<p>^^^evergreen? Do you know any current or past students?</p>
<p>I know several students who attended Evergreen, the most recent is currently in law school. All loved it. Though it is interdisciplinary in it’s approach, it in nonetheless rigorous and highly engaging. Many students seem to find themselves there and really blossom. It is in very beautiful part of the country as well. All but one went on to either grad school or a professional school (such as business or law).</p>
<p>Power of One: I agree with you about UC Merced and Riverside, but UCSC? It doesn’t belong in the same grouping. Not only is it a better school, suffering from (again) an old reputation, but it is gorgeous! The area could not be nicer. Beach, forest and Boardwalk, in one of the the cutest towns in California. Drug problem? Okay, it still deserves a bit of a stoner rep. I would be happy if one of mine went there, and I wouldn’t consider Riverside or Merced.
Really, congratulations on CSULB! It is a great school, and if you can live at home it is a sane way to get an excellent education. Good for you AND your parents!</p>
<p>My older dd is currently attending Evergreen. She started Fall 2009 as a transfer student. She is really enjoying it. She spent 7 weeks this Spring in Tokyo as part of the program she was taking. She especially appreciates the written evaluations in place of letter grades.</p>
<p>^^^thanks for this. It is encouraging. The school does sound unique and we really should visit so that my son can gauge the vibe himself.</p>
<p>I recommend adding University of Washington Bothell Campus to the list.</p>
<p>Maybe I’ve missed a discussion on University of Wyoming. I lost track of this tread a few months ago, and looking through previous pages, I can’t find anything</p>
<p>My d is (almost) a 3.0 student after freshman year and really wants to go to college in Wyoming, which may actually be a match for her. She is west coast-born but raised in the south. She loves the mountains, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, etc. Not sure of a major – has talked about everything from culinary school to geology to English. I imagine she’ll end up with some sort of “non-traditional” job/career but she really wants to go to college. </p>
<p>Any thoughts on Wyoming?</p>
<p>My son added Wyoming to his list after he received a postcard with beautiful scenery on it. It didn’t hurt that it has both a rifle and a trap club. It has been hard to find information on the school as it does not seem to be popular on CC. From what I can tell the school is pretty strong in certain areas and the state seems to be putting money into the school. My biggest concern is if there is enough offered on campus during the winter months to keep my son occupied. I know Denver and Cheyenne are both within driving distance but I’m not sure how often it could be done on winter roads.</p>
<p>One bonus would be that merit money can start at 3.0 with the right ACT score.</p>
<p>Why I like U Wyoming:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The state’s had a wealth of royalties for mineral and gas extraction, and has chosen to pump a huge amount into the University – facilities, faculty, financial aid, library,… </p></li>
<li><p>The classes are still really small, lots of opportunities for personal contact with faculty, and the faculty are very well funded for research projects. That means lots of student opportunities.</p></li>
<li><p>Wyoming is a big state, but it is a very small state population-wise. People all over the state support the U – no divided loyalties. Because the state is huge, lots of kids can’t possibly go home for the weekend. </p></li>
<li><p>Corporations in Wyoming put bucks into research at the U., and lots of kids get hired into summer jobs – particularly if there is an interest in something like geology. (An aspiring writer might not find Wyoming as much of a draw.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Winters will have really, really challenging times. It is not uncommon for I25 to be closed at the Wyoming state border (or perhaps N. of Ft. Collins) due to blowing snow. Denver is at least a 2 1/2 hour drive – but Ft. Collins is closer, and I see kids from Wyoming there regularly on the weekends. But it isn’t as if the entire winter is snowbound and frigid. (The wind does tend to blow a lot, however.) Cheyenne and Laramie are both interesting, and if you like outdoor activities there is a wealth of things to do.</p>
<p>Thanks arabrab for your information. We’re from Wisconsin so cold doesn’t bother us and from what I can tell on the U Wyoming website they do have some activities planned for the students. It’s good to know a lot of kids stay on campus during the weekends.</p>
<p>Being snowed in probably bothers me more than my son. I worry about driving in the mountains and the open plains during bad weather, especially when I think about getting him home for Christmas break, though obviously all the other kids get home somehow.</p>
<p>Thanks for the scoop on Wyoming. I think the winters could be really challenging for a girl from an area that totally shuts down for an inch of snow. We may try to visit during winter break so she can get some sense of cold Wyoming will be.</p>
<p>Calvin: CSUMB is less impacted and freshmen, depending on their majors, have more success there getting classes simply because the it still has a small student population. I would choose it over SJSU and SFSU, not because of the quality of education available at either but because of the location and size as well as the fact that CSUMB is so much more residential.</p>
<p>Caveat: the campus is not classically pretty but if you can get around that you will find an innovative and vibrant campus with a growing level of student community and prestige.</p>
<p>Chiming in on University of Wyoming. I worked with a guy who got his physics degrees from there. He’s a very kind, brilliant person. Heard nothing but great things about U of W!!</p>
<p>historymom, thanks for pointing out not everyone would think CSUMB beautiful, because I would say it is! </p>
<p>Also, looks like you have some knowledge of Cal Luthern? Anything you’d like to share? The soccer coach invited son for a visit (although son doesn’t know because he won’t read his email).</p>
<p>Another school in Colorado is Ft. Lewis College in Durango. Beautiful location, wonderful outdoor opportunities including nearby skiing. It’s a choice for many Colorado residents who don’t have the required classes or grades and test scores to get into the major Colorado universities. Many go there expecting to transfer to Boulder in two years, but end up finishing at Ft. Lewis (because they find they love Ft. Lewis and Durango).</p>
<p>Wyo Alumni here. If you don’t mind a bit of cold and wind then wyoming offers a lot of opportunity right now. It is well funded and taken care of by the state. Campus has been a construction zone lately with several new buildings just being completed. These included a new Library addition, a new Business building, and an anthropology building to name a few. Class size is very small and I think is as good or better than many of the similar sized private schools. Dorms are remodeled but pretty average and small.</p>
<p>It is a good school for the sciences yet has a very nice performing arts center.</p>
<p>Laramie is small but then I love the college dominated small towns and the outdoor stuff is pretty tough to match. You do need a car though and yes Winter travel can be a bit tough at 7200 Ft above sea level.</p>
<p>I hope this does not offend, but Wyoming looks like a state that could use a little diversity! Is the university different?</p>
<p>I don’t have first hand experience but based on the college portrait site 81% of the students are white with the next highest reported race being hispanic at 4% and then international at 3%. </p>
<p>9% of the faculty is reported as being a minority.</p>
<p>32% of the students are from out of state. Women make up 53% of the student population and men 47%.</p>
<p>The ever-expanding/shrinking list (depending on my son’s mood or the way the wind is blowing) consists of the following to date:</p>
<p>UC Santa Cruz, SFSU, Sonoma State, Western Washington, and the reach, Seattle University …</p>
<p>Requests to look at CSUMB were met with a lip curl.
Any thoughts?</p>
<p>calv1n, I don’t think (from what I’ve heard) that SFSU meets your spec for getting the classes you need… some students I’ve heard about there have been a course or two shy of what they need for graduation for quite a long time.</p>