I looked at San Marcos but I would rather have the college experience. I will probably go to Cal State LA if I get denied.
@sdsupride: Not sure what you mean by having the college experience. CSULA is more of a commuter school than San Marcos. If you truly want a “college experience” look at Chico State and Sonoma State which are more residential campuses. The majority of CSU’s are commuter schools.
We get that you want to be a San Diego resident. You did all of the tourist stuff, that none of us locals have time or can afford to do anymore, so you fell in love with the “tourist part” of San Diego. Just remember that locals get priority, so the “underperforming” schools in San Diego have their stats included in the averages. If you are from OOS and have okay stats, you need to realize that it will be tough and expensive. It is a very strong school that has a huge alumni network for internships, along with active sports teams, and loyal alumni. Being from Tennessee adds to diversity of the school, but priority points go to locals, then instate, then CCC transfers, then, full pay OOS and international candidates. This school, along with the Cal Poly’s and Long Beach, get large amounts of applicants. It attracts very strong students from all over the world.
I agree with @Gumbymom’s advice^, don’t be surprised if you can’t get in or if you were to get in, getting into a major.
Since SDSU is a California public school, there is political pressure to admit more California residents: $40k per year is what your basic costs will be. You are not eligible for in-state residency for the 4 years of a Cal state education.
Yes, San Francisco is expensive, but San Diego is getting really close to the same costs. Housing costs are ridiculous. You should have more than a few safeties.
I am still applying to San Diego though because it has been my dream for two years. I really want to be somewhere with a big Hispanic culture. I just applied to Arizona State, Univ of New Mexico, and Florida International in Miami as backups. I also applied to Univ of Tennessee at Knoxville as a safety. I really hope I don’t attend Knoxville though because I hate the football school atmosphere.
If only they looked at extracurricular activities and community service. I have over 200 hours of Community service
The Show is big with the Aztecs, so, football and basketball are huge!
There is a huge Hispanic population in town but not too big on campus.
“I believe that we will win!!!” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SDSU_Show
Did you look at the website???
Also, I would like to add that I am applying for the Psychology program. I took Dual-Enrollment Psychology and earned an A. I also have A’s in my other social science classes. Will this make a difference in my admission?
SDSU is an impacted campus meaning all majors have more applicants than spots available, so it does not matter which major you are applying, it is still competitive.
For 2015, there were 3417 Psychology applicants and 999 admitted. 2016 numbers are not in but SDSU had a recorded # of applicants last year around 83,000 that was a 9000 increase over the previous year. Apply but unless you bump up your ACT score, it will be a slight Reach.
I am taking the Act two more times so let’s see how this goes. I know I sound dorky and all, but I just really want to be in California. I have always dreamed of living here. I feel that if you are basically not from California, then you pretty much won’t end up living here
That’s because anyone, who isn’t a resident, can really afford it. Most residents already have jobs and permanent homes. Nonresidents have to start from scratch. People do it, but are often shocked by the prices, especially of housing.
BTW: Cal state San Marcos is in northern San Diego county. It doesn’t look “pretty” like SDSU (Spanish mission architecture) but it is newer and has a LOT of residential students. People go to North County beaches from there. It would suit you better because you said you don’t want the big SPORTS experience like SDSU. You would have better odds getting into that campus because only locals really know about.
San Marcos is not well known and I want to get an undergrad at a tier 1 school. If I go anywhere besides SDSU, then will go to either ASU or UNM. I like those cities and the cultures.
Just be realistic. Apply to SDSU as one of your reach schools but just have your safety schools where you would like to go. Sounds like you are there already.
People move to California every day. The population keeps going up and traffic gets worse. But having lived in other parts of the country, I understand why people want to live in CA!!
Update: I just got back my Act results. Superscore went up to 25. Any greater chance?
If your CSU GPA is still 3.4, your EI is 930 with an ACT score of 25 and still below the 1000 EI threshold for a solid chance. All you can do is apply and hope for the best.
I’m an OOS student from WA state so I kind of see where you are coming from with the OOS complications.
However, what I’ve noticed is that quite a number of out-of-state students with stats lower than the average had been admitted. I can only suspect that is because SDSU wants to admit these students for the money. I was surprised I was accepted myself. I had a 3.7 GPA W and my UW GPA was 3.4. My school didn’t work off of a 5.0 scale but SDSU still admitted me.
Thanks!!! I feel better now that I might have a chance. If you don’t mind me asking, did you receive any scholarships from SDSU for your freshman year?
It never hurts to try! And you have the opportunity to apply for scholarships in the spring if you get accepted so if you are on top of that you can try to! I didn’t apply for the scholarships (my mistake) because I had certain benefits that paid for my education, but I still would have. Also, if you get on top of scholarships from other third-party sources like ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ you can probably land one too!
Be optimistic about the future. If you don’t get into SDSU, you could take a community college course in San Diego and you can save money and get into SDSU. It may take a longer time, but a lot of my friends have done that and didn’t mind. Think about your options! 
Does anyone know if applying immediately on October 1st makes a difference? What is the acceptance rate of the Criminology program? I am also applying to CSULA since they have a very good Crimonology program.
No advantage to applying early.
Acceptance rate for Criminal Justice is around 19% for SDSU. 2346 applicants and 436 accepted last year.
You should have no problem with CSULA although it is a popular major so more competition.
Do you know how they admit people? Do they just do it by eligibility index and rank you? I go to a very compatible high school and have a lower GPA than the average student at a public school. Every class I have is honors and with a few dual-enrollments. Will they consider this?