So DS was accepted into Chico as his major ( mechanical engineer). He just was waitlisted into Csu Long Beach and it doesn’t say which major. I’ll call and ask once they reopen after the Spring Break.
Chico State- great quality of life, especially for a mountain biker. No car needed and college town.
CSULB-Better known for engineering and even has a graduate program for ME, Boeing on campus, better chance for internships.
Concerns- LB has poor air quality, huge overwhelming city. Wait listed
Chico may not get an internship or later job in his field so easily.
If anyone has any experience at all with the wait list process ( chances, money lost on reserving the other back up school, etc.) it would be greatly appreciated!
Why not matriculate to CSUC but stay on the waitlist at CSULB?
The chance of getting into CSULB (and in his major) off the waitlist is generally very low, so he should make other plans as if it were not going to happen. But if it does happen, he has the option to switch (but losing the deposit at CSUC).
My opinion: Dump LB in a heartbeat and enroll in the awesome university that is Chico State. Chico is not only a beautiful campus, it is also a tremendous value. Chico’s quality of student life is a 10/10.
There is really no choice here. He should consider the waitlist at CSULB as a rejection, SIR to Chico State and apply for housing. If by chance he does get into CSULB, then it will be up to him and you as his parent to decide if it is worth forfeiting the deposits for Chico State. Hopefully if that time comes where this decision needs to be made, he would already be vested in Chico State and excited about attending.
I have been unable to find any waitlist stats for CSULB, but getting into ME from the waitlist will be tough.
Bump for more. Thanks. Any brutally honesty is appreciated. These are tough decisions. We plan to matriculate to Chico. I will warn him regarding low chances of getting off of wait list. I wonder if there are even more hurdles to get into the engineering programs there? I wonder if its even worth driving 8 hours each way to tour the engineering department? Greatly appreciate this community’s wisdom and it helps me to help guide DS.
As others have said, go ahead and SIR to Chico and remain on the waitlist at CSULB if that’s really his first choice. You can always cancel the SIR (and lose your deposit) if he gets in off the waitlist. The waitlists can take a while to clear, so in the meantime he’ll probably go through the process of picking a dorm and other stuff at Chico that he’d otherwise miss out on if he didn’t SIR. Going through all the entering-freshman activities will help make it seem real so if/when a CSULB rejection comes through, it’ll just be a blip on the radar.
Several LB personnel were rude to me and my family, one unbelievably so. They were choice #1 until visitation/audition and then we all wanted to just get the hell out of there. What a waste of time! Chico State, on the other hand, was home to an immediate family member who graduated in 2011 with an undergraduate degree and a year of international studies in Germany before attending UOP for his Masters. He loved EVERY minute of his Chico experience and speaks of it fondly. Chico is the best CSU in the system IMHO and have strong engineering, computer science, nursing, and teacher training departments. YMMV.
@ucbalumnus and @Gumbymom
Yes we will enroll in CSUC and plan for that. I am just pondering on the likely hood of getting of the waiting list at CSULB. But, you mention its low. After reading the wait list thread, it seems its super low such as 1%-3%? Please correct me if I am wrong.
Many schools put their waitlist stats on their common dataset. I cannot find any information for the last 6 years so your guess is as good as mine. Everything will depend upon how many ME accepted students SUR by May 1.
Chico will be exactly as great as your son makes it. He will have every opportunity to excel if he commits wholeheartedly. My Chico State engineering friends (from days long, long ago) have had successful and productive careers in both the public and private sector.
As a parent, you may love the “College Town” vibe of Chico as much as your child does. The campus and the town run together in an almost seamless way. Yes, it can be a bit “rustic” in the off-campus student housing areas, but my friends’ children who are attending now love it there. Just make sure that your son always has air conditioning. I lived without it for two years. I survived, but it’s not fun.
If CSULB has expected or over yield for ME or the campus overall, his chance of admission from the waitlist is 0%, since either the ME major or the campus will be “full”.
If CSULB has under yield for both ME and the campus overall, there may be a possibility of waitlist admission. Probably based on how close his CSU eligibility index (the engineering version) was to the original admission threshold for ME there.
Thanks. Now I just need to decide if its worth driving through LA traffic for a tour over Spring Break for a maybe 0-who knows what percent chance of him getting off the wait list…
Keep in mind, your son has only been accepted into one school. Don’t visit CSULB…don’t put any more effort other and saying he wants to be on the waitlist and notifying them of any major updates (awards won or what have you).
Sstart investigating Chico and get your mind around Chico. Keep CSULB on the back burner.
Another Chico enthusiast here but, i wouldn’t visit any school while you are on the waitlist. All it will do is reinforce confusion about the grass being greener elsewhere in an already full brain.
Very good points here, thanks. He was accepted to many OOS, with the WUE. Also accepted into CSUN and CSUCI.
for the CSUs applied. UCs, just Riverside as his 2nd choice major. He is not into schools which have accepted him other than Chico thus far which are in state. OOS, will cost more and the WUE ones have snow. So, he likes Chico and it works economically and seems to be a good fit. I just want to make sure he has well thought out decision. I think that the decision to drive thru LA traffic and get his hopes up by investing more into a pie in the sky is a bad idea now. We will skip it. No tours for wait lists.
We have family friends who have sent three kids (one Val, two sals) who went to Chico. The youngest will graduate with a MechE degree this spring. Turned down PolySLO and has no regrets. Has had internships every summer and a FT offer in hand. It’s a great town! We visit there every summer.