<p>Hey guys, I was wondering how some of the top CSU's compare to some of the lower tier UC's.</p>
<p>If possible, can you provide opinions from people you know who may have attended a CSU?</p>
<p>The reason i'm wondering is because i'm seriously considering attending my local CSU. I currently have a 4.0 gpa and will start doing some tutoring come fall, and i was considering applying as either an english major or a philosophy major (my goal was UC Berkeley). Now though, i can't help but wonder how stressed i would be if i decided to go to a UC. Not only with academics, but also because i will be bringing my dog with me, so i'd have to look for off-campus housing and be able to find a job within the 2-3 month period between spring and fall semester. I can't commute, cus i'm in socal (assuming i even got into Cal). The only way i could MAYBE afford off-campus housing would be to rent with someone else...and i don't know how comfortable i would be in that situation...especially since i'm used to being surrounded by all my brothers and sisters.</p>
<p>I also took 5 AP classes in high school and know the kind of competition i'd have at some of the top UC's... and some might call it laziness (i dont)...but i really am not looking forward to working in such a stressful environment again. I have a friend at UCI who tells me he wishes he had gone to a CSU instead because being at UCI gives him no time to enjoy his college experience (his words).</p>
<p>So basically i'm hoping you guys can convince me that going to a CSU is not such a bad choice, lol.</p>
<p>Truthfully UC’s schedule are very wonky it’s really hard to maintain a full-time job while attending full time. </p>
<p>We’re talking 11 am-12 pm classes with 5 pm discussion and other classes that only start at 5 etc. </p>
<p>CSU are good depending on major</p>
<p>I would say Cal Poly would be the only one competitive with most middle tier UC’s aka UCSB/UCI/UCD/UCSD and a step down from berk/la. Definitely better than UCR/UCM.</p>
<p>There are other CSU that do well for themselves in certain majors but you would have to do the research on that. </p>
<p>Taking a dog with you to college is a bad idea truthfully. Most off-campus housing i’ve encounter at UCI hates dogs and if you have to share with someone it’s really alot to ask for them to put up with a dog as well. (I have a dog myself) leave it with your parents if possible.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with csulb</p>
<p>Yeah, see, that’s a problem. My mom doesn’t like dogs, she only lets me have him because she knows how much i’ve always wanted one (though i think she secretly finds him adorable). No one in my family would be willing to take him…not that i’d really trust any of them to take care of him like i would. And i would never consider giving him away to a total stranger.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input, the whole scheduling thing is something i didn’t know about. If i went to the CSU in my city it would only be like a 7-10 minute commute, i’d be paying minimal rent since i’d be staying in my mom’s house, and there would be no problems with the dog.</p>
<p>If i went to my local CSU (long beach) i would major in english to later get my teaching certificate. All of my high school teachers went there, and a <em>majority</em> of them were very intelligent and personable, which, at least in my opinion, gives me a good perspective of the kinds of people that attend that school.</p>
<p>@organic, thanks hehe, that’s the kind of thing i want to hear.</p>
<p>you’re about to make the biggest investment of your life by going to college. and ur going to let a dog determine ur future? are u serious? if ur family doesn’t want to take care of it, just sell it or give it away to an animal shelter.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is the reason I miss community college. They offered night/online/weekend and multiple classes. At the UC it is usually only one large class at one time, which sucks…</p>
<p>@DomCobb, yeah so we’ve been mentioning the dog here a lot, but that’s not the reason i’m considering a CSU, it’s just a part of my life that would be difficult to adjust if i was to move so far away.</p>
<p>Besides, it sounds like you’re implying that going to a CSU rather than a UC will have serious negative effects on my career…in case you missed my stats, i’m actually a pretty intelligent and motivated student, and i don’t think that going to a CSU will change that. It will obviously determine the kinds of people that surround me, but it will not change me.</p>
<p>I’m not even going to touch your last sentence.</p>
<p>Why not UCLA? If you’re up for an hour long commute on the bus, assuming you decide not to live near UCLA, I’m sure you can find some cheap apartment/roommates closer to Downtown LA like in Koreatown. That or just find an apartment by UCLA that allows dogs/pets and then find roommates. If you don’t mind working retail, you could also always find a part time job in Westwood, Santa Monica(third street promenade) or one of the two malls near UCLA(century city or westside pavilion).</p>
<p>For UCLA, I have found that the English department generally has a lot of course offerings, more so than Philosophy. English should allow you a more open schedule without so many gap times between classes/lectures/discussions.
But if in the end, your goal is to teach, at the high school level, it really doesn’t matter where you go. I have a friend who attended a CSU for English, and she ended up only commuting twice a week. Her classes were smaller than what I’ve experienced at UCLA in the English department. The one thing I will say about English as a major/department, is that if you can’t read fast or don’t think you can handle reading multiple novels/books per week, you’re better off with philosophy. The reading(for English) is the most time consuming part, and that will definitely take up your time.</p>
<p>If you want to be a High school teacher a CSU is a great option. Get good grades and leave the door open for graduate school so in case you want to teach at an university you are able to get into graduate school</p>
<p>CSULB, SDSU, and both Cal Polys (SLO and Pomona) are great schools. I don’t know about the English programs at each, but I have friends at each and I’m positive that you’ll get a quality education at all of them.</p>
<p>I’ve taken several English courses at SDSU, and all were great. The lower divisions were flooded with people who weren’t actually English-related majors, so they were a little bit less fun, but the upper division ones were reminiscent of my AP English courses in high school… a lot of quirky fun.</p>
<p>The upper-div courses I took were an English Literature course covering somewhere around the Renaissance up through contemporary literature, and a course titled Literature and the Passions. The second course covered stuff like Zorba the Greek, Wuthering Heights, Lolita, Shakespeare’s Sonnets, etc… basically a ton of passion-filled fun haha. My writing certainly improved through both courses, and some of the most interesting people I met at SDSU were in those English courses.</p>
<p>The English faculty seem to be very involved as well, and even as a non-English major in the courses I was given the opportunity to participate in several really cool graduate workshops and presentations of literature.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for the other CSU programs, but I can’t really imagine how UCB or UCLA’s English program is much better than SDSU’s, and I recommend it.</p>
<p>^ I don’t really care for Berkeley, but your name is awesome! LOL</p>
<p>I think you should go to a CSU because it sounds like you’re not up for the challenge that a UC would provide. Although, I’m not too sure that a CSU will provide the more laid back experience that you are looking for. I guess it depends on the campus, the major, and the person. </p>
<p>I know some people are willing to do whatever it takes to get into a UC, and some…just aren’t. If you don’t care, or if you don’t want to attend a UC school, then open up a spot for somebody who does.</p>
<p>Cal Poly is the flagship CSU, and I’d say it’s on par with (if not better than) UCD, UCSB, and UCI.</p>
<p>You know how they rank schools, right? They do it by the most contribution from students, like you, after they succeed in life. More money = high rankings</p>