Worth going to Cal Poly Pomona instead of Cal State Fullerton?

<p>Im going to major in Business Administration, but with a concentration in Computer Information Systems (CIS). My first pick is to go to Pomona, because i will be able to get away from my parents if i live on campus, which is what i want. I know its considered an engineering school, but college is college and theyre both in the CSU system anyways. Pomona also has a lot of perks for me, beautiful, "prestige" i say Cal Poly Pomona and people are like oooh... Cal Poly, sounds fancy, but this is more just for joke. Pomona also has small class sizes. Anyways, Pomona is my first choice, and of course i will have to pay more for room and board, but my EFC on the FAFSA is 0 since my family income is really low and my parents cannot afford to help me at all, so hopefully financial aid covers room board too or a lot of it.
Fullerton is my second choice. It is known more as a Business school. It is also my home school for my HS, its just a few miles away at most and the majority of Seniors will attend Fullerton... because its our home school. Now, if i attend here, i will live with my parents, which i would rather not, but i assume i will not have to pay as much.
Okay, now my big couple questions are, if i attend CSUF after Community College, will i still pay less than if i attended Pomona, because Fullerton is my High Schools home school? I assume i would not pay less, but i honestly have no idea. Also, i believe it is easier to get into Fullerton than Pomona, is this true, what about even as a transfer student? Do you guys think i will really have a problem in a couple of years getting the classes i need at Fullerton as a transfer student, because i think Fullerton gets full and impacted pretty easily and quickly, true? Lastly, which would you say i go to? I mean, i could drive to Pomona, but its about 30 minutes away via the 57, and i hear it gets traffic super bad at peak hours. </p>

<p>Please help me out anyone. Any help, feedback, suggestions would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you!!</p>

<p>You need to learn how to read the college websites of the colleges and the CSU system. You don’t pay less at CSF because you are in the district. The prices are the same for all Californians 3,093 per semester.</p>

<p>You should run the Net Price Calculator to find the cost to your family for you to attend each school. Allowing for living expenses will put loans on you. You will be better off just getting through your last 2 years of school without that burden on you having to make loan payments and pay rent out of your first job. You can decide later after you have been to CC for a bit you will have a better idea what to pick. </p>

<p>My parents used to rent a room to a Cal Poly student, about a 20 minute drive, but on a less traffic route and she didn’t have to go everyday, she was finishing some classes online. The 57 corridor can be brutal in traffic, totally locked up in rush hour.</p>

<p>Here is the CSU net price calculator: <a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU;

<p>Assuming entering frosh with >3.0 HS GPA (for Cal Grant purposes) and no student or parent income, it estimates the net prices at:</p>

<p>Fullerton with parents: $2,731
Pomona with parents: $2,101
Fullerton on-campus: $10,917
Pomona on-campus: $9,982</p>

<p>You should run the net price calculator with your real numbers to get correct estimates.</p>

<p>Note 1: You can take a federal direct loan for $3,500 subsidized and $2,000 more unsubsidized. Any additional would have to come from your work earnings if your parents cannot contribute anything.
Note 2: The with parents estimates do include an estimate for “room and board” which is presumably the cost of food, utilities, and whatever other household costs there are for you living with your parents.
Note 3: While the Pomona with parents estimate is lower than the Fullerton with parents estimate, your actual cost may be higher for Pomona due to the closeness of Fullerton. Include the value of your time and annoyance commuting to Pomona versus the closer Fullerton.</p>

<p>Thanks to both of you! With price aside, lets say i was accepted by both, which should i attend based on my situation and details mentioned in the OP? What if you were in my shoes, which would you attend if you got into both?</p>

<p>If the commuting hassle is a concern, try driving it at various times of day to test (if you have time during spring break before you have to decide). You can also try <a href=“http://www.sigalert.com”>http://www.sigalert.com</a> at various times of day. Pomona is about half commuters, while Fullerton is somewhat more than half commuters, based on the percentage of frosh living in the dorms.</p>