<p>I've been looking at colleges lately, and I came across San Deigo State University. I absolutely love the campus, which is extremely important to me, and it's location (I live in NH, so California is like heaven.) It has majors that I'm considering, but I'm not sure if it's a good school in general? Academics wise, I've got no idea if it's good. I've seen alright reviews, but I'm not sure.. The site makes it look great, but I'd like some less biased reviews.:)</p>
<p>A few things important to know:</p>
<p>-It's huge, 47,000 students and most commute
-It's nearly impossible to graduate in 4 years, so plan on 5-6 when budgeting
-It's ranked in the 4th tier
-Many majors are 'impacted' so it can be hard to change majors
-It's considerably harder to get in OOS, so you'll be a top student if you get in
-CA is in the middle of a budget crisis which is deeply effecting schools
-The weather is indeed incredible! About 80 degrees today!</p>
<p>Thanks. :)
Why is it hard to graduate in 4 years?</p>
<p>You can't get needed classes.</p>
<p>Depending on stats and financial situation, there are many wonderful colleges in CA. If you give your particulars, we can suggest some.</p>
<p>My Stats:
I'm only a sophmore, but I'm a big planner, so I've been looking at colleges just for ideas/motivation.
Also, I'm considering early graduation.</p>
<p>I have a 3.9 W GPA.
I'm on student council, class president, on dance team, and I also am on my school's Track team.<br>
I'm planning on joining my school's Honor Society, as well as the English and French Honor Societies, and becoming more active in community service when I turn 16.
I've also signed up for extra classes online.</p>
<p>I believe thats what you mean by stats?</p>
<p>As for my financial sitaution, my family is broke.
I plan on paying by saving what I can, student loans, scholarships, and financial aid.</p>
<p>If your family can't pay, CA state colleges shouldn't be on your list. They have no aid for out of state students.</p>
<p>With good grades and SAT scores, you can get financial aid from private colleges. Look at:</p>
<p>USC
Occidental
LMU
The Claremont colleges: Pomona, CMC, Scripps, Pitzer
University of San Diego
Pepperdine
Santa Clara
USF
Redlands
University of the Pacific
Mills</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I had absolutely no idea about state colleges not offering financial aid to out of staters. :/</p>
<p>Hmom made a pretty fair assessment of SDSU. Usually you get people on the individual school forums that say their school is the best since sliced bread and do not lay down some of the real problems with their particular school. </p>
<p>I would add that SDSU is overrated because of the sports atmosphere. A lot of people have heard of it because of the sports, not the academics. It is located in San Diego, but there is more to San Diego then beaches and waves. SDSU is not particularly close to either. </p>
<p>If money is an issue, it probably would not be a good idea to attend and pay full OOS tuition. The UCs have nasty tuitions for OOS as well, but I think there is financial aid?</p>
<p>hmom has pretty much hit the nail on the head. If your family can't afford a lot for college, then forget about the UC or CSU schools. The OOS costs approach $50K/year and they would offer very little, if any, financial aid to you. The list hmom suggested is an excellent one. Some offer merit-based aid, some offer need-based aid which might apply to your situation. Also, Stanford, but very difficult to get in to.</p>
<p>D goes to SDSU and loves it. She has NOT had problems getting classes anymore than S that goes to UCLA has had. She is also is a soph which put her at the bottom of the registration ladder this year. The problem with kids graduating in 4 is that:
A) They want to go to school Mon-Thu from 10-2. If kids want to graduate on time, they need to be willing to take a few 8 am and 4 or 6 pm classes and also an occasional Friday class. D has had some amazing professors at off hour class times.<br>
B) When majors are changed or a class is flunked, it will add additional classes to the schedule will obviously delay graduation.
C) Many kids only take 12-14 units and may or maynot have AP credit. D only had 6 units of credit, but it did help. It is not that hard at SDSU to carry 15-17 units if the schedule is planned correctly. D has taken 16-17 units so far but should only need to take 14 after this year.<br>
I basically put the challenge to graduate in 4 years on the kid not the school. What I have found at both schools and my D noticed this at SDSU, if the kids have not found a major that they really enjoy and are serious about, the tend to bounce around and not do as well. IMO, it has not been any different at SDSU than at UCLA.</p>
<p>I did good in my sophmore year, junior year first semester i got alot of C's but second semester i got a 4.2. That would leave me with about a 3.5 GPA I am also an active member in 7 clubs and do alot of community service.
What are my chances?</p>
<p>Is your ACT/SAT decent and are you in the SD service area? If the answer is yes, your chances are decent I'd say. If you are outside the SD service area, you will need higher GPA and SAT scores. SD said it will be a little more difficult for out of service area kids to be admitted this year due to budget cuts. You can check it out on SDSU admissions website, plus there is anadmissions calculator there and you can check your chances out based on the average admit points.</p>