ok i live in los angeles and i wanted to attend ssu (sonoma) but it is way up north. so i decided that csuci would be better (channel islands).
however, i am having doubts and not sure if i should just go to ssu anyway.
ssu:
- smaller school
- really nice dorms
- nice campus
- far from home (>6hr)
csuci:
- really small school
- nice dorms
- nice campus
- closer to home (<2hr)
my question is which school would be best fit for me? how are the psych and english programs? i am interested in joining the school newspaper again.
i am dorming on campus.
i don’t care for parties and will not be joining a sorority. i want a smaller school. i will not be bringing a car with me so it would be nice if there were things to do near campus.
ANY HELP IS APPRECIATE PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!
There’s not a wrong answer here. Both schools offer a very good education.
I think you’ve captured it well in your list above.
Have you toured both?
Definitely tour both if you can. You picked two winners here, they are both beautiful and the kids who attend seem to love them. Neither is located in a college town atmosphere, so without a car you are going to want to check out the campus environment to make sure there is enough going on for you. Sonoma has a more established social scene by virtue of being older and far more residential. There are also sports at SSU if that appeals to you. However I’ve heard that the kids who live on campus at CI are tight knit and if you like the beach scene it’s pretty close by.
If you look on google maps, there’s not a lot to do around at Channel Islands State, it’s very rural. However, for Sonoma State, it seems like via Google that there are a lot of stuff to do around, they recently opened a Casino if that means anything.
I’ve heard real good stuff of Sonoma State for Psychology and English, as for Channel Islands State, it still needs time to grow. Also Sonoma is significantly ranked higher than Channel Islands.
Guess I should’ve updated! I committed to SSU on the 26th! Will be attending in the Fall as an English major. 
thanks for the help!
You will love it! Our D graduated from SSU; we live 3 miles from CSUCI. CSUCI is a beautiful campus in a gorgeous setting, but it is a few miles out of town. There is bus service and it is getting better, but transportation around the area w/o a car is not good. Riding a bike into town is not safe. The campus is dead on the weekends- it is still somewhat more of a commuter campus. Great academic reputation but not much of a social life.
SSU is a great campus in a beautiful area. The town is set up for bike riding so it’s easier to get around. My D found classroom size was small and teachers knew her-she got a lot of personal attention. N. Calif has a different vibe from down here and she loved it. The only negative was that traffic from San Francisco to Rohnert Park can be awful! Avoid busy times of day at all costs! Otherwise you should be very happy there.
FYI I live near SSU and what we hear a lot is that because there is “nothing to do” in the area, you pretty much have to be in a sorority if you aren’t a commuter. If you have a car and are adventurous there is lots to do that is outdoorsy - redwood forest, lakes, rivers, ocean, hiking, camping… and also about an hour from San Francisco. The town of RP itself is a ‘bedroom community’ meaning there’s not much except strip malls and homes. Santa Rosa to the north is a small city and beyond that is dairy ranching and wine country. The campus is beautiful and peaceful. You will love it here, congrats.