<p>A friend of mine is choosing between UC Riverside and a couple of the residential Cal States. Though UCR supposedly has a lower percent of freshmen students living on campus and similar SAT scores to those Cal States, its four year/ six year graduation rates are much much higher than the residential CSUs. Any idea why CSUs like Monterey Bay and Humboldt State have a much worse four year graduation rate than UCR? As it stands, I've advised this student to go to UC Riverside even though it costs $2,000 per year more than the Cal States.</p>
<p>They take less prepare and less focused applicants. That leads to remedial courses and major changes - which takes more time. Some CSUs, are also over-crowded making courses tough to get for some kids. I don’t believe that’s the case for the campuses you list above. At most CSUs, a well prepared, focused and motivated student can graduate in 4 years. </p>
<p>Curiously, the learning environment is dramatically different at most CSUs, they have smaller class sizes, taught by real professors while at UCs, the GE courses are HUGE and taught by grad student/TAs. </p>
<p>The campuses your friend is choosing from are really very different, she should take a tour and see which one fits best. </p>