@Gumbymom and all other experts:
My Daughter got accepted by SDSU (first choice originally), however she just got notice from UCR that she also got accepted, waiting for UCSB at this time (unlikely).
We are from OOS, visited SDSU last year but didn’t see other UC’s, don’t know much about UC school, because her stats are not that good, uw 3.34, ACT26, we thought US’s are not in her range.
Does UCR seem to be a better school per USN ranking? any input please?
Thanks in advance.
I put SDSU above UCR overall especially for Business, Nursing and many of the Pre-professional majors. Also there is no comparison in location. UCR is a very good school academically except for the location and assessibilty to possible internships. UCR is inland from LA, gets very hot in the summer and surrounding area of Riverside is not what you call picturesque. The campus is one of the smallest in the UC system so it has intimate feel but more of a commuter campus. SDSU is also a commuter campus but there are still many Freshman that live on-campus and there is no lack of activities on the weekends. My younger chose SDSU over UCR for CS and has never been happier. What is there not love in San Diego? Good luck with her decision. Either school will give her a excellent education so it will come down to fit.
So you are willing to pay $100K+ or more in OOS fees to send your D to a UC? Note that there is no financial aid offered for OOS fees, no matter your financial situation. I’m often surprised that people decide on a UC instead of sending their kids to publics in their own state or a state with a reciprocity agreement, but as a CA resident let me be the first to thank you for considering such a generous donation to the UC system.
Thanks Gumbymom!!! so 99.99999% she will choose SDSU.
I know we will pay full tuition for her as OOS, money is very important to us, but Socal is always her dream place+school she wants to go to. I guess I have to support her without choices 
thanks for all replies.
Although I got accepted to both UCR and SDSU and waitlisted to UCSC (This year was the most competitive year for all of the colleges in the UC’s) Rankings are important, but what you make of college is even more important. I already decided and chose UCR over SDSU and a possible acceptance to UCSC. It all depends on her major really. UCR is far more STEM orientated but its Humanities and Social Science departments are still ranked pretty high. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/ucr-1316 This is UCR’s current ranking on US News but it will most likely move up some spots because the school had to become a lot more selective because they can only accept the same number of applicants as last year despite a record number of applicants. The average admitted GPA for students in 2014 was a 3.77 but Im sure that average jumped up to 3.79 or 3.80 because of said reasons so basically its getting hard to get into. That being said here is SDSU’s rankings http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/sdsu-1151 SDSU is ranked #149 for all national universities while UCRs is ranked #113. Even though I would agree that SDSU is in a way better location it still has more commuters than on-campus students just like UCR and is known for being the party college in San Diego. SDSU is somewhat known for its academics but its known more for its sports than anything. Both are great schools but overall UCR is better academically and thats what counts for me. Hope this helped
@UCNerdx10, thank you.
I would not rely on rankings only, especially on overall rankings. Each school has their high ranking majors, so you need to pick and choose which school would fit you best in academics, social scene and overall fit. Visiting both campuses is really the best way to get a feel for what is the best choice. I personally loved both campuses on my visits, but that is me and not my son or any of you CCer’s out there. You @UCNerdx10 or your D @WindyChicago11 will be spending the 4 years at the school, not anyone else so it is up to her to choose.
Something to consider is the 4-year graduation rate. UCR is 41 percent and SDSU is 34 percent. SDSU is a compacted school. It can be a struggle to get the classes you need for graduation in 4 years. Being a resident, we know lots of SDSU students and very few seem to graduate on time… even really focused students. UCR’s rate isn’t that much better but I don’t believe their students have the same issues getting classes. When considering OOS costs… factor in the high potential of an additional semester or two at SDSU.
SDSU is a commuter school but the campus is surrounded by apartments and housing dominated by students. It does spread the “campus feel” well beyond it’s boundaries. I haven’tn’t been to UCR so can’t comment on that.
SDSU offers a MAP for each major which outlines all the courses needed to graduate in 4 years. SDSU has made this a priority in recent years. They do not like having these super Seniors which are going on 5-6 years to graduate. If you have alot of AP credit going in, it will help reduce your course load. My younger son received 38 units of credit for his AP classes, got out of 5 required classes which puts him on track to graduate in 3 1/2 years. The graduation rates are low due to many reasons including not getting classes, not being flexible about schedules (no early or late classes or avoiding specific Professors), changing majors etc, taking less units due to work etc…
Here is a link for MAP. Use the pull down menu for 2014 (2015 not available) and major:
https://sunspot.sdsu.edu/pubred/!mymap.disp
Also at orientation, she will get a personalized printout of the required classes she needs to take including any AP credit.