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I attend a school in the Bay Area and it seems like everyone i talked to thinks that CSU's are garbage and that UC's are the best. I know UC's are more expensive and maybe have a better reputation. What are the real differences between the two. i.e. people, teachers, dorms, class size, jobs offers after graduation ect...
Thanks.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Saturday, November 29, 2003 - 07:43 pm: Edit

It depends on the cal state. Some are smaller (Monterey, Sonoma), some are larger (Fullerton, Long Beach). Some are particularly strong in certain majors and areas (SDSU for business for example) Some have as good a rep as some of the UC's (Cal Poly San Luis Obisbo for engineering for example) Since there are many more campuses in the cal state system, it's hard to generalize.
In general, however, you can get a very good education at any cal state, depending on what you are looking for and one more generalization: the cal states tend to offer more "career-focused" programs and majors than most of the UC's. Here's the web site with links to all of the schools: www.calstate.edu

By Highschoolda (Highschoolda) on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 12:56 am: Edit

CSU all proffesors do research while having PhD. CSU is an educational driven school. Thats the #1 priority for them. With research comes fame and fortune that why UC are highly regarded.

By Kluge (Kluge) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 02:41 pm: Edit

I don't see it as a controversy, exactly. The two systems were designed to have different strengths, generally speaking, although there is overlap. Typically, the UC's are considered more research and grad school oriented and more prestigious; the CSU's more focused on teaching and undergraduates. But the exceptions to the generalizations are many, and increasing. Cal Poly (a CSU) is a nationally top ranked school in engineering (which spills over to a high rep generally.) And UC Riverside and UCSC get good marks for teaching undergrads.
The more "qualified" students (high GPA, high SAT) tend to go to the UC's more than the CSUs, (again with exceptions) which makes people on the outside figure that a person with a UC degree is likely to be smarter than one with a CSU degree. So a UC degree is supposed to help you in the "real world" after graduation, and that's probably true for your first job or two. On the other hand, I know a lot of people who went to small and mid-sized CSU's who tell me that the contacts they made in college have paid off for decades afterwards, while grads of the larger UC's may not have an opportunity to make those kinds of connections, in the larger, more impersonal schools.
The good news is that both systems have a lot of very good schools.

By Mulan (Mulan) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 05:34 pm: Edit

it seems, as stated above, that UC is generally leading towards some grad school-type experience, while CSU prepares their undergrads for jobs and careers straight out of college. But around here, i know of people who got into UCSB that didn't get into Cal Poly SLO. A lot of the CSUs are moving up in the ranks.

By Lamom (Lamom) on Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 03:25 pm: Edit

The LA Times obit for C Kerr wrote a bit about the "access to college for everyone". The UC's were for the top 1/8 students. The Cal States were for the top 1/3 and the CC's were for everyone. All with no tuition. So I would guess this might be where the "status" of the schools comes from. I can just barely type a keyboard so sorry I can't make the article show up. I do agree that the CSU's do have lots to offer. I reluctantly (because I was a school snob that day) went to CSU Fullerton for our son to check out. I was impressed with the music & scholar program. I left impressed, son left not impressed and did not apply.

By Calhounias (Calhounias) on Thursday, December 04, 2003 - 10:06 pm: Edit

Thanks for your input everyone.