What is the best university in the Cal State System?

I know nothing of this school system… as a matter of fact I didn’t even know it existed until I got an email from Cal State San Bernardino… are any of the california state universities good? Can any of them hold their ground against the likes of UCLA, Berkely, etc?

There are 23 CSU campuses… many of them are quite good, offering a solid education at a very affordable price (4 years tuition and fees is about $25,000 total for in-state students). With very few exceptions, they do NOT grant PhD’s (in fact, they are not allowed to by CA law, with a very few exceptions). They serve a different population of students and serve a different role than the UC campuses, which are all major research institutions.

They are not good bargains for out-of-state students. If you are not a resident of CA, then you really shouldn’t be looking at CSUs.

You’re a senior. Why are you asking about CSUs at this point?

You’re OOS and you’ve said that you’re low-income.

BTW…Berkeley

CSUs are less expensive than UCs for both in-state and out-of-state students, but most CSUs are commuter-heavy and may not be all that attractive to out-of-state students in terms of the “experience”. The best known, most residential, and most selective one is Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. There is no financial aid for out-of-state students, and very little in terms of merit scholarships.

Regarding the OOS issue, a lot depends on program of study.

My D2 was just admitted to CSU-Fullerton from OOS and she is seriously considering it for her major which is animation. CSUF has a top-ranked program and great connections with the entertainment industry (three words: location, location, location). And for OOS students it may cheaper than private art college with scholarship. A lot depends on that COA and how many years D2 can expect to be in the program so we’ll be cranking the numbers once she learns what her net costs will be at each school she’s applied to (a combination of private art schools and public universities with rigorous programs in the entertainment arts).

I love our state flagship for many reasons but their art program just doesn’t have what she needs.

Anyway, just wanted to give my 2 cents on that.

@mom2collegekids Does being a senior grant all encompassing knowledge about all universities?

As I said, I wasn’t aware of this school systems existence until recently… Also Berkeley is part of the University of California system and my question about the Cal State system. By the looks of it, some of the cal state schools are cheap enough for me and my grades fall in their ranges (Fullerton, low angeles, etc). It is not too late to apply for some of these schools have rolling admission…

Anyhow, can we please keep this strictly on the academics of schools? Chances are I will not even apply to any one of these schools, I was mostly just curious since I didn’t really know of Cal State.

Top 5 CSU’s I’d say are 1. Cal Poly SLO 2. San Diego State 3. Cal State Long Beach 4. Cal State Fullerton 5. Cal Poly Pomona

In previous threads, you’ve indicated that you are low income. How will you afford the California State universities?
Did you include the supplemental costs to OOS students?
Your total will run about $36K per year as a non-California resident. ($144K for 4 years of study)

OOS students get little to no financial aid since these schools are funded by California taxpayers and the bulk of scholarships/grants go to California residents. You won’t be able to get in-state residency having a HS transcript from OOS.

Being URM won’t help as the UC’s and CSU’s do not use affirmative action for admissions; it is illegal in California to admit students based on race/ethnicity.

@Thisdudehere: Cal State applications were due Nov 30 for Fall 2016. No they do not have rolling admissions, but some campuses may take Spring admissions: Channel Islands and Monterey Bay. You need to check the CSU Mentor website.

As @aunt bea was trying to explain, the costs for an OOS applicant is considerably more than in-state.
Here is the COA for SDSU non-resident:

Living in university housing

Basic tuition and fees $6,976

Out-of-state tuition** $11,160
Books, supplies $1,804
Food, housing $15,826

Transportation $1,454
Miscellaneous, personal $1,392
Total academic year $38,612

Freshman are required to live on-campus. You will receive little to no FA as an OOS applicant.

From what I’ve seen so far, I’d rank it:

  1. CP SLO
  2. San Diego
  3. Long Beach
  4. CP Pomona
  5. Fullerton
  6. San Jose
  7. Fresno

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is by far the best CSU campus, with a selectivity comparable to the mid-tier UCs (Davis, Irvine, and Santa Barbara).

SLO’s selectivity is based mainly upon the Engineering/Architecture and Business Schools. Many majors at SLO are not that selective and can have acceptance rates above 50%. All majors are not created equal, which could be said for all the CSU’s and UC’s so “best” should based on your intended major.

And the education you would get at a more selective school probably is no better than the education you would get at a less selective school.