Should I attend CSULB or go to CC?

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

So CSULB was the only school I got into besides being waitlisted at Cal Poly Slo and my top choice school, UCSB. I appealed to UCSB but am very doubtful I’ll get off their waitlist. I’m currently trying to decide on whether I should commit to CSULB for kinesiology or just go to community college and transfer to a UC. I mainly applied to CSULB as a back up school and was really hoping I’d get into one of the UC’s I applied to (UCI, UCSB, UCSD, UCB, UCLA). I understand CSULB is still an amazing school but it’s kind of close to where I live and I really want to have a fun college experience that includes living on campus. I still live far enough to the point where I’d have to live on campus but I’m not sure if CSULB could really provide me with what I’m looking for as a person who’s been sheltered my whole life and is looking to be more social and have fun (gaining a good education is a top priority too though of course). Do you guys think I should just do two years of community college and transfer to a UC or attend CSULB?

(I live in California and am interested in becoming a physical therapist if that helps anything)

2

There’s always the option of living on campus as a transfer student. You can try community college and then apply to your dream school(s) along with CSULB.

Just know that if you decide on CSULB it’s very difficult to transfer to a UC later. I work at a state university. UCs prefer to transfer community college students since they need a place to go. If you’re already in a CSU or other four year college they figure you can just stay there and finish your degree. If you plan to go to graduate school you can try for a UC.

My daughter is waitlisted at CSULB. Her top school is UCSB but she didn’t get in. She’s trying to decide whether to go to a community college and hope to transfer to UCSB (which is tough as a bio major) or hope for CSULB.

Good luck.

3

I would recommend going to a Cal State and then transferring later. Yes, not much priority is given to four year university peeps but it’s still possible.

4

I’d say if you really want to go to a UC, you should transfer there from a CC. It’s pretty hard to transfer from a CSU to a UC, so you have better chances of transferring if it’s from a cc.