CSU Long Beach or CSU Fullerton?

I am a senior graduating in June. I am applying to about 10 schools, mostly UCs (I am a California resident), and a few private schools. I haven’t really thought about CSUs until this week. After doing some research, CSULB and CSUF both seem like pretty good schools and they also cater to my major (Business Admin). They’re also in a really good location from me. I am from the Bay Area and I want to get away from home but stay in-state, SoCal just seems like a good place. With my stats, could anyone let me know what might be a better fit for me, if either one is really a fit for me at all?

Weighted and Capped GPA: 3.90
Unweighted GPA: 3.77
Weighted GPA: 3.90

SAT Score (My highest): 1210
ACT Score: 25

Extracurriculars: Track and Field (1 year) , Powerlifting (4 years) , Graphic Design (4 years), Tutoring.(on and off for 1 year)

I’m applying to UC Davis, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara too but I have a bad feeling I won’t get in. These two CSUs seem like they would be my safeties but I just want to make sure. What do you guys think?

Apply to both if you can! They’re both great schools but I prefer Long Beach!

You may also want to add SDSU which has a good business program. SLO is also very good but a high reach for you just like the UC’s on your list.

It’s all one application, so I would suggest you figure out with your parents how many CSU’s you can afford to apply to, and apply as widely as possible. You haven’t really done enough research at this point to be clear on which ones would be best for you, so keep as many options open as you can.

Use this tool to search majors that are offered at the different CSUs: http://degrees.calstate.edu/

Fullerton is one of the few to offer a Business Analytics concentration, so keep that on the list if you think you might want to tilt your program in that direction, which is great for employment prospects.

What kind of atmosphere do you want? Look at aspects like how many students live on campus… although pure numbers don’t tell the whole story, as being a commuter student in LA is very different from, for example, living off campus in Arcata and attending Humboldt State. I would suggest HSU as a school to consider, as it has an undergrad business program and would be just as much of a change of scene from the Bay Area as heading south. Chico, too, could be worth a look (particularly if its “party school” reputation appeals). Sonoma is excellent and offers a number of different Business concentrations. Sacramento offers the resources of a city and a definite change of scene from the Bay Area, at a convenient distance (and nice access to Sierra recreation if that appeals). Also consider Monterey Bay, which has great residential options on the former Fort Ord campus, and Cal Poly Pomona. And San Diego as suggested above, although SDSU has gotten quite competitive too.

Compare 4-year and 6-year graduation rates as you consider CSUs - they are relatively affordable year-to-year, but take into account that graduating without extra semesters is uncommon at some campuses. Also look at what extracurriculars are offered, and at the course offerings in areas of interest outside your major - for example, could you minor or double-major in graphic design if you wanted to?

If your EFC is in the $30K range or above, you may also want to look at out-of-state publics that offer the WUE rate. You can search these by major as well: http://wue.wiche.edu/search1.jsp Schools like the Nevada flagships, Northern Arizona, Colorado State, U of Utah, U of New Mexico, Southern Oregon, Washington State, and more, have business programs, and many can be more affordable than UC’s (and definitely offer a change of scene) if you don’t need institutional financial aid to get your costs below the WUE price.

More info than you asked for, but in case it’s helpful!

  1. You realize that UC Davis and Santa Barbara do not offer a Business Admin major but UCD offers Managerial Econ and Econ while UCSB offers Econ and Accounting. Both will be Low Reach schools.

  2. UC Irvine’s Business Admin major is highly competitive and with UC GPA below 4.0 and SAT of 1210/ACT 25 it will be a Reach school.

  3. You need to target Cal States and possibly UC Riverside based on your stats. Cal Poly SLO would be a Reach school, while SDSU and CSULB probably Match schools but definitely not safeties.

  4. CSU Fullerton would be a safety school based on your academic profile. For more safeties, look at SFSU, Chico State and Sac State.

@aquapt has given you some helpful information and best of luck. Apply widely so you have some good options in the Spring.