I'm looking for CSU's by the beach to use as safeties...

State Forums
1

<p>I have a few private schools that I'm going to apply to in the fall, and my counselor suggested I apply to 2-3 CSU's as safeties. I'm looking for a campus that is pretty and that I would enjoy living at. Here is my criteria, don't worry if your suggestion doesn't fit perfectly.</p>

<p>1) High-rigor academics: An environment conducive to success, but without cutthroat competition.</p>

<p>2) Strong psychology and/or education departments: Knowledgeable and experienced professors, great academics, great post college-successes, etc.</p>

<p>3) Opportunities to explore other majors: I'm not completely sold on psych or education, and I want to be able to a) explore different majors and b) be able to switch fairly easily if I find something I love.</p>

<p>4) Good career services: In this economy, I'd like all the help I can get.</p>

<p>5) The social life: Where not being a drinker and/or a party-er is not looked down upon and does not affect your social life (little to no peer pressure).</p>

<p>6) The people: accepting of one another, generally happy, no cliquey feeling... everyone is there to succeed and experience college together.</p>

<p>7) The professors: a school focused on the undergraduate academic experience, with professors who are willing to meet with you outside of class, answer questions readily, want to help you, care about your success, are knowledgeable and experienced in their respective fields, etc.</p>

<p>8) The residential life: most students live on campus, great dorms, hopefully a substance-free dorm.</p>

<p>9) Size: a primarily undergraduate school with a small to medium-sized undergraduate population; excellent student to faculty ratio; very small class sizes.</p>

<p>10) Geography: I would like to be close to the beach. I'm open to city/urban/suburban, anything but rural because I have lived in a small community for my entire life and would prefer to live near a larger population. </p>

2

<p>Cal Poly SLO would be a good fit although it is very competitive and would not be considered a safety. It is not rural but it is more isolated than most of the CSU’s since it is not near a large city but near the beach. Most Freshman live on campus but not most students.<br>
CSU’s are mainly considered commuter schools since they were designed to serve the local area students, so the majority of students will live off campus by their Sophomore year.<br>
SDSU within 20 mins of the beach is another CSU that may be a good fit, but again very competitive and although it has a “party school” reputation, it really is not applicable these days. The school has really made some strides in overcoming their bad image but again you will find mainly Freshman and some Sophomores living on campus but not all students. Most CSU’s have large class sizes for the GE type classes but the upper division classes will be smaller in size.<br>
The only other CSU near the beach would be CSU Long Beach. Not a small undergraduate population, but near several beaches and good academics. Again not a safety, depending upon your STATS.</p>

3

<p>Stats:
Female
White
I attend a public high school in northern California that sends few students to top schools. Most go to the local community college.
I will need financial aid. Badly.
I’m considering a major in psychology, education, or pre-law. I would honestly love to pursue pre-law, but I’m worried about the price of graduate school.</p>

<p>Scores:
ACT:
Composite 33
English 33
Math 30
Reading 35
Science 34
Combined English/Writing 30
Writing 8</p>

<p>SAT:
Composite 2140</p>

<p>GPA (9-12) W: 4.2667</p>

<p>Advanced Classes:
Freshman year: Honors English
Sophomore year: Honors Earth Science, Honors English, Honors Geometry.
Junior year: AP US History, Honors English (Academic Decathlon), Honors World Geography/Religions.
(Planned) senior year: AP Language, AP Statistics. (I know, not very challenging, but my school is small and this is all that will work with my schedule & grad requirements.)</p>

<p>A’s or A+'s in all of these.
APUSH: 4
AP Lit (self studied): 4
Will take: AP Stats, Language, Govt, and maybe an Econ test.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>2013-2015 School Newspaper - Editor-in-Chief (2013 was the inaugural year. I helped to found the paper and was elected as editor by my peers.)
2013- Current Journalism Fundraising Club – President
2012-2013 Associated Student Body Member
2011-Current California Scholarship Federation (Hopefully president senior year, will definitely be in a leadership position.)
2014-Current Ecology Club (Hopefully president senior year, will definitely be in a leadership position.)</p>

<p>2011-Current Frosh, JV, Varsity Volleyball – Middle Blocker (“Most Inspirational Player” junior year, likely captain for senior year)
2011-2012 Frosh Swim Team
2012-2013 JV Soccer - Goalie - Most Valuable Player</p>

<p>2011-Current California Scholarship Federation – Community Volunteer
2011-Current Humane Society - Volunteer
2011-Current ATCAA Food Drive
2013-Current Bear Service Club
2011-2012 American Field Service</p>

<p>Academic Honors:</p>

<p>2014 Academic Decathlon Regional Competition

  • Overall High Scorer, Honors Category
    – Gold Medals: Social Science, Music, & Super Quiz.
    – Silver Medal: Interview
    – Bronze Medals: Essay & Art</p>

<p>2012 -2013 Student of the Year: World History, English II Honors
2013-2014 Student of the Year: Journalism
2013 Sophomore Scholar – Rotary International
2014 Junior Scholar – Rotary International
Honor Roll all through high school</p>

4

<p>Your STATs look very competitive, so I would apply to Cal Poly SLO, SDSU and CSULB, but I would still not consider SLO a safety. Many rejections this year for applicants with similar STATS. Good Luck.</p>

5

<p>Your STATs look very competitive, so I would apply to Cal Poly SLO, SDSU and CSULB, but I would still not consider SLO a safety. Many rejections this year for applicants with similar STATS. SDSU and CSULB are matches… Good Luck. </p>

6

<p>Okay, thank you!</p>

7

<p>SLO meets all of your criteria except #3. It isn’t simple to change from one major to another. I’ll attach a link to there policy regarding changing majors. Also, SLO isn’t a safety.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.academicprograms.calpoly.edu/academicpolicies/Policies-Undergrad/Change-major.html”>http://www.academicprograms.calpoly.edu/academicpolicies/Policies-Undergrad/Change-major.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>You might want to check out CSU Channel Islands. Just a couple of miles from the beaches, smaller size. I’ve heard good things about the profs from students who go there. </p>

9

<p>SDSU is 20 minutes by car. CSULB is near the ocean but it takes a lot to get to the actual beach. These are both very commuter campuses. SLO is very competitive and you may get in. Financial aid is based on your family’s income so fill out the FAFSA. </p>

10

<p>CSULB is ~ 3 miles from Belmont Shores & Seal Beach. My $.02 having attended one and living near the other for many years: CSULB is much more of a commuter school than SDSU. You may want to consider the honors programs at both those schools. Good luck! </p>

11

<p>The three obvious choices for you would be SFSU, CSU Monterey and Humboldt. SFSU and Monterey are just minutes away from the ocean, while Humboldt is close to the water with a number of oceanography courses.
While these schools many not have the same year-round heat and sunshine available in Southern California, they all have surfing, diving and strong beach cultures.
If you are a top performing student from Northern California, all three would be academic safe schools for you,
and probable financial safeties as well.</p>

12

<p>Pre-law can be done with any major, as there are not specific course requirements. But high GPA and LSAT score are necessary to get into a top 14 law school (law employment is highly dependent on law school ranking).</p>

<p>You may want to look up the teaching credential requirements in California, as this is often done in post-bachelor’s study after majoring in the subject you want to teach.</p>

<p>CSU Monterey Bay is non-impacted so it will admit based on CSU minimums, offers psychology, is a mainly residential campus, and is near a beach (not necessarily warm, though).</p>