USD and SDSU Tours

Day two of California touring brought me to the University of San Diego and San Diego State University.

This picture was taken out a dorm room doorway at USD. Not a dorm building doorway, an actual dorm ROOM. Repeat, this is the view from a dorm room.

First up was the University of San Diego, USD, a Catholic college with 5,700 students. They were voted the most beautiful urban campus and I can't disagree. It honestly feels like you are walking around a Disney park or a movie set, with the palm trees and the pristine buildings. (In reality, the school is modeled off of a university in Alcala, Spain). A little under half of the students here are Catholic, but it I got the sense that it really doesn't play an enormous role on campus. They are run by an independent board of directors, not a branch of the church, so religious influence is not quite as salient as it might be at a place with priests and nuns present on campus. This medium size school does have a core curriculum and it isn't going anywhere any time soon. Something that DID noteably go away is Early Action - a few years ago the school went back to just having a single regular decision deadline. They might be bucking the trend, but it is a welcome relief to the frenzy that surrounds the November deadlines. Instead, just apply by December 15 and expect to hear back by early March. Academic offerings range from studio art to engineering. In pretty starck difference from the quiet Claremont schools yesterday, USD was buzzing with activity (despite having a similar number of students enrolled - when you combine the 5 Claremonts together). The campus felt busy and dynamic and students walking around looked happy. Maybe the best part though is that the admitted student profile for USD is almost identical to that of the typical ElRo students. They admit about 50% of students that apply, making them a nice way to balance out a California-centric list.

In the afternoon, I went to the largest school that I'll be seeing on this tour: San Diego State University. This is also the only public school that I got to see. With about 30,000 undergraduate students, the vibe here was understandably different. On our way into lunch we passed by a full-on concert from a student band. This is the kind of school I think people imagine when they picture college in the movies -- an endless list of clubs and organizations, greek life, athletics, many majors, and lots and lots of people. I couldn't help but notice that SDSU has multiple construction projects going on - usually a sign of financial health and expansion. This school also did something I've never seen before, they had their student body president address the crowd. It was neat to hear from her and a refreshing change from the normal academic deans or faculty members. Maybe most noticeable for me was the price. SDSU is $33,962 for out of state residents, and that is WITH room and board. Considering places like Michigan are now pushing $70,000 per year, this is a nice opportunity to get that Division I experience for only a few thousand dollars more than a SUNY. And did I mention it is in Southern California? Because it is public, the admission process is a little different. California public schools have something called A-G requirements and they recalculate self reported grades into a new GPA-- more information about this can be found online. Like any big school, this is only a good fit for students who are going to be responsible about going to 500 person intro level lectures and who can learn in that type of setting. But with understanding of how to navigate the system, it could be a great fit for the right students.

Thanks to these two schools for hosting us. Conference starts tomorrow!