Hi, I would like to hear from those who received admission from both Cal State and UCs but at the end decided to go to Cal State instead based on different factors. I wanted to learn more about your or your family’s decision process and present those stories and factors to my DD so she knows there are different options. I mentioned in different threads that she is happy to go to any UC that admits her but she also received admission to an impacted Cal State CS major just 20 min from home, my DH really hope she chose this Cal State (Fullerton) instead of UCs but she would rather go to UCR for Economic than CS in CSUF at this moment. Thanks for your sharing in advance!
@jjkom:
Our thought process for my younger son picking a CSU over a UC.
CS major and got direct admit into all the schools except SJSU. Accepted to CPP, CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, SDSU, SJSU and UCR with Chancellor’s Scholarship.
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Money not an issue since we are full pay.
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SJSU accepted in Software Engineering but not CS.
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CPP: too close and wanted to dorm (10 mins away).
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CSUF: good CS program, Ok with campus but didn’t feel it was right for him
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CSULB: good CS program, nice campus but went on a very busy day for a tour and he felt it too crowded and overwhelming.
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UCR: only around $5K more than any of CSU’s. Well regarded CS program. Loved the smaller campus and people. Not happy with the location but willing to consider it a top candidate until visiting SDSU.
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SDSU: Son said it felt right the minute he stepped on campus. Beautiful campus, great location to many activities, liked easy access to the SD trolley and the Amtrak for visits home for the first year, interested in Greek life which is an integral part of SDSU student culture, found the CS curriculum to his liking and it was 2 hours away from home (far enough for him but not too close for Mom to visit often).
SDSU was his ultimate choice.
As a parent, I did have my favorites but in the end I was not the one who was going to be spending 4 years of studying at any of these schools, living in the dorms and interacting with all the students. I think “fit” is important and it is true that a Happy Student= Successful Student.
@Gumbymom thank you so much for sharing! I can’t believe it’s coming from you as I have been reading many of your posts and you have been guiding so many people! You are the CC celebrity in my eyes! 
We are also full pay, UC is a bit expensive than CSUs. DD didn’t want to do too many college tours but we have been to most of UCs (except UCM and UCR) and some CSUs (LB, Fullerton, SLO) by not SFSU, SDSU and SJSU. She wants to hold off until she receives admission as they are all quite far.
I appreciate your sharing on the importance of “fit” and respect kid’s opinion when making final decision. When I went to college, I wasn’t considering “fit” as one of the factors, just need to love the school you attend. And when my DH went to college, he was considering “cost” more; my best friend consider “ranking “ as most important factor and willing to take on 2nd mortgage for his DD to east coast private school. Hope more people will feel comfortable to share their decision journey with me here.
My older son went to UC Davis which was around $10K/year more than SDSU but my younger son has found a way to even out the $ we spent on his brother. He did join a fraternity so dues and frat activities were additional costs along with more expensive off campus housing than his brother.
I am a CPP alumni and lived about 20 minutes away from campus. Originally planned to go to CSULB but housing was an issue back in the late 70’s - early 80’s and my parents were self employed so not at lot of disposable income. Commuting to CPP worked for me and I feel I didn’t miss out on anything by being a commuter. These days so many kids feel they need the whole “college experience”. I was happy to pay for their college and have them graduate debt free. This was something my parents did for me and I felt it was important to do for my kids also.
I agree with @gumbymom - for these schools, fit should be the top consideration. There are 23 CSUs and 9 UCs, each with its own personality and feel. They all produce well qualified graduates who are sought after in the workforce. A kid that may thrive someplace like Sonoma or Humboldt would probably flail someplace like UCB, UCLA or even LB or SDSU. Not because of the academics - what is taught in Econ (or CS for that matter) simply isn’t that different. How it is taught (class sizes, Grad Assistants, etc) and the student population (size, demographics and the level of up-tightness) does vary a lot more than you’d think.
See where she gets in, visit those schools, talk to existing students about their living situation, access to classes and ECs -sit in on a class or two, then help her put together a pro/con list like Gumbymom did above - I think the choice will be pretty clear to all of you.
A number of these schools are changing pretty rapidly. For example, CPP and SJSU have both added tons of on-campus housing so, the experience of a grad from several years ago may be less relevant. Trust your gut… and more importantly, trust your daughter’s gut. It is a lot more reliable than some abstract list of ‘best’ programs.
Thank you @NCalRent ! I will wait until we receive all admission and do some pro/con analysis. I will support my DD’s decision!
For my oldest son, we eliminated the UC’s as an option before applying, even though he was a high-match at the three that we visited (Davis Santa Cruz, and Merced). Since he was going to pursue a Liberal Arts degree (English major), paying the extra price for a research university didn’t make sense.
He also wasn’t interested in most private schools that we visited, except UOP. Some of that was about location (out of state) or campus size (too small). A lot of it was price. Most privates were offering discounts that put them in line with UC prices.
We focused on the CSU’s for the most part because of the price and the variety of options he had. Even then, he was mostly focused on Sac State simply because it was close to home and a good school. We are local, and MANY of the Engish teachers in our school district are Sac State alums. He ended up choosing Cal Poly SLO mostly because of the campus feel and geographical reasons.
That being said, my son’s original first two choices were Santa Cruz and Sac State (by default). As parents, we really struggled with wanting to give him what he wanted most (Santa Cruz) even though Sac State made the most sense financially and academically (for the most part). When we finally came to the conclusion that it just didn’t make sense to tack on another $30k to $40k for the same degree, it kind of took the wind out of his college search sails for a while. Even more problematic is that our younger daughter is way more of a STEM kid and we might very well determine that a UC is the best route. Try explaining the equity in that cost-benefit analysis scenario to a teenager who has fallen in love with a campus.
Luckily, he became much less deflated when he really started examining his options. Obviously, Cal Poly has a great deal going for it. Originally, he wasn’t even considering it, but since it was part of the CSUMentor application, he tossed it in as almost an afterthought. We didn’t even visit until after he was accepted. But he also really took a genuine interest in Sac State after he took a tour with his mom. It wasn’t just the “easy” choice. They did a great job showing off all that school has to offer. It opened his eyes to the fact that his attitude about being engaged in school was just as important as the school itself.
My daughter wants to be an engineer and she fell in love with the Cal Polys. Their ‘learn by doing’ approach resonated with her. She loves the idea of jumping right into her field instead of spending 2 years doing GE first. She loves the concept of having hands-on labs for every science/engineering course, since to her that is the most fun part of science. These opportunities simply aren’t available at the UCs.
I attended a CSU for two years and I think it all comes down to fit. The one I went to did not have the “name” of SDSU or CPP/SLO but I knew people who chose it over Berkeley and UCLA. It really comes down to fit. There’s so many different opportunities at each of the CSUs. Personally, the people I knew chose the CSU because of the smaller class sizes and a less competitive atmosphere, as well as more opportunities to be involved on campus (student government, etc is much more accessible at smaller CSUs)
@Gumbymom thanks for so much help to so many! My daughter has 99% decided on SDSU for Fall and it came down to best overall fit for her over several other great choices. She’s social and fun and will be involved in sports and other campus life, but isn’t planning on joining a sorority and worries if Greek life is so integral to the SDSU culture that she’ll end up not liking it as much or feel out of place. Do you have any insights into the experience for those who opt-out of Greek because it’s just not their thing? I read only about 15% are in Greek so figured it must be just fine but would love to hear what others think.
Thank you all for sharing your experience with me! My DD and I will be visiting SFSU, SJSU and UCSC next week, and attend UCR’s Highlander day after. I do hope I will receive CPP and SDSU decision next week so we can tour the school! So far my DD is leaning more to UCSC just by the view, major and ranking. My DH is really concern about the pot/drug/marijuana scenes shared by many people. It’s getting so close to making decision and need to really plan and apply for housing.
there inst a college in CA that’s not surrounded by pot and other drugs. I believe all of the CA publics prohibit its possession/use on campus and make a point of busting a couple of kids early each semester to set the tone. The ramifications of being busted vary campus to campus - but, they at least claim it could result in being kicked out of the dorm and dismissal from the school. But, there’s little they can do beyond that - especially now that it is legal. I don’t think UCSC is any worse than SDSU, UCB or anywhere else.
For what it’s worth, my DD didn’t even want to apply to any UCs (and she didn’t). She did apply to CSULB however, and it was all about the programs the schools offered. No UC offers the dance BFA that she wanted to pursue, but CSULB does.
Pot/drug/marijuana scene is just sort of a thing wherever one goes. Might be more prevalent in certain places, but if your daughter is really concerned about it, that’s a good sign. With that mindset, it’d just take some maneuvering.
I had to factor this is in too when it came to deciding my college this year. Figure I’d focus on school anyway and not let it be too big a problem.
Also, visiting the campus might impact your student’s decision as it did mine. I researched one school’s program and everything (fantastic btw), but the campus just wasn’t my ‘fit’. Logically it was the best, but until I was there I realized it wasn’t my school. So yeah, that week you guys visit the schools might change things.
Wish you guys the best.
DD will choose Cal Poly or SDSU as they offer liberal studies for teaching prep. The UC’s tho, would offer her the Blue and Gold Scholarship which i cringe at turning our backs on. She would study sociology there and get and Education Science Minor. She prefers the liberal studies curriculum. she’s only waitlisted at those UC’s but if she gets in may stick with the CSU. I’d like A) for her to be happy and B) to be able to afford it, and it appears A will trump B. so that’s why she may end up at CSU over UC. She was admitted to UCSC but isn’t feeling it. @norcalmom123 how can i msg you? similar questions regarding Greek life. thanks everyone for great posts…
@university2go, has your daughter checked into the four year integrated teacher education programs? They should be up and running next fall at 20 of the CSU campuses. If she wants the fastest track directly into the classroom, there are options. Here’s a link:
thanks @AMCdad, definitely will further investigate!
@university2go, I bumped an old thread that discusses these integrated programs. That’s where I first heard about them.