Suggestions for good schools in California with good social experience

<p>Im looking for a good college in california that has a good social life( a little diverse), and a good business program .I'm also a average student Does anybody have an ideas or suggestions?</p>

<p>People mean all kinds of different things when they say average. Please post stats and any pertinent info, like budget. Are you a CA resident?</p>

<p>I have a overall 2.9 GPA and scored a 1500 on the SAT. And yes I am a CA resident. I just don’t wanna go to a commuter. I wanna get the whole social experience of college as well as the learning part</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay each year for college?</p>

<p>Don’t many of the CSU’s have good business schools? Your GPA isnt high enough for the better CSUs like Long Beach and Fullerton.</p>

<p>If you don’t know how much your family will pay, ask them.</p>

<p>Yes they do. I’m tryna find a state school that’s gonna be a fun experience, not just a boring school that doesn’t do much outside of class</p>

<p>Chico State</p>

<p>Many of the CSUs are essentially commuter schools. That said, with a bit of effort, perhaps by joining a fraternity, you can find and connect with a group of like-minded fellow students and create your own social scene.</p>

<p>Based on your stats the less selective CSUs do seem like your main option.</p>

<p>CSU Monterey Bay. </p>

<p>You might get admitted to CSUSD but it is a high match/low reach.</p>

<p>Have you attended Chico state?</p>

<p>@whenhen have you attended Chico?</p>

<p>No, but I have walked around the campus and seen FB photos as well as statuses from two hs classmates who go there. CSUC is a residential Cal State for some of the more average students and it gets people from across the state (although primarily from NorCal). </p>

<p>Be warned that business is often impacted and may require higher scores to get in as a direct admit. If I remember correctly, CSU Mentor has a page that lists each Cal States’ impacted majors. </p>

<p>Humboldt State is also one of the residential Cal States. You’d likely get in but might not like the culture. Very marijuana heavy (my best friend’s ex-boyfriend, a pretty big pothead, transferred out partially for that reason) although it’s in a gorgeous, rural area. IMO probably the prettiest Cal State. Be warned that it’s very difficult to reach, especially if you live in SoCal. </p>

<p>Other CSUs that have a decent to good social life where you’d likely get in:
CSU Fresno
SFSU (commuter school but does get quite a few out of area students)
CSU Channel Islands
CSU Monterrey Bay (probably, don’t know much about it)</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>CSUs use an eligibility index for admissions. It is calculated like this:
[CSUMentor</a> - Plan for College - High School Students - Calculate Your Eligibility Index](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU)
using high school GPA calculated like this:
[CSUMentor</a> - Plan for College - High School Students - GPA Calculator](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU)</p>

<p>2900 is the minimum for admission to a non-impacted major at a non-impacted campus. However, most campuses are impacted, and many have impacted majors, so the threshold will be higher.
[CSUMentor</a> - Plan for College - High School Students - Campuses That Have Higher Standards](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU)
[CSUMentor</a> - Plan for College - High School Students - Majors That Have Higher Standards](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU)
[Impaction</a> | Student Academic Support | CSU](<a href=“http://www.calstate.edu/sas/impactioninfo.shtml]Impaction”>http://www.calstate.edu/sas/impactioninfo.shtml)</p>

<p>Monterey Bay is not impacted, and has 85% of frosh and 60% of undergraduates living on campus, according to <a href=“http://iar.csumb.edu/sites/default/files/47/attachments/files/cds2012_2013_2.pdf[/url]”>http://iar.csumb.edu/sites/default/files/47/attachments/files/cds2012_2013_2.pdf&lt;/a&gt; (section F1).</p>

<p>Channel Islands is also not impacted (except for nursing), but does not post its common data set.</p>

<p>OP should visit Channel Islands before enrolling. I am familiar with the school but didn’t recommend it for OP because of the “good social life” and “diverse” criteria. Not that it’s a bad school - it’s actually great, and the people who go there love it. But I’m thinking the OP wants more of a party vibe than CSUCI might have.</p>

<p>OP, have you considered the residential community colleges, such as Santa Barbara City College?</p>

<p>Fresno is more of a match than a safety, IMO. But yes, you would find diversity and a social scene there.</p>

<p>For comparison, the percentage of frosh and undergraduates living on campus at other CSU campuses is:</p>

<p>Chico: 62%, 1%
Fresno: 20%, 5%
Humboldt: 84%, 26%
Long Beach: 28%, 7%
Monterey Bay: 85%, 60%
Pomona: 50%, 12%
Sacramento: 29%, 6%
San Diego: 63%, 14%
San Francisco: 46%, 12%
San Jose: 56%, 14%
San Luis Obispo: 98%, 36%
San Marcos: 51%, 0%
Sonoma: 90%, 37%
Stanislaus: 29%, 9%</p>

<p>A caution with the common data set numbers is that they do not distinguish between off-campus residential students and commuter students; they only compare on-campus (in school-operated housing) versus other housing. The frosh percentages are probably more reflective of residential versus commuter students.</p>

<p>ucbalumnus, these numbers are interesting but as you say, they don’t reflect the whole picture. </p>

<p>For instance, my son attends Fresno. Statistics show it to be a commuter school (and yes, there are commuters) but there are also a huge number of students living close to campus in student apartment complexes (very nice ones!) which are not affiliated with the school. There is also a fairly large Greek presence. </p>

<p>I think the larger schools often have the most diversity and social opportunities.</p>

<p>Figure out your CSU index to see where you stand. The CSUs only consider a sub-set of classes from 10-11th grade and drop +/- so, you cuold be much higher (or lower) than 2.9 GPA. Chico might be a reach for you.Their threshold for non-local students is about 3650 Sonoma State and San Jose are a little more accessable with index thresholds around 3200 for Business. The on-campus housing at Sonoma is really nice.</p>

<p>Sacramento is another option. They have a reputable business school and a nice location.</p>

<p>Yes they do. I’m tryna find a state school that’s gonna be a fun experience, not just a boring school that doesn’t do much outside of class</p>

<p>I’m not sure if you answered our questions about budget and how much your parents will pay. </p>

<p>If your parents will pay all costs wherever you go, then you’ll have a number of choices. However, if your parents will only pay a small or limited amount, that will limit where you can go. How much will they pay each year?</p>

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<p>True, the bigger campuses may still have a lot of resident students in absolute numbers, even if the percentage of students who are resident is smaller. 20% of 22,000 (Fresno) is not that different from 85% of 5,600 (Monterey Bay) in absolute numbers.</p>

<p>^^^ good point!</p>