Im not too sure that money is an issue but it is to some degree which is why I eliminated UCSB and UCI. I’m calling the psychology departments and seeing what each department can offer. Personally, did you have any cons, regrets, or things that could have been better when you went to CSULB? I notice every time I lean towards CSULB more I find myself trying to figure out more research about UCLA. A majority has told me to try UCLA and if i don’t like it then go to CSULB but I don’t know if thats the right approach.
You will easily be able to transfer into LB from UCLA. Much more difficult the other way around.
The downside of going to a place for a year with the goal of transferring is that you might not fully immerse yourself in your college experience. Then you start over again at a new school. If you choose UCLA, go with the mindset that you’re going to make it work. If it doesn’t, at least you tried.
There is no point comparing my experience as a student at LB over 30 years ago. Your experience as a resident will be totally different.
I’m hearing you trying to justify why you should go to UCLA. I’m not hearing it the other way around, but honestly, simply due to the money factor, I would indeed go to UCLA in your shoes. On average, UCLA grads earn about 10k more a year, which is another plus.
Why don’t you look on the website Niche and see what students say about their respective schools? That’s a good way to get a feeling.
Go where you want and will feel comfortable. If you are happy and comfortable, you will perform better academically and be more inclined to engage with the campus community - which opens the door for leadership positions, internships and the rest of the stuff grad schools are looking for. It sounds like LB is that for you.
One thing I’d add is that CSULB is not an easy transfer target from anywhere, Their overall Transfer admit rate is about 33% and avg GPA is 3.34. Note, that’s colored by the ‘local’ applicant (now based on the HS rather than CC) who are held to a lower standard. For someone who isn’t local, the admit rate and GPA threshold is now probably comprarable to UCLA.
an article from a couple of years ago on the topic
https://edsource.org/2016/rising-number-of-rejections-raise-fears-that-long-beach-is-becoming-elite-university/95431
Here’s the current year apply/admit data for all the CSUs
http://www.calstate.edu/as/stat_reports/2018-2019/apps_f2018_all.htm
This will give you the avg GPA by major and source school type.
Public/views/UndergraduateStudents/TransferAVGandSDofTransferGPA?:embed=y&:showAppBanner=false&:showShareOptions=true&:display_count=no&:showVizHome=no
@NCalRent thanks for the links. The data in the edsource article seems off. It was written in 2016 before the new 1600 SAT so I’m guessing the SAT scores were based off of the 2400 test. But an ACT of 33 is closer to a NEW score of 1500. And an ACT of 17 is higher than 800 on the new SAT.
So does this mean transferring from ucla to csulb will be hard?
in a word, yes - transferring from UCLA to CSULB will be hard. Even so, you should go to LB and don’t look back.
@NCalRent . . . I agree that OP should go to LB because that’s where he or she will be happiest. Happiness => doing well in college. You stated, though, that xfers from other institutions to LB from outside of its locale would be approaching UCLA’s xfer gpa. This subset of students who gain admission to UCLA have ~ 3.8 from their originating institution, mainly community college but some inter-UCs also.
Transferring from UCLA to CSULB may be hard, but from CSULB to UCLA would be impossible, with an effective 0% acceptance rate. The thought behind this is that the prospective xfer already is enrolled in a competent four-year institution, so they’re placed (edit:at a) bottom-rung priority. Probably the same idea LB has towards a prospective UCLA xfer to Beach.
looks like my last link was bad - sorry, corrected above
@firmament2x It is possible to transfer from any of the CSUs to any of the UCs - and people do it, just not in large numbers. The same is true in reverse as well…
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfer-admissions-summary
that report (and a few others on the infocenter) used to list CSUs as one of the Source School option. They are now lumped into Other. If you select Residency under Applicant Characteristics and Other under source school, you will see that 176 CA residents transferred from somewhere other than a CC to UCLA. That’s a mix of private schools, CSUs and UCs. At 10%. the admit rate is quite a bit lower than those coming out of CCs but, that’s probably due in large part to incomplete mapping of CSU to UC classes. Someone trying to get into a selective CSU from a UC would face the same issue. That’s borne out in this table from CSULB themselves. Selelct UC as institution type, you will see an admit rate as low as 6% from UCSD and as high as 21% from UCR. UCLA had just 11 applicants and a handful of admits so they excluded their admt rate from the table.
Like UCs, the CSUs also give first preference to CCC applicants. At both .you need to be comfortably above the mid-point GPA to get in from elsewhere.
@NCalRent . . . thanks for the info, good work.
Here’s another set of info that might interest you wrt UCLA (you won’t find any other UC campus which does this: [Profile of UCLA Transfer Students](Transfer Profile | UCLA Undergraduate Admission)
If you click on 2018, in the second data spread, it shows xfers from CSU to UCLA w/ 353 applicants; 36 admits, 10% acceptance; and 24 who enrolled, just about what you estimated. They don’t hyperlink any but only the CCCs. The others, they just present as UCs, CSUs, and Others.
In 2014 and prior years, they used to link CCCs, UCs, Other CA Schools, OOS US Schools, and Non-US Schools. Here’s the [url= <a href=“http://www.admission.ucla.edu/prospect/Adm_tr/Tr_Prof14_Calif.htm%5Dlink%5B/url”>http://www.admission.ucla.edu/prospect/Adm_tr/Tr_Prof14_Calif.htm]link[/url] to Other CA Schools, where the CSUs are recorded.
Congratulations on all your admissions success!
To me, the most important thing you’ve written is “I know i would always feel regret or what if if i don’t choose ucla and give it a shot.”
My own sense is that you are very intrigued by UCLA, but experiencing a crisis of confidence. Do you think UCLA made a mistake by admitting you? Your record of admissions would surely indicate otherwise! I get it – impostor syndrome is real. But you should follow the university’s lead and believe in yourself! And you don’t have to be perfect to be a success.
Yes, diversity and class size matter, and if those are the real reasons you choose one school over the other, that’s fine. But that isn’t really what I’m hearing in your posts. I hear constant undertones of intimidation and fear, which is never a good way to make a decision. Pay close attention to the student’s comment about UCLA being overwhelming at first but then okay as people settle in. Also, be careful to distinguish between “feel” of a school as you walk the campus vs. “feel” of the school as you sit in on classes, speak with students, attend a campus event, meet a professor in your program, etc. If you are going to consider “feel” as a major deciding factor, make sure your sense of it is based on comprehensive exploration, not just a casual stroll.
You worry that you will struggle at UCLA, and you believe it will be easier at CSULB. I want to caution you about this line of thinking. Both are excellent institutions with tougher as well as easier classes and professors. Class size could make a difference, but be careful about stereotyping and imagining. A 4.0 at CSULB is hardly guaranteed, and may not even be easier to achieve.
Keep in mind that both universities WANT their students to succeed! And don’t hesitate to use institutional resources as needed: formalized peer tutoring, educational support centers, etc. They are there for a reason and have helped many, many students with a single course, with study skills and organization, with overall academic success, etc.
I’m hearing a lot in your posts about the two universities. Don’t forget to consider: how are the two programs, in particular? Do you share research interests with anyone in the department at either university? Have you identified a potential match with a mentor professor? Are there good internship opportunities available? These are things to think about as well. Don’t just get caught up in comparing the overall institutions.
Lastly, what’s this about needing a 4.0 in your undergraduate years? Your overall GPA will be MUCH less important that you think, especially for a specialized graduate program (as opposed to med school, for example.) High schoolers applying to college and undergraduates applying to graduate school are NOT in a similar situation. GPA’s aren’t the key to distinguishing graduate applicants from each other. Internships/work history, personal recommendations, the interview, etc., will be critical factors in gaining admission to the more focused sort of graduate program you plan to attend. Things that look like extracurriculars or supplementals in college applications are fundamental to graduate school applications. Please don’t make the mistake of thinking that the process will just be a second round of college applications. Definitely don’t choose your college based on the GPA you imagine you’ll be able to earn at one school vs. another. And then don’t spend your days in college chasing a perfect GPA.
Instead, take classes that excite you, inspire you, challenge you, and change you. Find a mentor. Make lifelong friends. Join clubs or teams or groups that help you to grow as a person, that make you laugh, that fire you up inside. Make decisions based on passion and curiosity. Don’t let your choices be based in fear, and don’t let all your moves be dictated by how it will look to a graduate school someday. College is an irreplaceably wonderful opportunity in so many ways!!
Again: “I know i would always feel regret or what if if i don’t choose ucla and give it a shot.”
Listen to yourself. Regret is a cruel beast.
So give it a shot! I have a feeling you’ll be glad you did!
Why you would turn down UCLA for Long Beach State is beyond me.
Based on your first post and the reasons stated above for considering CSULB I think you need to ask yourself a couple questions. Is the additional cost worth happiness, smaller class sizes and a semester system? If yes, will the additional cost be a burden?
Everyones priorities are different. You need to decide whats most important to you and be content with your decision. I was accepted to UCD and UCB last year. I planned to choose UCD but life got in the way. This year when I apply I’m going to tag UCD and likely not apply to UCB at all. Fit was important to me.
It is definitely a personal choice and fit is very important. But finances are also important especially if you want to go to grad school. Honestly if you do well at UCLA you might have better grad school choices. Why do you think you will be happier at Long Beach?
I instantly saw myself at long beach and felt like i belonged when i visited. I didn’t really get that feeling when i went to ucla which kind of concerns me.
@solaring: This is 4 years of your life so go where you will be happy. A happy student will be a successful student and encouraged both my son’s to pick the school that felt would fit them the best. If finances are not a huge issue, CSULB is a good option. You can always consider UCLA for Grad school. Best of luck and go with your gut.
Thank you so much! I don’t dislike UCLA, I just dislike the quarter system and the impaction of my major which is psychology. I’m also just afraid I might change my major and might end up not needing graduate school and wishing I went to UCLA. But I was pretty sad about the financial situation at CSULB and not getting the scholarship so I believe that says something right?
My son turned down a $10K scholarship/year from UCR and attended SDSU instead although both costs were comparable and said it was the best decision for him. He loved his time at SDSU and had no regrets. Not a comparable comparison but your happiness should be part of the college decision. I am sure my opinion is in the minority but if you were able to get into UCLA, you are hardworking competitive student so you will be a superstar if you attend CSULB.
Hi everyone, I am deciding between UCLA and CSULB and here’s an update from my last thread. I did not get the presidential scholarship and found out that I’d have to pay $50,960k after the 4 years at CSULB and $37,400k after 4 years at UCLA. If my psychology major does not change, I also plan to attend graduate school for masters in psychology. I am not sure whether it is worth paying 60k for CSULB so that I can be happier, have smaller class sizes and be on the semester system. What do you guys think?