might be worth a look. Lewis and Clark comes to mind, too (However, since Lewis and Clark is in Portland you might have a negative perception of the weather, but it certainly in "green" and may have the campus and community feel that you're looking for.)</p>

18

<p>It's pouring here in Northern California today. The kids are going to trick or treat in showers, and for tomorrow's Cal football game, we expect to sit in full rain for the entire game.
I guess the weather is better than New York, but do not make the mistake of lumping together Northern and Southern California weather-wise.
I agree with Cryto's suggestion of San Diego State University. The weather is truly great in San Diego year-round, the beaches are fantastic, there is a lot to do, and you should have a good shot at getting admitted.</p>

19

<p>I live on both place Northern Cal and Southern Cal for a very long time, so I think I know. Northern Cal is much cooler in the fall/winter vs Southern Cal. Southern Cal is cooler in the summer if you live near the Coast.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Also, no one is ever here on the weekends!!!! Everything in Malibu closes at 8pm, even on weekends, so everyone just goes out of town on the weekend and if you don't have a car or family nearby, most of the time you're stuck on a barren campus. I personally found this extremely hard to deal with because I am so far away from home and not only do I have to deal with homesickness, but I've never felt so alone in my life. I feel like I don't have any real friends here yet, but then again, I haven't really been here that long (like 2 months) so I think that's normal since I'm usually not very trusting to begin with, but I feel like there's virtually no one here that would get along with me anyway, even though most upper classmen I talk to tell me that you eventually find people with similar interests even though it is more difficult to find them the more eccentric you are.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>hellodolly, it takes time to make friends. My daughter feels the same way and she is from California. She finally called to say she made one more real friend who is not from CA, on top of the 3 CA friends she's made so far.</p>

20

<p>My D applied to Pepperdine, SCU, and Occidental as well as the usual UC's. I thought of suggesting these for a transfer student. I'im afraid the GPA and SAT my make admission at those a little reachy. Great options though. Even excluding weather, they are very different. Each would be a good fit for one, but not for someone else (i.e Occidental vs . Pepperdine....maybe SCU somewhere the of middle.)</p>