<p>I have worked really hard all through high school (7 AP classes and other honors classes) and feel like the state system is not good enough for the work I have done these past 4 years.</p>
<p>Here are my thoughts: </p>
<p>UCSB
-love the campus
-worried i won't be able to focus with location/party lifestyle
-don't have many options for my major(s)
-closest to home</p>
<p>USD
-love the location
-like that it is private
-worried it will be too much religion for me (i am not religious)
-cost!</p>
<p>SDSU
-like the broad range of majors
-love the location
-admire the school spirt
-too many people?
-worked too hard through high school to go to a state?</p>
<p>CSULB
-worked to hard through high school to go to a state?
-love the chill campus
-GREAT kinesiology program
-not so good location</p>
<p>have any advice for me?
ANY advice would be appreciated!
thanks :]</p>
<p>Here's the way I see it... Cal States are good in their own right. For instance CSULB has a comparable Social Work Program to USC and UCLA. The biggest difference, other than school prestige, is cost. County Social workers are trained at CSULB and most of the professors are county consultants.</p>
<p>As for Kinesiology... I have no idea what schools are better, but you can't go wrong with the school you think has the best program.</p>
<p>As for UCSB and SDSU... they are great schools in their own right, but the party atmosphere won't come looking for you... You have to seek it out. </p>
<p>CSULB's campus is awesome and is in one of the better neighborhoods in LA... That part of Long Beach is nice!</p>
<p>Don't know much about USD, so I won't speculate, but religious schools make you take religious courses or volunteer in an area related to religion... My cousin had to do that at Pepperdine.</p>
<p>I applied to SB and LB... already in at LB, but if SB takes me... I'm there over LB because the Poli Sci program at SB is much stronger and looks better on a law school app.</p>
<p>If money is not a major issue, I would go to USD. UCSB, SDSU, and Long Beach are all really good places though. I don't think you'd be disappointed at any of them.</p>
<p>Check out the course work for your major at each college. My daughter was accepted into the University Honors Program at SDSU, UC Irvine, UCSD, CSU LB and CSU Northridge. She is going to LB because they have the best graphic design program and they have a BA in it as opposed to a BA in Fine Arts or Multi-Media like many other colleges. The state schools seem to be better for some programs, while the UC's have better engineering programs. You will adapt to whatever college you attend, so find the one that best suits your major.</p>
<p>CSULB is actually in a very nice part of town. Trust me, LB is my hometown.</p>
<p>You're looking too much at prestige...CSULB is a great school, one of the most competitive CSUs. I don't want to go there because I want to get out of LB and it's almost impossible to graduate in 4 years, but you need to go where YOU want to, not where everyone else wants you to.</p>
<p>Because it's so overly-crowded, once you get into major-specific classes it's hard to get the courses you need. Which makes it harder to graduate in four years.</p>