UC or CSU?

Nov. 30, 2006, was the last day for most universities of the University of California system to accept transfer applications for Fall 2007. Meanwhile, those who are applying to California State University do not have to be in such a rush, since most CSU campuses are still open and more deadline- friendly. Still, students have to keep their eyes on some impacted majors which interest more applicants than there are seats available.

Besides the application deadlines, what else distinguishes between the UC and CSU system?

Counselor Julie Morgan admitted, “Mostly, money.” She added, “It costs at least a third maybe a half much more money to transfer to UC system over the CSU system.” Morgan pointed out that the UC system was primarily meant for research and development such as courses in math, science, and engineering, while CSU system covered more applied career psychology, teaching, criminal justice. Yet nowadays they cover both sides of the field.

However, the CSU system is known to be more hands-on. Morgan stated, “The UC professors are more pressured to do research and to publish their own journal, that way they are not available all the time to assist students.” Sometimes they have teaching assistants or master students to teach UC classes, whereas CSU professors are more willing to spend time with students.

The majority of Yuba College students prefer to stay close to home. Most of them transfer to CSU Sacramento, CSU Chico, or UC Davis, being away less than 44 miles from Yuba College area. For the academic year 2005/2006, there were 128 students who transferred to CSU Sacramento, 73 who students transferred to CSU Chico and 44 students who transferred to UC Davis. The transfer rate to UC Davis was the highest of all since 1989.

Some YCCD students decided to transfer to UCLA, UCSD, San Jose State University and Long Beach State University. Long Beach State University has been a quite popular destination for the last few years. Apparently a university’s popularity can come from the effectiveness of the word of mouth.

Those who choose to stay in the area have their own reasons to pick which school to go to. Most of them determine their pick based on their intended major. Nancy Vang, 20, a current Yuba College student, said she plans to transfer to UC Davis “because of the medical field” she would like to major in.

Some students choose CSU Sacramento because of its good standing for business and nursing majors and some choose CSU Chico for its communication and computer science excellence.

Despite CSU Chico’s rumored reputation among students as a “party college,” the school received a number of awards from the Associated Schools of Construction annual competition in Reno in February. The university outperformed other school contestants including USC, University of Washington and Cal. Poly, San Luis Obispo.

“They (CSU Chico) are actually a really fine school,” Morgan said. “You can’t get into that caliber of reputation by just being a certain party school.”

Another considering factor in determining a school is social environment. Nancy Alvarado, 22, a former Yuba College student, chose to attend CSU Sacramento “because I know people who go there and I am more familiar with Sacramento than Chico,” she said. “Plus, there are different nationalities in Sacramento where I fit in.”

In some professional areas such as dentistry or law, there is an advantageous tendency that UC undergraduate schools might make it easier for those who want to go to UC professional schools later. The fact that it costs more to attend UC system also is sometimes related to determine its academic excellence, an opinion which Morgan claimed that she does not share.

On choosing a school to pursue a future goal, Morgan advised, “What makes a truly professional person is you, the students. If you are very good with your job and you love what you do then you are in demand.”

She added, “It doesn’t really matter where you go to school. “