This is my #1 choice right now. I haven’t visited, but it seems great. It’s not too expensive, and the campus looks beautiful (in pictures). What do you think of it?
How far are you from the school? All I heard is that this year they received the most applications this year
My son is a CS major at SDSU and loves it there. It is one of the more competitive Cal states with all programs impacted. He finds a good mix of the academic vs. the social. If you list your CSU GPA, test scores and intended major, I could give you a more informed answer about the possibility of admission.
If you are OOS, SDSU will cost you around $30K/year which includes tuition/room/board. If you are in-state, it would cost you anywhere from around $7,000 tuition only to $20K/year for tuition/room/board. As a Cal State, OOS students receive little to no financial aid so expect to pay full fees.
I’m not sure where 30k is coming from for some people, but I am out of state and SDSU expects me to pay around $40,000 for all of their fees, not including travel fees. I also received no financial aid due to being out of state.
I visited the campus and I honestly hated it. It’s is in a not so nice area of San Diego, and once you step off of campus the area looks terrible, and it is not a place that I would comfortable walking around alone in or at night. I thought the campus looked a lot different in person rather than in photos. In photos it looked appealing to me, but once I got on campus it looked a lot different, in a negative way. I highly recommend you visit and attend their info sessions, because checking online only may not be enough to get an accurate picture of the school.
OOS COSTS:
Undergraduate Estimated Costs for 2015–16
Basic Tuition and Fees:$6,976
Nonresident Tuition: $11,160
On-Campus Food and Housing$15,826
Total$33,962
-
Nonresident tuition is based on 15 units each semester at $372 per unit.
* Freshmen from outside SDSU’s local admission area are required to live on campus for their first year. Be sure to review the on-campus food and housing payment schedule at www.sdsu.edu/housing. Your total cost and payments will vary depending on the meal plan and room type (double, single) you request.
*** Plan for additional expenses that will increase your cost of attendance. For undergraduates, we estimate the average annual cost of books and supplies to be $1,804, transportation to be $1,454, and personal expenses to be $1,392. If these amounts match your personal situation, then you would add them to the overall cost of attendance listed above.
Definitely visit to form your own opinion. Yes the surrounding area is not ghetto just very urban. Also many applicants are under the assumption SDSU is near the beach, but is a 15-20 min drive away. It has the California Mission architecture and I find the campus very nice. Every individual has their own perspective.
One benefit if you are OOS, the San Diego Trolley has a station on campus which allows you to travel around San Diego without the benefit of a car.
@NASA2014 I live in Northeast New Jersey, so pretty far, haha. I would have to move (obviously), but my mom is considering coming with me, so it may not only be me.
@Gumbymom That’s great he loves it! My net price is only $20,428, which is actually close to in-state in NJ. My GPA is 3.4 out of 4 right now. I was a little behind in my classes during MP3 (transferred in January), so it’ll probably be about 3.6 by application time. I took the SATs on June 6th so I don’t have scores yet, and I’m planning to re-take it. On the PSAT I got 1400, so I’m hoping to score a little higher on the SATs. Intended major is social work. NJ is the most urbanized state, and has some pretty bad cities, so I don’t think the area would bother me. I want to be in an urban area. The trolley would be awesome!
@xyz321123 My estimated price is only $20,428, it depends on income. About the area, I’ve heard that it’s hard to distinguish the bad areas in California. But, New Jersey does contain the most dangerous US city (Camden), and many other bad ones, while I’ve heard San Diego “ghettos” aren’t that bad. I definitely am trying to visit before I apply, though.
When you say it depends on income I am assuming your $20,000 is due to financial aid? I’m just curious because I did not receive financial aid, so I am assuming the $40,00 I am instructed to pay is the cost of full tuition. The $40,000 fee also doesn’t include things like meal plans or my choice of dorms, which could increase the price.
@xyz321123; The cost breakdown for tuition/dorms/meal plans Is in post #4 for OOS students which comes out to $33,962/year. If you include transportation/ books and misc personal items it might come out to $40K/year but not tuition only. Are you sure you are looking at the right school? There is SDSU (San Diego state university) which refers to this thread. UCSD (University of California, San Diego and their OOS tuition is approx. $36K/year no dorms or meal plans. Finally there is the University of San Diego (USD) where tuition is $44k/year no dorms or meals. Post #4 is copied from the SDSU website and since I am an SDSU parent, I am well aware of the costs.
Also since SDSU is a California public school, OOS students do not receive financial aid. The $20K is correct for OOS tuition only.
20k is the surcharge applied to OOS applicants, roughly. OR you’re looking at instate costs.
The OOS tuition surcharge is $572 per unit on top of the $6976 basic tuition. Include room/board and that is another $15-16000/year. This does not include your books, personal items nor transportation/flights. Like I stated above in my other posts: in- state will cost around $20K/year and OOS $30K+/year depending upon type of dorm and meal plan. Little to no financial aid available for OOS students. Expect to pay full fees.
@gumbymom @MYOS1634 @xyz321123 Yes it’s the right school, I used the tuition calculator, and got $20428. But, it’s also $372 per unit per semester. With 15 credits, that would cost $5580 extra. That’s a total of 26,008, and when I put this number into FASFA, it estimates I would get 12,740. So, my total per year would be $13,268. Price isn’t really my biggest concern, though, because I’d eventually pay in-state.
If you plan to establish residency, your parents will need to live in California or you will need to prove you are an independent. Here is a link with information and you cannot establish residency for the sole purpose to attend school in California. The residency rules are very strict:
http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/registrar/residency.html
From the website:
Evidence of Permanent Residency
Establishing residence in California for tuition purposes requires that, for at least one full year prior to the residence determination date, you have official and/or legal documents showing that you have been physically present in the state and that you intend to remain in California indefinitely. Living in California or attending SDSU for 12 months is not sufficient to fulfill the requirements.
@gumbymom My mom will probably come, but I’m not sure yet. I definitely want to live in CA my whole life, not just for college. So, is there any way I can prove this?
Unless your parents are moving to CA, you can generally expect to pay OOS tuition the whole time. Other than that, there is almost no scenario where you can establish CA residency after one year.
@arc918 My mom most likely will come, because she doesn’t want to be across the country from me. But, if not, how long could it take before I will be a resident? Cal State (second choice) says if you have proof you’ve moved your belongings, or get a CA license, these are ways to prove intent to stay. I want to work during college, so I would be able to get an apartment eventually. Both of these things can also help me become a resident. So, it sounds like I may only have to pay out of state for the first year.
@newjerseygirl98: This is from the Cal State LA website:
Residency | Cal State L.A.
Determination of Residency for CSU Tuition Purposes
10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CALIFORNIA RESIDENCY FOR CSU TUITION PURPOSES
California residency for tuition purposes eligibility criteria are established by State Law and the California Code of Regulations. California State University implements these Laws and Regulations. California State University cannot alter or waive the eligibility criteria for any reason.
Under California law, if you have moved to California primarily to attend a California institution of higher learning, then you are not eligible for in-state tuition.
Living in California for 12 months is not an automatic qualification for in-state tuition. As part of the residency determination process, lawful residence in California for at least one full year prior to a term’s residence determination date is also considered. The residency determination dates for each term are as follows:
Term
Determination Date
Fall September 20
Winter January 5
Spring April 1
Summer July 1
You must prove through official and/or legal documents that you have moved to California permanently and are not merely living in California temporarily while you attend California State University, however long your course of study may take.
Financial hardship cannot be considered in evaluating California residency for tuition purposes eligibility.
Legal ties that you maintain in another state or country (e.g., state tax liability, a driver’s license, voter’s registration, etc.) will disqualify you from residency reclassification, regardless of your reason(s) for maintaining these ties.
Evidence that you are receiving out-of-state financial support in any way, either directly (e.g. tuition payments, parent PLUS loans, etc.) or indirectly (e.g., parent-purchased or co-purchased residences, parent-controlled financial portfolios), will disqualify you from California residency for-tuition-purposes.
Despite the length of time you attend California State University or live in California, you might not qualify for California residency for-tuition-purposes.
Residency reclassification applications and all supporting documentation must be submitted prior to the residency determination date for the term in which reclassification is requested.
If your status is re-classified to resident for CSU tuition purposes, it will be effective beginning with the term for which the reclassification request is received. Reclassifications are not retroactive, and non-resident fees will not be refunded for previous enrollment terms.
You have to move to call as soon as you graduate hs and get a job, work for a year, then you’ll pay instate tuition. If you enroll in school they consider your moved for your education, and you are ineligible. If you and your mom find a place to stay and live &work there, in October you can apply for admission as a freshman to the csus and UC’s, and as long as you’re admitted and still working in the state in the summer before you’re scheduled to start, they’ll have you pay in state tuition.
It sounds like you would get a Pell grant as well as federal loans. Sdsu has small scholarships you can apply to once you’ve established residency and have been admitted.
. Fafsa
mostly allocates loans.
@Gumbymom @MYOS1634 I’m starting to look into working for a year, too. It does seem easier, especially if my mom doesn’t come with me. For my FAFSA estimate, only $5500 a year was a loan. But thank you both!
Expect to pay full fees for all four years if you are accepted. SDSU is the most popular Cal state in our state. Right now, your GPA is too low to be competitive. Even the supposed 3.6 is too low. OOS students are competing for limited spots with internationals who can pay full fees, so with your GPA, you are not competitive.
Plus, in-state students, especially those who have graduated from local high schools with admissions agreements, have the best odds of getting in. California taxpayers pay huge amounts of tax fees and these fees are nowhere near the paltry sum you would have taken out of a part-time job. If you ask for financial aid from SDSU, your admission chances go lower.