CSUCI or CSUN?

I’ve been trying to decide between these two colleges for the past month or so. I was rejected from my #1 choice school, and further narrowed it down to CSU Channel Islands or CSU Northridge. I’ve been accepted into Channel Islands majoring in Biology and Northridge in Microbiology. I don’t know what to choose, and deadlines are coming up to make a decision, so I’m getting a bit desperate.

CSUN is more established and likely has more programs and opportunities for internships in the area. Not only that, but I would have disability/ priority registration which would help me get the classes I need. I’m also worried about the academics - CSUN has more specialized classes offered in the field I want to go into compared to CSUCI. I’m worried that choosing CSUCI would negatively impact future applications to jobs, grad school, etc.

On the other hand, I much prefer the campus of CSUCI. I think I would be much happier going to school there. And that’s a big concern for me. When I visited CSUN, I thought it looked depressing. I’m worried about going there and hating it. CI is just so much… greener, I guess, and there’s so many hills nearby. Plus, there are less distractions nearby, which would help me focus and get better grades. I also think that a smaller campus might give me the chance to ask teachers questions/ attend office hours moreso than a large campus, which would help me get letters of recommendation for graduate programs.

What are your career goals with your majors? Cost differences? Comparison of curriculum courses and electives?

Being happy is important since Happy students are usually more successful but you need to take into account the academics and they would fulfill your goals.

I will just say that my brother has been going to CSUN for the past 2 years and he has said that it is not the best campus ever, but it is still highly satisfactory. The community is very diverse and friendly, and the housing is very nice as well. I have taken 2 campus tours and visited my brother in housing multiple times (they have recently added very nice facilities) My answer is very biased (since I am an incoming freshman to CSUN in the fall of 2020) but I am sure CSUCI is nice too and both are good options.