Questions/Concerns for the City of Long Beach are welcome!

Colleges and Universities A-Z California State University - Long Beach
1

Greetings to prospective applicants and students of Long Beach State University! As of the date of this post, I’ve been living in Long Beach, California for 16 years, and another year in addition to a couple of months before I move out to college.

As LBSU being one of the most popular and applied universities in the nation, I get constant concerns & questions about the city of Long Beach in addition to the school (even though I don’t and won’t plan on attending there). I know every single part of Long Beach as well as the surrounding area, so ANY questions/concerns are welcome! Where to go and where not to go, the culture life, the truths and myths of LB, anything (just post on this thread or private message me)! I’ll try to answer questions about LBSU itself too, but it’s not guaranteed that I may know.

Also, follow the forum rules too when posting. Appreciations and good luck to all future LBSU applicants! :slight_smile:

2

Hello,

I’m planning on attending CSULB in the upcoming fall but I haven’t gotten the chance to visit the campus given that I live abroad. So I hope you can provide me with some insights regarding the location/area of long beach and the school itself. Is the immediate area around CSULB safe? And how culturally diverse is the city of long beach? If you could give some tips on where to go and where not to go, that would be great too! :slight_smile:

3

Not trying to hijack your thread, but I thought I’d chime in.

Safe? I would say its all relative to what you are used to. I used to live in LB (Channel Point Apartments right across from the campus) with a GF at the time that knew nothing, but the Orange County bubble (Huntington Beach , Newport Beach , Laguna Beach, Costa Mesa ); at first she was uncomfortable with the area but slowly warmed up to it. Are you coming from a small town or bustling city? What sort of community are you used to?

LB is extremely diverse community with many ethnic minorities commingling, does it have its seedy areas?Yes as with most cities, but what I consider safe will be different from others given my experience(I’ll let others chime in on this area of “safe”).

From Broadway to 4th street and on to 7th street you’ll find LB Arts district with many coffee shops, dive bars, and small shops; I hate putting labels on things but most people consider the crowd there as hipsters, but w/e.

2nd Street/Belmont Shores (like its counterpart in SF, this is the largest concentration of LGBT in S. CA) has restaurants,shops, bars etc… Its pretty much a main street that many locals and tourist gravitate to more so on the weekends.

CSULB being located not too far from the coast will give you access to numerous beach cities; heading south you’ll find Seal Beach AKA Mayberry by the sea / Surfside then Huntington Beach. Im comfortable in saying that the further south you head the less diverse it seems to become, but make the most of it. FWIW everyone I surf with that live in HB, prefer the diversity and access to arts/culture that Long Beach has to offer; however, on that same token they are globally conscious, culturally sensitive, and socially aware individuals.

I could keep going on, but as you can see Long Beach is pretty diverse. Like I said, more info on yourself and the type of social environment/community your are comfortable will help establish/narrow down what you may be suggested.

4

Thanks for the lengthy reply!

Well I’m from the island Curaçao and nothing too exciting ever happens so it’s great to know that there are events around in long beach.

I live on the outskirts of the city but not really in a small town. I’m used to a calm and quiet environment but I don’t mind the the city life. I know it’ll be quiet an adjustment either ways when I move to college, given that I’m transitioning from an island life to that of a big city.

But I mainly wanted to know if CSULB is near any “ghetto” areas or if there are any specific areas that I should avoid or be careful in.

5

@ElAye2OhSea It’s OK, if anyone else is or did reside in Long Beach CA they may reply to concerns anyone has. :slight_smile:

@lynnevip I’ll give you my perspective.

The immediate area around Long Beach State is very safe, the only bad part is this little section on Atherton and Palo Verde where 7 Eleven and Pizzamania are…I don’t know why, but every time I go there it’s either dirty or I see homeless people there…and then it magically becomes safe a block later. Stay on campus at night though, Long Beach is sketchy regardless of the area at night.

The city…okay, Long Beach is one of the most diverse cities in the nation. However it’s mostly consisting of Hispanics and Caucasians. There are a good amount of Africans and Asians too however. Everyone is usually (I say usually because I’ve seen some immature adults…or people in general around) welcoming of one another - especially at Long Beach State. I love the majority of the student body at LBSU, most of them are cool & nice.

Highlighted areas are dangerous areas of Long Beach, this city is literally half safe and half dangerous. Downtown LB is good, but once you go above 4th street it becomes bad. Also, the reason why there is a huge safe gap between Southwestern LB and North LB is because of Bixby Knolls, for some reason, that area is super safe and isn’t affected by the surrounding areas. North LB is by Compton, the area by seaside freeway label is the port, and southwestern LB is where all the true ghetto people LB lives and thus has a huge impact in that area.

Also, Signal Hill is one of the top areas of Long Beach, it gives you a beautiful view of LB all around if you go on the very top. Lakewood is decent, super safe in the afternoon, but dangerous in the night (I’ve heard several times that Lakewood Mall is scary in the night, I’ve never experienced it though).

6

@lynnevip Also, between Long Beach Blvd and the LA River with PCH up to the SD Freeway, it’s the only safe & fancy area of the highlighted area, but to be honest I doubt you would need to go there unless if you want to go to a Christmas Parade there (and even then there are a bunch of parades going on dedicated to Christmas lol).

Also if you don’t have a car, use the metro to your advantage. Make sure you go with someone your first time in the day and try to at night as much as you can. The metro will take you all the way to Culver City, USC, LA Chinatown, Norwalk, Staples Center, Downtown LA, and a lot more stuff…just be warned though, you will pass by Compton and other questionable areas (and no homeless people don’t go in there they get usually caught for not paying their ticket). You’ll have to take some city buses to the metro too, sadly the metro system isn’t by Long Beach State, you’ll have to go to downtown to experience it from the beginning.

7

@elefish92 I agree with a lot of what you said, except for the lakewood part. From what I’ve experienced, it’s pretty safe at night; I went to the movie theater near lakewood mall at 12 am this morning and it was not scary at all.

8

@DPattt Hm, interesting. The people who told me either exaggerated or experienced the night when they were kids…xD

Yeah but I don’t believe it, Lakewood is a great city, except for the student body at Lakewood HS, lol

9

That we can agree on haha @elefish92

10

Hi! I’ve been living here for years too.
what do you think a Freshman should do on their first year; commute and stay with their parents even though they live in LB (to save money) or live in a dorm for the experience?

11

@decemberjoy

It really depends on the individual. I know several seniors from my secondary school who are residing on-campus and several seniors as well who are living at home with their parents.

First of all, the main reason why commuting for an average college student tends to be cheaper than living on campus is because of the room and board. Your parents already handle the room and board for free (well for you, not for them). However, if you’re using a car it may be close to or even more than if you were to live on campus. So you’ll probably drive a lot (DON’T forget about the parking fees and time constraints). The only exception is if you live in a desired walking distance from the campus. Now on-campus LBSU, it’s around $11K for the whole year.

Now just remember that it is a once in a lifetime experience, literally. If you feel like living on campus is the right choice, seriously, go for it; it will be a pain a butt to regret it for the rest of your life. You’ll meet new people (with over 56K frosh applicants, there will be some very bright and top students outside of LB living on campus), get used to the campus so it won’t be a pain if you decide to commute later on, and especially represent the school much more.

If I were you, I would do both. Definitely live on campus for the first year. Then start saving the money sophomore year and on by living with your parents or even friends. Talk to your parents and other folks also, I’m just one person & one viewpoint.

Now if you REALLY care that much about money, then go ahead and live with your parents for all of your years at Long Beach State. Average difference between on-campus and living at home is $7,064 (don’t take this as an absolute figure, it’s just to give you an accurate idea of how much money you’ll be giving BUT you can easily be below average of how much more money people give to LBSU on-campus than at home).

12

@elefish92 Hi, I’m an international student at American River College in Sacramento, CA. And I’ve heard that CSULB has a great Graphic Design program. I was wondering whether that’s true? (It’s my major)

13

@thepreacher I just know one friend who has a sister who’s majoring in Graphic Design over there, and a couple of aspired Graphic Design majors who want to go to Long Beach State in high school. I haven’t heard anything specifically bad over there. However, as you may know if I had to choose a department that would be the most concentrated and successful it would have to be the Arts edging over Business. You’re not too far from big art companies in this area and you have Hollywood.

“Our alumni can be found at every level of the design and advertising community. Several have gone on to illustrious careers with national and international reputations. Inclusions of alumni work in leading professional journals, such as: Communication Arts, HOW, and Print, is commonplace.” - From the department site of Graphic Design at LBSU.

I would give a thumbs up for Graphic Design at LBSU, but this is all I know. Also, expect a lot of Asians in Graphic Design. I don’t know what’s up with that but I hear that a lot.

14

@elefish92 Aah cool. haha… I’m asian. So… I’m cool with that.

By the way, is it true that the residents of LB gets priority?

15

All CSUs have a “service area,” and students with that zone get priority at that school. LB residents, along with some surrounding cities do get priority at CSULB.

http://web.csulb.edu/depts/enrollment/admissions/local.html

16

Basically what arc918 said, I have guaranteed admission to Long Beach State and I just have to do the minimum CSU requirements (but I’m not planning to go there). It’s one heck of a hard school to get into though outside of the LB area, so you should be proud of yourself. The same thing goes with Long Beach CC, they have guaranteed admission also as long as they do the minimum requirements. I don’t know anyone, from CC or HS, who got denied from LBSU except those who didn’t do the minimum requirements.

Also @lynnevip - One of the moderators had to remove the link since it’s against the rules, which I didn’t know about. If you still need the picture of the dangerous areas I’ll be able to give it to you by e-mail.

17

What are some of the highlights of living in Long Beach? And what do you do for fun there? Or is it mostly centered around the beach? I’m pretty sure it’s more fun than Sacramento… But y’know, just wanna know what’s there.

18

@thepreacher Let me be completely honest with you. There’s nothing rare of Long Beach besides the Aquarium of the Pacific and the area around there including the Queen Mary. Otherwise, it is your typical suburban city. However, if you own a car you will have easy access to many facilities such as Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Six Flags, Staples Center, etc. If you don’t have a car, you’ll probably be on campus a lot. Long Beach does have several parks and golf courses however, and there is a huge park named El Dorado that is not to far from LBSU. If you like the LGBT culture it is a huge thing by downtown on Broadway. Also, the LGBT people follows “pop culture” aka they make themselves look obvious that they are LGBT sexuality. LB is nothing to brag about but it’s alright as long as you are staying in the correct areas. Nightlife is very good in downtown though. Oh Signal Hill too, make sure to go on top of it, you will get a beautiful sight as if it were panoramas of Long Beach, LA, and you can even see Knotts from there if you look closely.

Honestly, the majority of the fun things I do are outside of Long Beach. The majority of the parks & golf courses, LB Towne Center, and everywhere by the Aquarium are the most fun things there. However like I said, nothing to brag about. There are buses and the metro train to go to more of the “state of the art” facilities around LB.

It’s mostly centered around the beach; it’s honestly overrated. Even LBSU’s chant for athletics is “GO BEACH!”.

Be aware though, there will be a culture shock if you haven’t seen any ghetto areas/people. It’s a huge deal here and some high school kids do try to act ghetto and stupid (annoys the f**k out of me even coming from a HS student). LBSU is in one of the best areas in Long Beach though. But if you grew up in Sacramento, I guarantee you will be fine. :slight_smile:

19

Hey do you think Long Beach locals have to do math their senior year? (you know despite the minimum requirements) I’m deciding whether or not I should take math as a senior this fall. (I don’t want to risk graduation because I suck at math honestly) Will not taking a math my senior year affect my chances to go to CSULB?

20

@decemberjoy - Although for locals you just need to meet the a-g requirements in order to recieve acceptance, a math is recommended by the CSU in senior year. If you do not want to do a math, do something quantitative like Chemistry or Physics. It will be extremely hard for you to do a math in college for General Education. Also, I currently know people who got into CSULB with Algebra II in senior year.

You just need Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, and that is it. A fourth year is recommended.

If you want something that is not too math intensive, do not attempt Pre Calculus or AP Calculus. Those are the only ones I would watch out. AP Statistics is somewhat because it is English intensive as well, believe it or not.

If you guys have Finite or FST, I recommend those courses instead - those are doable for anyone. Just practice.

Good luck, and I hope you become a 49er.

But to answer your question in short, no it will not, although you will have a very tough time in college since you will have to take a math from General Education. It is recommended for a reason.