<p>I got into both ucsb and sdsu honors program. I know that they both offer a good social atmosphere and that sb is better in prestige, but do you think that sdsu honors would be even comparable to ucsb for grad school status? What are some other things to consider between picking a school between these two?</p>
<p>You know you have to maintain a certain GPA to stay in the honors program right? You can get into UCSB, get a 3.5 and join the honors program, it would look even better know? f you can maintain a 3.5 in SDSU, you can work a little bit harder and get a 3.5 in UCSB as well. Just some food for thought…</p>
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The atmosphere at ucsb and sdsu is very different. I suggest you visit both and see for yourself; walk around campus, talk to some students, etc. At UCSB everyone lives on/near campus and it is in a college town. SDSU is in a large city (population over 1 million) and is primarily a commuter campus; most students either live at home or in apartments spread over the region. You’ll find thousands of UCSB students in Isla Vista on the weekends; there is no similar crowd of SDSU students right off campus on weekends.</p>
<p>To the extent you believe learning in college is not just from what the books and profs say but discussions about both academics and life with fellow students, that you think other students set expectations and provide models of the paths you can take, I think you will find differences between SDSU and UCSB students.</p>
<p>@mikemac: Regarding SDSU, that’s not true. I live in San Diego. While there are some commuters, SDSU is not a “commuter school” like others in the area such as CSU San Marcos and other CSUs in general. SDSU does have a strong campus presence and as of this year all SDSU freshmen are required to live on campus unless they have special circumstances or are right in the service area. SDSU students come from all over CA because it’s one of the more popular CSUs, not just San Diego.</p>
<p>I really like both SDSU and UCSB. SDSU is a good choice for some, but I agree with yasuynnuf – why not just try for UCSB’s honors program?</p>
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Halie, by “some commuters” I assume you mean the 88% reported in the Common Data Set as living off campus or commuting. I am glad to hear that more frosh are going to be living on campus; having all your new friends nearby makes for a much better atmosphere! However I think you overstated the impact the new rule will have; the rule says
Turns out that in 2009 53.8% of the frosh are from the service area. The upshot according to [College</a> Portraits - SDSU](<a href=“http://www.collegeportraits.org/CA/SDSU/campus_life]College”>http://www.collegeportraits.org/CA/SDSU/campus_life) 52% of new frosh live on campus and I expect this won’t rise much. </p>
<p>Furthermore in a school with 27,500 undergrads they only have a total of 3075 beds in on-campus housing and about 400 more in SDSU-affiliated housing, according to <a href=“http://asir.sdsu.edu/app/Addtl_info_0910.pdf[/url]”>http://asir.sdsu.edu/app/Addtl_info_0910.pdf</a> The San Diego area is nice, and most of the people I knew at SDSU lived is scenic places like Mission Beach and Pacific Beach, driving in for classes.</p>
<p>This is very helpful! I didn’t think about the student closeness/commute thing.</p>
<p>Being a San Diegan, and having a family member who attended SDSU I can totally back up Halie. SDSU has a very strong student atmosphere, and the statistics that mikemac used, while probably factually true, are misleading. They do not provide an accurate measurement of the student life.
But yeah. UCSB also has a very strong student life, and is generally considered a better school. While it is really based on the individual, my vote would be for UCSB, and to aim for their honors program.</p>
<p>Woah woah woah… everybody hold up. SDSU and SDSU honors are two different things. Compared to regular UCSB, the SDSU Honors Program is actually better. It’s very hard to get into the honors program at SDSU. Plus, the Honors Program has particular benefits such as the fact that students are given exclusive advisors, are REQUIRED to study abroad at some point in their college career, and they all form a close-knit community within SDSU. There are about 200 Honors students per grade out of about 5,000 students total per grade at SDSU.<br>
Also, many UCSB students have complained that their student body lacks diversity. The school mainly consists of white, middle to upper class students. SDSU, on the other hand, is a lot more diverse.
In all honesty, both schools are big enough that one truly is responsible for making the most of their college experience. But SDSU Honors has much to offer.</p>
<p>Honestly, UCSB is a better school. SDSU is ranked all the way near 150? UCSB is in the lower 30’s. If anything, I would choose the school which has a better ranking OVERALL. SDSU is a joke, come on. Lets be honest.</p>
<p>you mean if I enroll in SDSU, I don’t even have to study ???</p>
<p>150 ??? so they almost did not get ranked ???</p>
<p><a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/san-diego-state-1151[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/san-diego-state-1151</a></p>
<p>to be more accurate SDSU is ranked 183 …</p>
<p>SDSU used to be the backup school for a lot of people, now kids who would have easily gotten in even 5 years ago are getting rejected. Of course it is not in the same league as UCSB, but SDSU is a far better school than what that ranking implies. I’m currently deciding between honors at both schools. Leaning towards UCSB though.</p>