OCELITE

It depends on whether you want to graduate on time. Keep in mind that public schools are underfunded and may take longer to graduate. In the end you may end up paying more in the process. Do you like smaller class sizes or larger class sizes? Public will have larger class sizes and private will have smaller class sizes. There are many excellent law schools in CA. Whether it's Chapman or Santa Clara, they're all great schools! In terms of academics, the schools that offer law, such as Chapman and Santa Clara would have an undergrad program to prepare you for their law school. What kind of law do you plan on studying? The Chapman Law School has an excellent connection with the entertainment industry through their top film school, and has a very strong entertainment law program in addition to their other top law programs. The question is where do you want to live and work? NorCal or SoCal? Sounds like you prefer to be in NorCal. If that is the case, I'm sure Santa Clara or USF will be fine. My advice would be when applying for college, don't put all your eggs in one basket. That's the only way you can compare financial aid when you get accepted.

harvard_and_berkeley

SFSU is not quite the commuter school it used to be. They have built quite a few new dorms, and the on-campus feel has increased dramatically.

For CSUs, I think SJSU & SFSU are good safeties. I would cross off CSULA, CSPUSLO (excellent, but you don't seem to be tech oriented). You should know that the CSUs have a slight preference for students from the same geographical area (each CSU has a designated feeder region).

Personally, I don't get the appeal of the lower ranked private schools in California... why pay such high tuition for an education that is not better than publics? Sure, Stanford, Pomona, USC, Caltech, Harvey Mudd might be worth the higher tuition, but University of San Diego???? Why not just go to SDSU instead. What's the appeal of USF over SFSU? I don't see it. I'm not saying USD and USF are bad schools, they are decent... but they are expensive and private and do not offer a superior education than the nearby publics.

barrk123

^ It depends on what kind of aid he gets (Merit and Financial)

harvard_and_berkeley

I agree to some extent. However, I have known 2 friends who attended St. Mary's College of California, in Moraga. They had decent financial aid for the first 2 years, and then, BLAM, when junior year came around, the financial aid was decreased dramatically. One of my friends couldn't continue and dropped out, the other went into debt. The one who dropped out had a difficult time transferring because the publics were stingy in awarding credit.

The higher ranked privates tend not to play those games.

nikkiannpet

@ OCELITE, A friend of my father's who is a private college counselor told my dad that Chapman would be a good fit for me based on my interests such as English. I may have reacted too quickly by disregarding the school. It was between Chapman and LMU initially and then decided I liked SCU and USF better.

@havard_and_berkeley, The only reason I stayed with Cal Poly SLO is the wife of my dad's friend told me she graduated from SLO and majored in journalism; she kept going on and on about how great their journalism program was (which surprised me since I didn't know too much about Cal Poly aside from it being techy) and now she's a writer... English, Psychology, Communications/Journalism and Pre-law are what I'm interested in so if SLO has a good journalism program, I thought it'd be a good idea to apply.
I chose USF and SFSU in case USF offered good aid and if their education was higher than SFSU. If that doesn't turn out to be the case, I may or may not attend either.

nikkiannpet

Okay I'm revising my list. I do agree with harvard_and_berkeley that applying to "lower" privates would be a waste if there are cheaper publics that can offer an education above or at level with those schools. SCU is a definite yes. As for USF and Chapman I'm iffy again. I had put USF as a yes and Chapman as a no, but I'm not sure if I should keep both, discard both, or choose one. Anyone know how the two compare to one another?
And what about Chico? I added it as a safety but maybe I'm already chock full of those (Sonoma, SF, SJ already...as well as "top tier" CSUs like SLO, LB, and SD). Someone was telling me about Cal Stan but I'm not that sure about that...too many safeties might be pointless if I can apply to schools I have a decent chance of getting into with better education.
Thanks all again!

santookie

MY thoughts, SCU is leaps and bounds better than USF. Just two cents. With regards to CSUs, you understand that CalPoly SLO is the flagship of the CSU system. I visited it recently the campus was amazing, students amazing, did not look that under funded. I'm sure the general class might be a little impacted. But major specific classes weren't bad at all. My wife even thinks CalPoly might be better than Berkeley.

SCU has an amazing law school. Our current Secretary of Defense went there. The school is much better than USF. USF to me had an excessive amount of international students. Just my two cents, campus wasn't that great. But it is private. I would consider this school more in line with St Mary's nothing special and not very worth the money.

So you have that spectrum for privates. The tip tops Stanford, Caltech, Harvey Mudd. You would probably have the middle SCU and UOP. Then the bottom to not really that significant which would be the rest. I'm not bashing anyones school. Sorry if I did.

Yes SFSU did add a bunch of dorms. Has a beautiful new library. But SJSU still is a much better school. It's just the location and mentality of the student body. Visit it if you live close by. Don't gauge it based on normal hours, visit it after 5 or 6 pm. It's a dead commuter school. Not very much is going on.

LongRangePlan

My son was accepted at both SDSU and USD. The financial aid package he was offered at USD was generous enough that it essentially made the schools cost about the same. However, we were warned that SDSU likely meant no chance of graduating in 4 years, maybe not even 5, due to the trouble getting into classes needed to graduate.

Moot point now, as my son chose Chapman over both of them. Fantastic financial aid package, and a course of study within the Dodge College of Film & Media Arts about which he is truly excited.

By the way, Chico State is a lovely place to go to school. It has a true college town feel, and the journalism program there is quite good. SJSU's journalism department is also well-respected. The intent of CSU programs is to prepare students with practical skills so they can graduate and get jobs, using those degrees. As journalism is my field and I live in Northern CA, I am acquainted with many Chico and SJSU grads with degrees in journalism and PR who are enjoying jobs in their chosen fields.

ucbalumnus

Several CSUs now have four year pledge programs giving registration priority to students who do not need remedial courses and agree to follow the course plans for their majors. Campuses offering this include Pomona, Bakersfield, Fresno, San Bernardino, Stanislaus, and possibly Northridge.

However, the likely reasons that CSU four year graduation rates are so low (under 20% even at the campuses that offer four year pledges) are:

a. Many students average less than 15 units per semester/quarter, possibly due to working while in school.
b. Many students need remedial course work, particularly at less selective campuses.
c. Lower cost means less financial penalty for an extra semester/quarter (compared to private schools).
d. The Cal Polys probably have some students doing co-op jobs which lengthen calendar time to graduation even though they are not spending extra quarters in school.

The "cannot get the classes needed for one's major because they are full" problem reportedly is a significant problem in at least some majors at least some CSUs, but is not the only reason why four year graduation rates are so low.

nikkiannpet

It really makes me wonder which CSUs are the "right ones" because there are so many to choose from! At least with the UCs I had an easier time selecting which ones I wanted to attend. Thanks everyone for the input.

All right maybe I should scratch off USF and maybe replace it with Chapman (is Chapman better in terms of academics?). Anyone know of Loyola Marymount?

nikkiannpet

@Santookie, do you know anything more about University of the Pacific? I heard from one person they give a lot of financial aid, and from another that they were stingy. I also am not sure about the admissions rate because some sources say it accepts below 50, and others like the Fiske Guide indicate above 50%...

nikkiannpet

I've also noticed many people compare Chapman to LMU or Redlands. I've heard varied opinions on Redlands' Johnston. According to Fiske's Guide, Redlands is a "best kept secret," so would anyone vouch for it? Thank you. I'm just about done with my list.
With CSULB and SDSU, I went with LB because it's closer and seems less of a party school and I believe smaller?
Should I just stick with SFSU over USF then if USF isn't that great or worth its money?

kelliebeff

I have a child at University of Redlands. The Johnston program is for those out-of-the-box thinkers that are highly motivated and creative in charting their own academic path. They get a lot of support and have some amazing opportunities. They are in the minority though as I believe only 300 or so students are in the program.

Although not in the Johnston program, I believe my child is receiving a great education. Class sizes are small and intimate. The calculus professor ran optional study hours each week at a coffee shop. The foreign lanuage exams were oral, one on one with the professor. Registration has been a breeze each semester. She will easily graduate in four years with two study abroad experiences.

You won't get that kind of educational experience at a CSU or UC. With merit aid (we did not receive any need based aid), the cost was the same as a couple of UC campuses. In contrast to post number 17 above, I will pay 30k a year for small class sizes, personal attention from the professor, easy registration and other perks of a small private school. However, I will NOT spend that same 30K so that my child can sit in an auditorium with 400 or more other students and bubble in scantron exams, and fight tooth and nail to get classes. I have friends with kids at every UC and several CSUs, and I believe my child is getting as fine an education. So that is the appeal for us- same price as a public, but a very personal learning experience. And a whole lot less red tape.

LMU, UOP, And SCU were the other private options. SCU came in at full price so we took that off the table. Lovely, lovely school, but at 53k a year, we just couldn't justify the incremental difference.

It comes down to what kind of experience you want and what you are comfortable spending for an undergraduate degree. We discounted the CSUs even though they were by far the least expensive as we believed paying more for a private was worth it. Some might think us nuts for rejecting CalPolySLO and paying more money for Redlands, but we think we did the right thing.

OCELITE

@nikkiannpet,

"is Chapman better in terms of academics?"

Here's your answer. <<<The ABA Journal has published an article that shines an academic spotlight on the scholarly work of Chapman Law. The article, discussing a new University of St. Thomas report, identified Chapman as one of three newer law schools accredited within the past two decades that “have already made a scholarly impact that dramatically outpaces their present academic reputations.
“We’re one of the youngest law schools in the country,” said Dean Campbell, “and our faculty are already tremendously over-performing. We’re confident that as we become better known, all of our ratings will rise.”
In recent years, Chapman Law has seen a significant move up in the U.S News rankings. The school’s success can be attributed in part to our commitment to hands-on practical skills training, traditional theoretical instruction from highly regarded faculty and our personalized learning environment.
“As Chapman Law continues to gain momentum, we believe the only way to go from here is up,” said Dean Campbell. “We have outstanding faculty and students, a greatly supportive university administration, and tons of encouragement from our board members from both the business and legal community: what’s to stop us?”>>>

DS made the choice to attend Chapman two years ago and still very happy with that decision! DS is scheduled to graduate on time and actually is a bit ahead of schedule without the minor. With the minor, DS is still scheduled to graduate on time. Chapman is a jewel! According to Newsweek, Chapman is among the most beautiful schools in the nation and it's the most beautiful school in SoCal. Not only that, but Chapman is becoming more well-known. Chapman's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts shot up 9 slots in the THR (The Hollywood Reporter) 2012 rankings. This confirms that Chapman has been underrated all along. Regardless of what everyone is saying about the schools, to find the right fit, you must go visit the schools for yourself. We can only tell you from our experiences or from what we know about each school. Good luck with your list!

nikkiannpet

Which gives better financial aid--Chapman or Redlands?
I got an email from UOP to apply as a Distinctive Candidate. So I guess I'm applying there for sure.