<p>This is pretty open-ended, but could you please list all the good schools you know of in N.CA (and Central Cali, for that matter) and why they're good, etc.? I'd like to hear about all of them, especially good ones with a slightly less than Ivy-esque admissions standard? ;) thank you!</p>
<p>Stanford University
University of California, Berkeley
Santa Clara University
University of San Francisco
University of Pacific</p>
<p>UC Santa Cruz - good arts and environmental program, pretty campus
UC Berkeley - awesome campus, lots of sweet hobos</p>
<p>University of California at Davis may be the one you are looking for. A top ranked public university with less than Ivy admission standards. It is located in what many call the last college town in California...about 20 minutes from Sacramento and 1:15 hrs to San Francisco...</p>
<p>Stanford and Berkeley are at or above many Ivys, although Berkeley is a bit hard to tell who they will take.</p>
<p>University of Pacific is in Stockton...a deal breaker for many.</p>
<p>There are also several State Colleges, in Sonoma, Sacramento, and Chico...but I don't know much about them...I would think the different majors have different levels of strength.</p>
<p>Can anyone rank the best CSU schools on Northern Cali?</p>
<p>The quality of CSU's depends on the major. You can look at US News rankings and such, but really the major is what CSU's are about. You can compare CSU campuses using CSU Mentor: <a href="http://www.csumentor.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.csumentor.edu/</a></p>
<p>St. Mary's College in Moraga is another good Norcal school which does not have Ivy admission standards. The campus is beautiful, the town is boring, Berkeley/Oakland/SF are within driving distance.</p>
<p>I second Univ of Pacific. Stockton ain't much as a town, but the campus is lovely, complete with ivy covered walls. Great, undergrad focus.</p>
<p>Also, Mills College in Oakland for girls, but, then, its neighborhood is lacking as well.</p>
<p>Most Cal States have a commuter atmosphere, with the exception of those located in remote spots (Humboldt, Chico), which are better known as party schools. Sonoma gets good reviews for both academics and sense of community.</p>