<p>Yeah I agree, I would have chose UCSB, had I not been rejected. I would have chose UCSB over UCB. Although, I did choose SDSU over many UC's and many others I know, possibly because San Diego is a very attractive place to be. </p>
<p>Have fun at UCSB, you'll love it, IV is insane.</p>
<p>I hate all the BS about how you shouldnt base your decision off rankings. While i agree that it shouldnt be the only factor, it still should be a large part of your decision. Just think about it, if one school is 1st tier, while another is 4th tier, there must be a damn good reason for that. For example, if you got accepted to Harvard and Florida State University, everyone would choose Harvard. Why? Because we all know that its a better school and the US News rankings are just a reassurance of this fact. You wouldnt choose Harvard BECAUSE of the ranking but because of the fact that the ranking takes many things into consideration when making these rankings, including academics, endowment, quality of profs, etc.</p>
<p>Bottom-line: UCSB, for sure!</p>
<p>I don't think that 4th tier ranking of SDSU is indicative of the quality of education one can recieve there. I mean UCR and probably even UCM is ranked higher, just on the basis they're more doctorial focused...but SDSU is moving towards more of a research/doctorial focused cirriculum..look for them in the 1st tier within the next five years or so. Does anyone know what Cal Poly SLO is ranked according to US NEWS?</p>
<p>golden bear you are probably someone who just believes everything that you read. dont speak on schools unless really know them. oh this book says this, so that is my decision...thats bs</p>
<p>use your own mind to make decisions, dont let ONE magazine make them for you. sdsu is ranked lower because they dont focus on phds and research, they were not established for that purpose, that is why all the other csu's are ranked by region</p>
<p>"golden bear you are probably someone who just believes everything that you read. dont speak on schools unless really know them. oh this book says this, so that is my decision...thats bs"</p>
<p>sure, take what you read with a grain of salt. however, college rankings are substantiated by hard facts -- those you have to believe. prize-winning faculty, research, etc...</p>
<p>some schools are more prestigious than others. period. there is nothing wrong with basing your decision on prestige -- if you work harder, you get into schools with stronger programs. it's that simple, really. that said, i don't really grok your argument.</p>
<p>EDIT: "Prestige whore"...what the heck? Go dance on some hot coals or something.</p>
<p>*The Carnegie Foundation has designated the SDSU a "Research University with high research activity." SDSU is the only California State University campus with this classification, which places it among the top 200 higher education institutions in the country conducting research.[1]</p>
<p>1 (From Wikipedia.) They've had this designation for a total of one year, whereas the UC's have had it since the birth of their exsistence.</p>
<p>*It offers the most doctoral degrees of any campus of the California State University system, currently in sixteen (16) academic and research disciplines.</p>
<p>*SDSU faculty consistently attract hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars annually in grants and contracts for research and program administration, and SDSU's research and graduate degree programs lead all other campuses of the California State University system. Private giving to SDSU is also rising dramatically, reaching record levels in recent fiscal year. Because state funds provide only about one-third of the SDSU's annual operating requirements, with tuition and fees not adding much more, the support of alumni, friends and community partners is providing a crucial margin of excellence at SDSU, enabling the university to fulfill its mission and expand its service to the San Diego region and beyond.</p>
<p>Comparitively to the rest of the schools in the fourth tier, I would put SDSU way above them. If anyone would like to argue that point, feel free.</p>
<p>Also on US NEWS i was looking for career information at SDSU and the rest of the UC's and I found absolutely NOTHING on the matter. I'm fairly certain San Diego State would have a considerable leg up. So perhaps these HARD FACTS are skewed to give "theoretical" universities a huge edge. SDSU has a hands on philosophy, which is scary to most academics (aka the people running US NEWS). So bias, bias, bias, bias.</p>
<p>HELL, even Harvard didn't have any Career statistics, they should list that entire category as N/A...i mean jobs aren't important....but good lord US NEWS seems to love to show the vast abundance of clubs. I don't know average job statistics, but I know I can join the surf club. Looks like a decision set match.</p>
<p>this is a topic as common as any on this site. potential students should weigh the prestige of a university as a whole against the value of the curriculum of an academic unit. if university prestige is more important to you, then i would recommend santa barbara. if you want more hands on training in particular areas then i would carefully select those very best units from within the CSU system. san diego state is distinguished in business and other areas such as journalism/mass communication while other campuses, such as the two cal polys, have great engineering and architecture programs. the key is to realize that californians have more choices among public institutions than other americans do. as a result, with more than thirty public choices, you should do a lot more homework about the merits of each program within each campus.</p>
<p>Ucsb > Sdsu</p>
<p>"Comparitively to the rest of the schools in the fourth tier, I would put SDSU way above them. If anyone would like to argue that point, feel free."</p>
<p>it is my opinion that a fully operational uc campus (such as SB) outclasses any csu in terms of resources and research ability.</p>
<p>last i checked, UCSB is not a fourth tier school. now wat's your point.</p>
<p>ucsb over sdsu for accounting and management positions at tech firms. That is pretty much the majority for their recruitment with a few investment management firms that come for oci. Otherwise the rest will be done by yourself which is to bad since they are a few infamous money managers in the santa barbara area as there are always found in wealthy neighborhoods. Not to mention that the morgan stanely building in oxnard also houses many profitable yet smaller accounting firms and dozens of companies running their brokerages and fin planning such as ameriprise, amex edward jones, ag, td waterhouse etc. </p>
<p>The one nice thing to note from santa barbara, it looks like you have more of a choice for location, say from so cal to nor cal while sdsu includes mainly san diego with some borders reaching the south west</p>
<p>My point is that SDSU should not be a fourth tier school....How did you miss that one??? You should probably re-read my posts.</p>
<p>we were comparing UCSB and SDSU -- not debating whether or not SDSU is a "fourth tier" school.</p>
<p>"however, college rankings are substantiated by hard facts -- those you have to believe. prize-winning faculty, research, etc..."</p>
<p>sdsu RANK is not supported by substantiated HARD FACTS.</p>
<p>MANY OF THE ARGUMENTS HERE WERE THAT IT WAS A NO BRAINER BECAUSE SDSU IS A FOURTH TIER SCHOOL AND NOT FIRST TIER SCHOOL. The purpose of my post was to show that SDSU really should be a closer competitor to that of UCSB and it really should require thought in the decision making process. I'm baffled you're making me type out an explanation...I guess you didn't read all the posts.</p>
<p>Well, okay. I've never stepped foot inside a UCSD classroom. This is true. I did, however, step foot into Cal Poly classroom. Which is where I went my freshmen year. I was forced into engineering (by my parents), when politics was my real interest. Cal Poly really doesn't let you switch majors so I had to go back to jr. college. I was in the honors program, and was going to do TAP to UCLA but my counselor didn't submit it on time. Also, I got into UCSD without a transfer agreement, which is actually pretty difficult. But anyway, it is not my "friends" online that look down on SDSU. At community college it was looked at as the "easy way out" for most. A 2.0 GUARANTEES your entrance into SDSU (from SD community colleges anyway). So for those of you that are making fun of my community college background, yes, it is embarrassing, but I had no choice. Also, yes UCSD is socially dead, but I'm not going to school for parties, i'm going for an education.</p>
<p>"MANY OF THE ARGUMENTS HERE WERE THAT IT WAS A NO BRAINER BECAUSE SDSU IS A FOURTH TIER SCHOOL AND NOT FIRST TIER SCHOOL. The purpose of my post was to show that SDSU really should be a closer competitor to that of UCSB and it really should require thought in the decision making process. I'm baffled you're making me type out an explanation...I guess you didn't read all the posts."</p>
<p>whether or not SDSU is a fourth tier school is irrelevant. a UC is, at the end of the day, a UC. the students that attend a UC are, on average, unquestionably more serious than those attending a CSU. (don't cite cal poly as an exception -- that's just for one program.) stronger students make for stronger programs. the end.</p>
<p>EDIT: don't patronize me. i read just fine.</p>
<p>I would have to agree with you about almost all the other CSU's, besides Cal Poly and SDSU. I assure you I was not patronizing you, I think you just missed some of the other posts people were writing. SDSU is stronger than UCSB in film and theatre, Business, Mass communications, but just marginally. UCSB is much stronger in the sciences/engineering. I think you still view the student body of SDSU as the old. The average GPA has risen from 3.1 5 years ago to 3.6, and the SAT scores are up in the 1100's now. A much stronger student and serious student body is present at SDSU and based on the growth statistics will be on par with almost every mid-range UC in the next five years. </p>
<p>Cal Poly just one program?? Engineering? Architecture? Business? </p>
<p>The end.</p>
<p>you can add the humanities, social sciences and arts over on the gaucho side too, bell. your point reinforces the fact that potential students should not just buy into a university as an entity but all its pertinent subdivisions. by program most academics refer to individual majors, not entire colleges like engineering and business.</p>
<p>san diego state has many outstanding programs, and many that are better, or least more developed, than santa barbara. cal poly does as well...and don't forget that in addition to its excellent majors it offers from your post you also could include agriculture.</p>
<p>the truth is that you can find one or two exceptional programs at almost every CSU, not just the elites such as the two cal poly campuses and san diego state. try humboldt for forestry, fullerton for communications, or pomona for hospitality management just as a few examples.</p>
<p>Thanks dr j finally a voice of wisdom.</p>