<p>I was doing some research on how expensive different undergrad schools can be and to my surprise it seems the cost of going to Sac state is as much if not more than UC berkeley.</p>
<p>It's very likely than I'm just misreading this but it does warrant a question of how much do these schools actually cost? Is Berkeley that much more expensive than Sac state or some other CSU? My housing costs would be fairly low regardless of which school I went to so it's a matter of all the other costs (Tuition, Books, Utility,etc). I'd really appreciate some help on this because if the difference in cost between csu and uc isn't at least 5-10k per year then I might as well go for the more prestigious school.</p>
<p>I didn’t see where they calculate it out, but it is much cheaper than the $29,000 for international students. Most CSUs are around $18,000 including room and board.</p>
<p>No, I’m a CA resident and would be living with relatives regardless of which school I go to so long as it’s in California.</p>
<p>edit: Oh I just the big “international” badge on top of the page (doh). ok so it looks like the difference is right around 10k. Hmm, kinda depressing :(. </p>
<p>According to this:
[CSU</a> | Student Academic Support | Campus Costs of Attendance for 2009-2010](<a href=“http://www.calstate.edu/sas/costofattendance/#sac]CSU”>http://www.calstate.edu/sas/costofattendance/#sac)
if you are a resident, living with relatives and attending Sac State would cost you $15,638. Living with relatives and attending UCB would cost $24,092
[UC</a> Berkeley Financial Aid and Scholarships Office » Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm]UC”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm). You are looking at the off campus living cost, which is not the same as living with relatives. What field of study are you looking at? not to be a snob, but there is a difference between UCB and Sac State. If you are that concerned about the costs, perhaps two years at a CC and then transferring to UCB is the way to go? Anyway, make sure you are looking at the right figures. You were comparing the costs for an international, out of state student for Sac State and Cal off campus.</p>
<p>And as you can see from the CSU chart, most CSU campuses are NOT around $18K, but closer to $22-25 with room and board.</p>
<p>Yeah I realized my mistake thanks to “calla” up above. And I’d be studying computer science with a focus on software engineering. I already plan on enrolling in Sierra college (A ccc) which , unless I’m mistaken agai, would shave off about two years regardless of whcih school I end up in. Just to clarify btw, that is the cost per academic year, correct?</p>
<p>Yes, these are the costs per year. And note that they do pad the figures a bit so that people will be fully prepared. For example, they add food and housing costs in their calculations even when people live with relatives. And $1,000+ for transportation.</p>
<p>Most California CCs charge about $50 per unit plus some facility fee. $1700 a year is a fair estimate. </p>
<p>Thanks to Amazon and Chegg, the cost of books and supplies will be close to the same no matter where you are. </p>
<p>Assuming your commute costs will be similar, attending Sierra will probably save you $5k per year. The trick is transfering in 2 years. Sierra used to make that tough due to class availability. I don’t know what it is like now but talk to some current students and see.</p>
Attending a CC can have the potential to add time to your educational goal. You can avoid this and finish there in 2 years if you are prepared and make a plan. Scour the transfer sub-forum and UC transfer sub-forum here on College Confidential to really get a grasp on what is required to transfer and plan out the steps you need to take (and the classes you need to take!) to finish CC in 2 years.</p>
<p>LOL Berkeley and Sac State. My two college applications.</p>
<p>I’m the one scouting the pages to give the CSU’s some reputation:
Sacramento State can be the better choice…
-a 3 year engineering degree living at home (albeit unlikely unless you’ve abused the heck out of AP credit) is less than 1 year at Berkeley in cost.
-a practical vs. theoretical education and plenty of work experience in the state capital to guarantee a job instantly after graduation (CS majors I know are interning as sophomores / juniors)
-small class sizes and professor attention (leads to impaction, but if the random person just happens to have a ton of advance standing from AP)
-less of a hectic sabotaging competitive atmosphere, reducing stress levels</p>
<p>~I want more people to choose Sacramento State over the UC’s as most of the people I know from a competitive high school opted to go to places like Berkeley and I get looked down upon / the “oh” response when alumni learn what college I decided to go to… Idk, just after first semester you get that college ego boost.</p>