The only Cal States I’m interested in are Northridge and Long Beach. I constantly hear the stereotype that CSUs are inferior schools to UCs because UCs have always been deemed as more prestigious, but is this really such a big deal? I’m seriously considering going to one of these CSUs instead of going to a CC and transferring to a UC. But my main concern is being unable to get into graduate school or unable to get a job after receiving my bachelor’s degree because I went to a CSU, a “less prestigious” school…
1- UC Merced, Santa Cruz, and Riverside all have higher acceptance rates than both CSUN and CSULB. If all the UCs are so prestigious, why are these ones easier to get into?
2- Is it true that a lot of the people in CSU classes will be students older than the “typical college 18-22” age group?
3- I’ve been told that what matters most for grad school admission is the grades and high academic achievement, as well as the research element. Does the school on the bachelor’s degree matter THAT much? I’m aiming for grad school at USC or UCLA, not an Ivy.
4- I’m not entirely decided if I want to go to grad school right after getting a bachelor’s degree, and I may choose to enter the workforce instead. After looking it up and reading articles for hours on end, I’ve seen so many mixed responses. Some say getting a job with CSU listed on the degree is much harder because nearly all employers prefer a UC grad. Others say it doesn’t make a difference if you had high academic standing at a CSU. Does anybody have any advice, opinions, or experience with this? I don’t want to go to a CSU if I’m going to wind up unemployed…
Any additional experience related to CSUN and CSULB that you would like to share is greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Please!!!
Who the heck have you been talking to? Have you talked to anyone in your industry?
Don’t talk to people who are not doing the interviewing, or who aren’t employed in that profession.
My husband’s firm hires any and all grads. My husband prefers CSU engineers because they’re well trained and have good background internships.
My daughters former firm hired grads from every college in the country. They look at the degree.
I have several degrees from a CSU; I’m in a profession that is desperate for people, but it takes 8 or so years to get licensed so no one wants to do it. It took me all of 1 hour to get hired by phone.
My husband has a engineering grad degree from Stanford. His manager is a CSU grad.
A “prestigious” college may get your foot in the door, but in the end it is what kind of skills/job set you can bring to the employer or graduate school. There are 9 UC’s and 23 CSU’s, so the majority of the California workforce would be coming from the CSU’s just based on the # of graduates.
Completely agree with “@aunt bea”, do not listen to hearsay. Going to a CSU and taking advantage of all the opportunities afforded to you will make you successful.
It may help others help you if you mention your possible undergraduate majors, career desires, and types of grad school you are interested in. Otherwise, you https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/may just get random anecdotes that may or may not be applicable to what you want to do.
In terms of your specific points:
- Admission rates do not tell the full story, since the strength of applicant pools matters. Note that CSULB and CSUN have a strong local area preference, so it is not that hard to get into them if you are in the local area, but may be considerably more difficult otherwise.
- Non-traditional students are not rare in CSUs, UCs, and community colleges.
- Too many "it depends" to give a general answer.
- Too many "it depends" to give a general answer.