Hi, so I’m new to this place and I just wanted some advice and input from others about UCSD and SDSU.
I’m going to be living in San Diego soon and I want to transfer to either UCSD or SDSU. I’ve seen the requirements for transfer students and I meet both of them. I’m an International Business student from AZ. Now people keep telling me I should go to UCSD because its a prestigious school and you are granted a job right after you graduate from there but it’s main focus in Business does not include International Business. There’s also SDSU which has a main focus on International Business but its a total party school but what college isn’t? A lot of people told me that SDSU doesn’t have great academics but I’ve been going back and forth trying to do research that at this point I just want input from everyone else that aren’t friends or people I know. I have people from both sides saying which school is better & I just want to know where am I going to get the best education. Seriously. 
UCSD focuses on in Business:
Accounting
Economics
Finance
Human Resources
Information Systems
Leadership/Management
Marketing
whereas
SDSU focuses on in Business:
Accounting
Finance
Human Resources
Information Systems
International Business
Marketing
There are pros and cons of both and I think both of em are pretty great. I just want some input from everyone else. Stories are welcomed and experiences. Please do share! Thank you! :)>- ^:)^
- SDSU and UCSD only take Junior level transfers with 60 semester/90 quarter units.
- Have you checked with assist.org to find out which classes will transfer?
- Both are great schools and since you are moving from Arizona to San Diego, you will be paying OOS fees for both schools for at least a year until you establish residency. SDSU will cost you around $18K/year as a commuter and UCSD will cost about $36K/year.
- Much will depend upon what you plan to do with your major after undergrad. If you want to go directly into the work force, SDSU will be the better choice. If you plan to pursue a grad degree, then UCSD will be the best choice.
- Both schools have a different “vibe”. Yes, SDSU is know as a party school, but as an SDSU parent, I agree with you that if you want to find a party, you can find a party on either campus. SDSU is one of the top Cal states in terms of admission and academics, but since it is a Cal State, many uniformed people will consider the academics well below UCSD which I believe is completely untrue. You will be challenged at SDSU.
- UCSD has a more serious side and no one can argue that their academics are considered top notch.
Both schools are great options, so if you have not visited, I highly recommend you tour both campuses and decide for yourself. Only you can make the decision on which school will be best for you. Good Luck and Go Aztecs.
Ouuuu, Wow. Thank you. I can see from what your saying. Thank you so much for your input!
I attended both schools. Graduated UCSD in 2000 (bioengineering) and will graduate from SDSU this year (computer science).
The difference between the two is extreme. Course are SIGNIFICANTLY harder at UCSD. I have friends who transferred to UCSD from UCLA and USC and they tucked tail and ran crying back to their old schools after 1 year at UCSD because the courses were taught at a much higher level (they simply were not ready and didnt not understand the fundamentals of chem well enough). One guy failed chem-140 (ochem) but passed it with an A when he went back to UCLA and the other took qualitative chem twice and failed it twice… went back to USC where it is not required (they had some other class instead and he passed it easily). Both are still friends of mine and I joke about their UCSD experience every now and then ;-p
That said, my experiences might be due to being a science student at both schools. Majors like business are so trivial (note I also have a AA in business) that I cant imagine they would be much harder wherever you go because there is no way to make them hard except with busy work. That said, UCSD is famous (frequently in the top 10 worldwide) for its STEM research. On the other hand, SDSU has a good reputation for their business school.
Now on to realities of life: Dont worry about rankings and reputations because the fact is >> EMPLOYERS DONT CARE <<. Yes you read that right. Ask adults you know if any job ever asked for a transcript or came down to which school they attended. Employers want proof by means of actual work (proven experience) not some piece of paper you could have doctored by using ratemyprofessor for 4 years.
Also, no college can guarantee you a job. There is no such thing unless its a junk starter job which they have a contract. The only job I was offered after UCSD was $12/hr at a local lab… I didnt take it and instead started my own business (which failed lol). I did get a job later in IT (I was a computer guru since high school) and the degree DID allow me to get past the 1st job application checkpoint (by just having a BS degree) but thats as effective as it has been my entire life (im 38 now).
Bottom line, in the real world, degrees (and certifications… except for military jobs) have been watered down to near uselessness. No one cares about a degree per se, what they really care about is whether or not you really learned a skill and if you can apply it >>TO MAKE THEM MONEY<<. If you leave college knowing nothing more than when you entered, then your degree is worthless and employers will recognize this when you dont produce at work. The degree will only get you past the 1st checkpoint in their software and that is all.
Based on my experiences, I would select the easier school (SDSU) and avoid parties and crowds or you will end up wasting your time on frivolous things rather than learn anything useful.
In reply to Gumbymom above:
“SDSU and UCSD only take Junior level transfers with 60 semester/90 quarter units.”
True but there is a way around it. My brother “transferred” to SDSU as a sophomore from CC just about 5 years ago. The difference is he applied like a “new” student rather than as a “transfer” student. They took him and he transferred his CC credits after he was accepted. He went on to take part time at SDSU and part time at CC for about 1 year which we planned for on purpose so that he could knock out some requirements that CC did not offer before he moved full time to SDSU (so he did not lose too much time/money once there). You can always apply like a new student any time you want. SDSU is not very hard to get into.
Lastly, instead of paying out of state tuition, get a job. 1 year of experience in something related to your intended profession is worth more than a bachelor degree. Work 1 year, then go back to school and pay the lower fees.
How can you apply as a “new student” when there is a clearing house that would have a record of any classes taken at a CCC? Lying to get into a school is not only unethical but it will come back to “bite” you in the end. I would highly discourage any advice @marc5477 has given you.
@marc5477, if your brother had AP credit, he could have transferred in with Junior level standing depending upon the # of AP credits. My younger son is starting his 2nd year at SDSU and due to his AP credits from HS, he is already at 62 units and Junior level standing after attending only 1 year.
This is from SDSU’s website:::::
SDSU accepts transfer applications only from upper-division transfer or readmission applicants who will have completed 60 or more transferable semester (or 90 or more quarter) units by the end of spring 2015. We do not accept transfer applications from lower-division students with fewer than 60 transferable semester units.
Maybe their policy has changed, but OP needs to be aware that they need to meet the new requirements.
Also OP is an international student and likely does not have a Visa to work here. Op, you are not ‘given’ a job from any university. It is about experience, internships and selling yourself. And in your case it is also about finding an employer that will sponsor a business student with a H1-B and I don’t think that is common like it is more with engineering degrees.
OP is an ‘international business’ major, not an international ‘business’ major.
SDSU has a really good alumni business network connected to the professors. They have a lot of alumni, who remained in town or in LA, accepting their professors recommendations for new interns at a lot of the accounting firms, CS, bio and engineering firms. It’s always been said: UCSD=theory, SDSU = practice.
Additionally, I second what @Gumbymom said about getting fraudulently admitted as a “new” student.
SDSU has a lot of students, but they eventually catch the cheaters. My friend (Lesley from Buena Park)'s roommate (at the El Conq apartments) from LA county, did the exact same thing, thinking she could bypass the system. One year later, she was caught and expelled, but not before they banned her from the CSU system statewide and put her record in the Clearinghouse.
So @marc5477 tell your brother to be prepared, he signed the honesty clause at SDSU. SDSU can be punitive and will rescind any degree if he really tried to bypass their system. They have his signature.
My classmate didn’t have proof of doing research for her project in her masters program (logging everything into the original Mac computer-no scanners back then) and didn’t keep her subjects’ responses. They rescinded her degree until she could come up with all of her research paperwork. 25 year later, I still have my documented subjects’ tests, edited drafts of my thesis, and original paperwork. They take up a LOT of space but I am not throwing them out.
Good discussion above, be honest through the application process or it will bite you later.
I would add that both schools are very competitive when it comes to admitting OOS transfers. The practical admission standards are much higher than reflected on either’s website. I’d encourage you to gain admission to one before moving to SoCal.