<p>Im at senior in CT and I've been looking at schools in California, and so far San Marcos has been one that has interested me. SDSU also looks good, but it seems to be a pretty big commuter school and would also be a reach for me. My question is, what is life at CSU San Marcos like? I know it's not a massive party school, but is there enough going on that life wouldn't be be boring there? I'm not a huge partier or anything but I'm looking for a school that has a decent nightlife as well as good academics.</p>
<p>Can I ask why you are picking California?</p>
<p>I’m not sure that I would come from out of state to attend a CSU, unless it was Cal Poly SLO. (I’m a Californian and think the CSUs are solid schools, but figure that each state probably has an equally good choice in state.)</p>
<p>You might consider a community college in CA and then transfer as a junior, and you could potentially be instate by then.</p>
<p>Why would you pay out of state tuition to attend a CSU that has zero national recognition when you live all the way across the country? And chances are good that it will take you 5 years to graduate due to cutbacks in course offerings across the board at all CSUs. You’re also very unlikely to obtain residency for CSU purposes as California makes this very difficult, so those 5 years will be full pay at out of state rates. On the other hand, California is welcoming full pay out of state students, so if you’ve got decent stats you’re likely to get in.</p>
<p>This doesn’t sound like a good plan, sorry.</p>
<p>Edit: seems like your mom lives in San Mateo. If you can graduate from a California high school, you’ll be eligible for in-state tuition. Is that possible for you?</p>
<p>I’ll be able to apply for in state tuition because my mom is a state resident so that’s what I’m planning on. Plus I’ve lived in CT my entire life and am ready for something new.</p>
<p>Don’t be so sure, California doesn’t make it easy to obtain residency for tuition purposes.</p>
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<p>[San</a> Diego State University | Registrar](<a href=“http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/registrar/residency.html]San”>Residency For Tuition Purposes | Office of the Registrar | SDSU)</p>
<p>Have you considered SFSU? Much closer to San Mateo, you could commute if you had to.</p>
<p>I’m sure. At worst I will have to pay one year of OOS before establishing residency which isn’t bad. I definately do not want to commute, and I’m looking mostly at the San Diego area because I like it a lot. I liked Chico State a lot as well, but it seems isolated and kind of in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>Chico state has a lot of partying going on. So it’s not going to feel like it’s an unsocial place to be. May not feel like the safest place to live, tho. Then again, where does it feel safe?</p>