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Choosing a College Southern California College Tours
Southern California Tour Itineraries
List of Colleges from north to south (click on the name to go
directly to it): "Walking campus tours are available at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM
Monday
through Friday, as well as Saturdays at noon. Tours begin from the
Student Business Services Building lobby, last about an hour, and are
immediately followed by a tour of our on-campus residence halls which
leaves from the Library front steps. Reservations are requested but are
not required. Comfortable shoes are highly recommended. If you like,
you can also request to meet with an Admissions Counselor, sit in on a
class, and meet with a faculty member in your program during your visit
to Humboldt State. Please give us two week’s notice to make these
arrangements. Virtual tour Directions
"Thanks for deciding to book a tour and visit SSU! We
recommend at least two weeks advance notice for tour reservations so
that we can confirm your tour date in writing. Tours are given during
the semester on Monday through Saturday. Click here
to meet your
Student Outreach Sonoma (“SOS”) Tour Guides, or call them at
707.664.3029 if you have questions." Campus
maps, directions,
and visitor information UC Berkeley, usually called "Cal," is the flagship of the UC
system.
Founded in 1868, it is the oldest and second largest of the campuses in
terms of population, with over 31,000 students. It is among the most
prestigious
universities in the world and is the highest-rated public university in
America. Its distinguished faculty members have won numerous
awards, including 17 Nobel Prizes. It is one of the top research
institutions in the country and has been rated among the top
public research universities in the country. Its discoveries in
physics
and computer science are legendary. Because of its stature, it is the
most
difficult UC campus to get into and reputedly the most demanding.
36,829 applied; 9,792 admitted. The
average
weighted GPA of incoming freshmen is 4.21, 3.94 unweighted. SAT 25/75
percentile: 1200-1450. (See here for the freshman
profile.) It has a rigorous selection
process.
(See here for admit
rates.) Cal is an urban school, located on 1,232
acres
at the edge of the city of Berkeley. However, it backs up into the
Berkeley
Hills, which includes parklands and undeveloped open space. As with
other
Bay Area colleges, finding student housing is one of the biggest
challenges.
Unlike other UC's, Cal is on the semester system. Fees are $6,413
per year. (See here for undergraduate
student budgets.) The on-campus residence halls can house 5000
students.
Room and board cost $12,554 per year. For recreation, Cal has an
extensive sports
program, which includes nationally-ranked intercollegiate
athletics.
Games against Stanford are big events. Free Campus Tour Schedule Free campus tours are held daily, seven days a week. The
90-minute
walking tours are led by trained student guides who are knowledgeable
about the Berkeley campus and student life at Cal. No reservations
are required for fewer than ten people. Monday through Friday, tours are at 10:00 a.m. Weekday
tours
leave from the Visitor Center at 101 University Hall, 2200 University
Ave, located at the corner of University Avenue and Oxford Street.
Monday through Friday only, tours are followed by a 30-minute
admissions presentation for prospective freshman applicants who have
not yet applied to the University. Saturday tours are at 10 a.m. Sunday tours are at 1 p.m. Cal Day Student
Guided Campus Tours What does it
include? The
individual/family guided campus tour for prospective students and their
family members is a
free walking tour on pathways outside of buildings
that takes approximately 1 hour. It is conducted by one
of our trained tour guides who welcomes the opportunity to share their
University experience as an undergraduate student.
The campus tour encompasses the main part of the campus and does not
including housing. If you wish to visit
the on-campus housing
facilities and/or
if you wish to learn more about a specific major, you
will need to contact
the housing office and/or the major department office prior
to your visit to make arrangements. (E-mail addresses and phone numbers
of SFSU departments
are available at www.sfsu.edu/atoz.) Do I need a reservation? No.
However, we will collect one ticket per prospective student at
check-in. We do not need
prior knowledge that you're coming. Phone reservations are not
required
and are not taken. Where do I obtain a check-in ticket? What days and
times are available? Click on the desired month to see the
schedule/check-in ticket: Feb
2006 | Mar 2006
| Apr
2006 | May 2006
Self
Guided Campus Tours During
normal business hours, you can pick up the brochure in the lobby of the
Administration
building (opposite of the elevators), in the lobby of the Student Services building,
or outside Room 106 of the Student
Services building. Or
the Self Guided Campus Tour brochure can be faxed to you before
you come. Please send us a request by email to [email protected] or by fax to
415-338-0903 at least 15 working days before your planned visit.
Be sure to include your fax number in your request. Directions
to SFSU Formerly Cal State Hayward, CSU East Bay changed its name
because it has 2 campuses in the East Bay. The largest is located in
the Hayward Hills, on a
342-acre campus
overlooking the central East Bay cities, with views of the Bay. At its
back and sides are the East Bay Hills, including parklands of the East
Bay Regional Parks District. The university has 12,535 students, of
which 7,423 are full-time undergraduates. The university also maintains
a 395-acre campus in Concord
for upper division and graduate students. The university offers 46
bachelor's
degree majors, 65 minors, and 26 master's degrees in four schools. Its
master's program in multimedia was the first in the nation. Its
highly-respected
business school is one of the largest in the Bay Area. Its most popular
majors are business administration, liberal studies, and comuter
science.
The university's selectivity is typical for a CSU. 4,665 applied;
2,177 admitted. The average high
school GPA is 3.14. SAT 25/75 percentile: 620-1122. Many students
commute to campus, with a free shuttle
service to the Hayward BART
station. On-campus
housing is available. Fees are $2,916 per year. Rooms are
$6,759 (no meals). Tours
Tours are available Monday through
Friday. Call the Enrollment Services at (510) 885-2556 for Hayward
appointments, or to visit our Concord campus, call (925)602-6700." Virtual
Tour The San Francisco Bay Area is lucky to have two world-class
universities.
One is UC Berkeley. The other is Cal's cross-Bay archrival, Stanford
University.
Ironically, Stanford's founding was inspired by tragedy. In 1884,
Leland
Stanford Jr., the 16-year old son of California Governor and railroad
baron
Leland Stanford Sr. and his wife Jane, died while travelling in Europe
from typhoid fever. His grief-stricken parents decided to create a
university
in his memory. In 1891, Stanford University opened its doors. (See here
for more on Stanford's
history.) Since then, it has developed and grown into one of
the world's great universities. Stanford has been consistently ranked
among
the top
5 universities in the country, and is the top university in the
West. It ranks with the great Ivy League
universities on the East Coast. Unlike them, however, it has a
nationally-ranked sports
program that has produced superstars like John Elway and Tiger
Woods.
Stanford's achievements in science and technology have often been
credited
as giving birth to the Silicon Valley. Its alumni include industry
moguls
such as Bill Hewlett and David Packard. Even though it is an enormous
campus
in terms of area, it is small in terms of the student population, with
an undergraduate population of less than 6,506. The student-faculty
ratio
is only 6:1, so classes are small. The university owns over 8100
acres
of land in the Palo Alto area, much of which is still undeveloped open
space. The campus itself has more than 678 major buildings. It has many
research
laboratories, including the famous Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center. Even though Stanford is located in one
of
the most expensive and tightest housing markets in the country, housing
for undergraduates is not a problem, as 92% of them live on campus.
Stanford
is one of the most difficult schools to get into in the country. Only
the
best students apply, but even then, only about 8% of the applicants
will
wind up in the freshman class. The average incoming freshman GPA is
3.9. SAT 25/75 percentile: 1370-1550. Admission: 20,192 applied;
2,426 admitted; 1,632 enrolled. It
attracts
some of the brightest students from all over the country and the world,
as well as children of the rich and famous (including children of the
President).
Stanford is one of the most expensive colleges in the country, with the
tuition at over $31,200 and room and board at $9,932 per year. For
talented and highly-motivated students it is worth it, not only for the
quality of education, but for the valuable contacts they can make
there.
A large number of corporate founders in the Silicon Valley met each
other
while at Stanford. We offer the following tours for campus visitors. For more
detailed
information about the tours, please contact Visitor Information
Services at (650) 723-2560 or by email at [email protected]. If you are planning to visit during a holiday period or
academic break,
please consult our schedule of services to ensure the tour you are
interested in will be offered at the time of your visit. UC Davis is the third largest UC campus in terms of
population, with
about 29,637 students, of which 22,735 are undergraduates. It is the
largest in terms of land area, with
5,200
acres. It is located in the Sacramento Valley just 15 miles west of
sacramento
and 72 miles northeast of San Francisco. Being in an agricultural area,
it is renowned for its agricultural research and technology. It was
founded
as a state agricultural school in 1905 as a farming extension to UC
Berkeley.
(See here for more on its history.)
Because it is a large, flat campus, bicycles are the favored mode of
transportation.
The city of Davis has the most bicycles per capital in the nation.
Davis
has three undergraduate colleges with more than 150 majors, the most of
any UC campus. It also has 70 graduate programs and four professional
schools
in law, management, medicine, and veterinary medicine. 20% of the
students
live on campus. University-owned student
housing consists of residence
halls, which can house 4500 undergraduate students, and several apartment
complexes. 31,292 applied; 17,291 admitted; 4,786 enrolled. The
average incoming freshman GPA
is
3.74. SAT 25/75 percentile: 1040-1280. (See here for the freshman
profile.) The most popular majors are
biological sciences, psychology, and engineering. Costs are $7,495 for
fees, $10,791 for room and board. VISITOR SERVICES proudly offers campus maps,
information and directions to campus guests
from two visitor center locations at UC Davis, as well as the Campus
Tour Program for prospective
students making college decisions. The UC Davis Campus Tour Program: The Campus Tour Program offers a variety of guided tour types,
self-guided tour options, the
on-line virtual tour, campus tour video and limited classroom
visitation registration. Visitor
Services is determined to meet the propective students' and general
visitors' needs in providing a
true sense of what UC Davis has to offer in the way of education,
employment and community. Week Day Family Walking Tours are offered
most week days (except on observed
holidays) at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm with at least a one week advance
registration. Registration is
available until filled and capacity is based on tour guide
availability. All guides are students and
availability often depends on students' class schedules. Walking tours
are 90 minutes in length.
Please visit the on-line tour
registration system to register
for a campus tour. Weekend Family Walking Tours are offered at
11:30 am most Saturdays and Sundays
with at least a one week advance registration. Registration is
available until filled and capacity
is based on tour guide availability. All guides are students. Walking
tours are 90 minutes in
length. Please visit the on-line
tour registration system to
register for a campus tour. Engineering Tours are offered to prospective
students and their families on
selected days of the week throughout the year when engineering students
are available to conduct
guided tours. Engineering tours are 90 minutes in length. Engineering
tours are available until
filled and space is limited to 12 people per tour. Please visit the on-line tour registration
system for specific Engineering Tour availability. Biological Sciences Tours are offered to
prospective students and their families
on selected days of the week throughout the year when division of
biological sciences students are
available to conduct guided tours. Biological Sciences Tours are 90
minutes in length. Biological
Sciences tours are available until filled and space is limited to 12
people per tour. Please visit
the on-line tour
registration system for specific Biological Sciences Tour
availability. Large Group Walking and Tram Tours are
offered based on tour guide and/or tram
driver availability. Walking tours are 90 minutes in length and tram
tours are 45 minutes in length.
Both of these tour types are available to group sizes of greater than
18 and less than 44. For Large
group walking tour and tram tour availability, please call (530)
752-0539 and speak with a Visitor
Services representative. We will be happy to check tour guide driver
and/or tour guide availability
for you. Self-Guided Walking Tour Brochures are
available too. If all guided tour options
are full or unavailable during the time you wish to visit UC Davis, we
encourage consideration of
the Self-Guided Walking Tour brochure. This brochure includes student
and academic statistics,
images of campus, information about student organizations, sports and
housing, a color map of
campus, a directional tour route indicator and the original tour script
that student guides memorize
to conduct guided tours. The brochures are always available at the
Walter A. Buehler Alumni &
Visitors Center. If you visit us after operating hours the brochures
will be available outside the
front doors. The Self-Guided Walking Tour Brochure is a very inclusive,
comprehensive piece of
literature that answers most questions about UC Davis. However, just in
case that is not enough, the
Walter A. Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center lobby service counter is
staffed by a UC Davis student
Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday from 9:00 am to
4:00 pm and Sunday from
10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Please feel free to stop in and visit with the UC
Davis student on duty to
answer any of your student life questions. The Campus Tour Video Tape "Look Into Your Future"
is available for purchase.
This 16 minute award winning video overview presentation of UC Davis
covers undergraduate and
graduate academic areas, faculty interviews, student interviews;
information about student
opportunities, organizations and activities; sports, student housing,
etc. This video won an
International "Award of Distinction". The videos are available for
purchase from Visitor Services
for $5.00, plus $3.85 for shipping and handling anywhere in the United
States. To order your "Look
Into Your Future" video tape, send a personal check or money order
payable to UC
Regents in the amount of $8.85 to: Visitor Services, University of California at Davis, Alumni
Center, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA
95616 Don't forget to include your return address of where to ship
the video. Classroom Lecture Visitation is available for
prospective students and parents
to observe a lecture in progress. A selected number of classes have
been approved and added to this
program by faculty. The seating is very limited and is offered to
families and small groups of 1 to
5 in size. Thank you for your interest in UC Davis and we look forward to
serving you. Visitor Services Group
Tour Inquiries - These are one-hour walking tours of the campus
designed for groups of prospective high school and college age
students. For elementary and middleschool students, we recommend the
self-guided tour option below. To schedule a group tour, please email
your request to: [email protected] SJSU was founded in 1857 and is the oldest of the CSU
campuses. In fact,
it is the oldest public institution of higher education on the West
Coast. (See
here for SJSU's
history.) It is a large urban college, located on 154 acres
right
in the heart of downtown San Jose,
with 29.975 students, of which 16,100 are full-time
undergraduates. Being downtown
provides easy access to the city's downtown theaters, restaurants,
museums,
hotels, offices, parks, convention center, and main library. Because of
its location in the Silicon Valley, its computer science and
engineering
classes are very popular. Graduates have become technical professionals
all around the Valley. The area around SJSU has improved in recent
years,
with new hotels, museums, and theaters having been built. The huge new King
Library is shared between San Jose State and the San Jose Public
Library. It is not too
difficult for good students to get into. The average incoming freshman
GPA is 3.17, SAT 25/75 percentile: 870-1140. 15,079 applied;
9,935 admitted; 2,393 enrolled. Fees are 2,958 per
year. On-campus
housing is available. Room and board costs $8,136. Campus Village is a new
housing facility that opened in fall of 2005. SJSU is next to the
VTA Light Rail line, so commuting from farther away from campus is
possible. SJSU is more of a commuter college than a residential one,
though
many students live in rented housing in the area. Group All campus tours start
at the Virtual Tour Santa Clara University is the oldest institution of higher
learning
in California. Its beginnings can be traced back to the founding of
Mission
Santa Clara de Asis in 1777, the eighth of the California missions. The
university was established in 1851 by the Jesuits, based around the
mission
property. It is a relatively small college, sitting on 104 acres, with
a full-time undergraduate population of 4,316.
The student-faculty ratio is a low 12:1. The average class size is 27.
Even though it is a Catholic college, about 40% of the students are
not Catholic. 8,904 applied; 5,419 admitted; 1,198 enrolled. The
average high school GPA of incoming
freshmen was 3.54. SAT 25/75 percentile: 1110-1300.
It is a highly regarded institution, rated
the number two western
regional
college. It has a wide
variety of majors. Being in the heart of the Silicon Valley, its engineering
and technology programs are popular, and its graduates are in high
demand
in industry. A number of high-ranking corporate executives have
graduated
from SCU. Its MBA program attracts many current Silicon Valley
professionals
looking to expand their business skills. Tuition is $28,899 per year.
Room
and board costs $10,032 per year. (See here for housing information.) 61% of
the undergraduate students
receive financial aid.
The
university's facilities
include Mission Santa
Clara,
the de Saisset Museum of
art
and history, and the Center of
Performing Arts. The Undergraduate Admission office hosts an information session and student-led campus tour daily, Monday through
Friday and on most Saturdays. For more information, take a look at our campus visit
schedule, or you can make a
reservation through SCUConnect. If you will be bringing more than ten people for a campus
visit, please reserve a group tour. We
do not offer interviews, however individual conversations with
admission counselors are available on a drop-in basis. They are offered
to prospective freshmen who have questions not otherwise answered in
the information session or on our Web site. Although this is not a
requirement for the application process, we feel this is another good
way for our counselors to get to know you. Santa Clara no
longer offers individual appointments for transfer students. In lieu of
these appointments, we will offer a transfer-oriented information
session twise monthly. Please refer to the campus visit
schedule for more information. The
Undergraduate Admissions Office does not formally arrange overnight
visits for individual students. We do, however, offer a number of special programs for
admitted students that include an overnight component. To help you plan your visit to Santa Clara, we provide
information about parking, directions to
campus, local transportation,
a campus map, and a list of hotels near SCU. Virtual tour UCSC is second smallest of the general UC campuses in terms of
population,
with 12,983 full-time undergraduate students, but the second largest in
terms of
area, at 2,950 acres. However, it is almost an invisible campus. It is
difficult to see the campus buildings because they are hidden among the
towering redwood trees. In fact, the buildings are designed so that
they
are lower than the tree lines. The heavily-forested campus environment
seems very much like a state park. Indeed, it is surrounded by state
and
local parks. UCSC has one of the most beautiful natural settings
among all the colleges in the state. It is situated on hilly land on
the
lower slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Most of the upper campus is
located
in redwood forests, divided by deep, shady ravines. The lower parts of
the campus are on open grass-covered hills with views of Monterey Bay.
Nearby parks include Wilder
Ranch State Park, Henry
Cowell Redwoods State Park, Natural
Bridges State Park, and the Pogonip
Open Space Preserve. UCSC has been one of the most innovative of
the
UC campuses in terms of teaching methods. It is the only UC campus
where
grades are optional. Students receive written evaluations from their
instructors,
which can be useful as letters of references for job and graduate
school
applications. The campus is divided into nine residential
colleges. All undergraduates, regardless of whether they live on
campus
or off, are affiliated with one of these colleges. Each has its own
academic
requirements. The scenic settings and million-dollar views from
the
on-campus housing at UCSC make them seem like luxury resorts. However,
off-campus housing is in short supply in the growth-restricted city of
Santa Cruz. Finding outside housing is one of the most challenging
tasks
at UCSC. UCSC has had a reputation of being a "hippie school." While it
still appeals to artists with Bohemian sensibilities, its reputation as
an academic school and research institution has been growing. It is the
closest UC campus to Silicon Valley, and its technology-related
programs
have increased. Planning is under way for the UC
Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Center at NASA Ames Research Center in
Mountain
View. UCSC runs several research
facilities, including the Long
Marine Lab in Santa Cruz, the Lick
Observatory on Mount Hamilton, and the developing Monterey
Bay Education, Science, and Technology Center on the former Fort
Ord
site.. UCSC is moderately selective. The average incoming freshman GPA
is 3.56.
SAT 25/75 percentile: 1050-1280. 23,003 applied; 17,342 admitted;
2,996 enrolled. (See here for the freshman
profile.) Fees are $6,913. Room and board is $9,110. Come join us for a UC Santa Cruz campus
tour! Our informative tour guides provide insight into the
undergraduate experience, highlight our excellent academic
opportunities, and showcase our stunning campus environment.
Reservations are required. CSUMB is a new campus. It opened its doors to students in
1995.
It is so new that many people do not realize it exists. For a CSU, it
is
a huge campus in terms of area. Its boundaries encompass about 1500
acres.
Despite its size, it occupies only a small fraction of the giant former
Fort Ord Army Base. So far, only a small part of it has been developed
into active campus buildings. Its property includes large numbers of
buildings
that were part of the army base complex. Its current operating
buildings
were converted from the former army buildings, though future facilities
may be built from scratch. Its upper classmen housing areas, which look
like suburban neighborhoods, were once officer's quarters, and so are
much
more luxurious than the typical student housing. Its current enrollment
is only 3,373, mostly undergraduates,
but
its future enrollment is predicted to grow to 25,000. It is a
rapidly-growing
school, so going there is somewhat like joining a fast-growing startup
company. There are great opportunities for innovation, and the students
are much more empowered than at other larger and more established
schools.
The classes are small, and the equipment is new. Particularly notable
are
their state-of-the-art computer arts and multimedia facilities, which
are
among the best in the state. Its goal is to become THE multimedia
center
for the CSU system. One important sign of its non-tradtional approach
to
education is its inter-disciplinary
majors, in place of more traditional ones. For instance, its Teledramatic
Arts and Technology program combines theater arts with broadcast
and
computer technology. Telecommunications,
Multimedia, and Applied Computing combines business computer,
telecommunications, multimedia, and instructional technology. Its Earth
Systems Science & Policy combines the physical and biological
sciences
with economics and policy. Its location near the ocean makes it ideal
for
marine studies. It is the closest CSU campus to the Moss Landing Marine
Laboratory, which it shares with other CSUs. The campus is located just
north of the resort city of Monterey, so recreational opportunities are
abundant. Because it is near some of the best golf courses in the
world,
it has an excellent golf team. There are huge areas of open space on
the
Fort Ord site for hiking and biking. Despite its suburban location, the
university puts special emphasis on community service. Its
service-learning
practices are becoming a model for the Cal State system. It has no
impacted
programs, so it is easy to get into for anyone meeting the CSU
requirements,
and it is easy to get the classes you need. Classes are very small for
a CSU, comparable to a private university. It doesn't have the broad
spectrum
of programs or huge research laboratories of other universities, but it
does have an intimate, innovative, non-intimidating atmosphere that may
appeal to many students. It has some of the advantages of a small
private
university, but at the low cost of a CSU. CSUMB isn't for everyone, but
it is worth a look to see if it meets your needs. Average incoming
freshman GPA is 3.08, SAT 25/75 percentile: 880-1135. 3,023 applied; 2,508 admitted;
565 enrolled. Fees: $2,761/year. Room & board: $8,254. See
here for information on on-campus housing.
Student-led tours of the CSUMB campus can easily be arranged
but require that you reserve space at least two weeks in advance.
We make every attempt to accommodate your needs. If you would like an
alternative time or desire special assistance on your tour, please contact us. We conduct individual
guided tours (maximum 10) Monday through Friday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.,
and Saturday at 10 a.m. For groups over 10, the same
tour times are possible. However, alternate times may also be possible.
All tour times are subject to change. Please check our Academic Calendar
to see if our campus will be closed on any given day. To request a tour, please call 831-582-3738
or choose one of the forms below. The Self-Guided Tour includes a drive that will take you past
most
of the major campus buildings, and a walk of the residential quad. The tour booklet is available in the Adobe Portable
Document Format (PDF). You will need Adobe
Acrobat Reader to view this file. Virtual tour Our student and staff tour guides give lively and entertaining
tours of the main campus in Stockton. Tours are available throughout
the year, last for one hour and can be scheduled on weekdays and most
Saturdays. Late August, 2005 to March 18, 2006 Monday through Friday: Tours start at 10:00 am and
3:00 pm March 20, 2006 to April 22, 2006 Monday through Friday: Tours start at 9:00 am, 10:00
am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:00 pm April 24 to Mid May, 2006 Monday through Friday: Tours start at 10:00 am and
3:00 pm Mid-May, 2006 to Mid-August 2006 Monday through Thursday: Tours start at 10:00 am and
2:00 pm All tours begin in the lobby of Knoles
Hall. Contact the Office of Admission at (209) 946-2211 to arrange a
tour, group information session, or individual counselor session.
Overnight stays and classroom visits are available September
20–December 5 and January 20–May 5. Online
tour of the
campus UC Merced guided tours are available by reservation. Tours
consist
of a 45 minute walking tour led by a student tour guide. Due to safety
concerns, guests are not permitted to enter construction zones. To make
a reservation, contact the Office of Admissions/Relations with Schools
& Colleges at (209) 381-7880 or toll free in California at (866)
270-7301. Tour
Schedule Monday through Friday at 10:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. Location
Tours start at the Kolligian Library located at 5200 N. Lake
Rd.,
Merced, CA. 95340. Visitors should check in at the Students First
Center located in the first floor of the Library-Gold Wing. Monday through Friday, after touring the
campus, students may also visit their academic department of
choice. Department tours can be scheduled by calling in advance
for an appointment. To visit the Fresno State campus, call
University Outreach Services at 559.278.2048 or email a tour request - please make
sure to leave your full name and phone number when emailing us." Created by Ronald Horii
Statistics are from Fall 2005. 
Northern California College
Tours
College Links
Below
are listed tour information for the major California colleges,
primarily
in the Bay Area and along the coast. The college tour information below
was mostly excerpted from the colleges' own Websites. Clink on the
links
to learn more about these colleges. Links to other colleges in the
state
are in the links section. The opinions of the
colleges below are mine and are only for the colleges I have visited so
far or know something about. If certain colleges are
not
listed, it is only because I do not know enough about them. The college
data was taken from the colleges' own Websites, from U.S.
News
& World Report's America's Best Colleges 2001 Edition and
Time/The
Princeton Review's The Best College for You - 2001 Edition.
Humboldt State University is the northernmost CSU campus, located in
the
small North
Coast
Redwood Empire town of Arcata, on
the north side of Humboldt Bay from Eureka.
it only 95 miles south of the Oregon border, 370 miles north of San
Francisco.The
main campus is on 144 acres, almost a million square feet in 90
buildings,
perched on hills with views of Humboldt Bay. It is a relatively small
campus,
with 7,462 students, of which 5,899 are full-time undergraduates. The
student/faculty ratio is a relatively
low
18:1. The university offers a broad choice of traditional courses,
as well as some unique ones, such as American Indian education,
fisheries,
forestry, natural resoureces, Pacific Basin studies, peace &
conflict
studies, rangeland resources science, recreation administration, social
advocacy, water resource policy, watershed management, wildland soil
science,
and wildlife. The university's selectivity is typical for a CSU.
The average incoming freshman GPA is 3.17. SAT 25/75 percentile:
940-1190. Out of 6,319 freshmen who applied, 3,670 were accepted,
of which 760 attended. Humboldt State, like many colleges in
small
towns, is primarily a residential campus. About 2/3 of the students
come
from outside of Humboldt County. 8% come from out of state, and 3% are
foreign students. Many students live on campus in the residence halls.
(See here for more
on housing.) The on-campus residences are like mountain
resorts,
set on hillsides amid redwood forests. Room
& board rates vary from $4,181 for a room only to $9,392 for
the most expensive plan. Fees are $3167 per year
(see here for the cost
of attendance.) The proximity of Humboldt Bay, as well as the
forests, mountains, and rivers of the Redwood Empire, provide a wide
range
of outdoor activities. Students enjoy backpacking, canoeing, sailing,
rafting,
hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and whale-watching. Humboldt
State University
Tours
Come and see us in person!
Videos
Getting
to Humboldt State
Campus maps
About Humboldt
Fast
Facts
Chico State is the second oldest CSU. It was founded in 1887 on land
donated
by the founders of Chico, John and Annie Bidwell. Their name lives on
in Bidwell
Park, a huge 3,618-acre wooded park, one of the largest municipal
parks
in the country. The park follows along Big Chico Creek, which also runs
through the shady, park-like Chico State campus. The university is in
the
small city of Chico (population
47,000),
which is in the Sacramento Valley at the edge of the Sierra Nevada
foothills.
Its location provides for great outdoor recreational opportunities,
particularly
hiking and mountain biking. The university is a medium-sized campus, at
15,919 students, of which 12,866 are full-time undergraduates, on 119
acres. Chico State has had a national
reputation
for being one of the top party
schools in the country. One reason is that unlike many CSU's, which
tend to be commuter colleges, Chico is a residential campus (see here
for
housing information). Most students live on or near the campus. Despite
all the parties, Chico's students graduate at a higher rate than any
other
CSU campus. It has been rated 4th
among western regional public colleges. (See here for more about Chico's
accomplishments.) The university has seven colleges. Being in
the Central Valley, the university has a College
of Agriculture. The university's farm covers 1050 acres. Its
College
of Engineering has an innovative program in "mechatronics,"
which would appeal to students interested in robotics. Its school
newspaper
has won awards for being the top college newspaper in California. The
university's
selectivity is typical for a CSU. The average incoming freshman GPA is
3.28. SAT 25/75 percentile: 940-1140. Out of 10,751
freshmen
who applied, 8,561 were accepted, of which 2,234 enrolled. Fees
are
$3,370
per year. Room and board are $7,993. (See here for housing information.) California
State University Chico
Tours
"Campus tours are conducted Monday through
Saturday at 11:30 A.M. We strongly recommend that you make your tour
reservation 7-10 working days in advance. This will allow us time to
mail you a parking permit and map. Call 1-800-542-4426 for more
information.
March:
~ We will offer campus tours March
13 through 17 but please note this is spring break for CSU, Chico
students so classes will not be in session.
~ No tour will be offered March 17 and 18 due to St. Patrick's
holiday.
~ No tour will be offered March 31 due to Cesar Chavez holiday.
Where:
Monday through Friday
tours meet in the Office of Admissions in Colusa Hall, near the center
of campus. Saturday tours require an appointment and meet in the
University Police Station located at W. 2nd and Normal Streets. Check
our campus map
for detailed locations."
Photo
tour
Quick Facts
Sonoma State is located in the scenic Sonoma
County Wine Country in the small city of Rohnert
Park. It is a relatively young campus, founded in 1960. It has been
rated among the top
10 western regional public colleges. It has 7,749 students, of
which 5,822 are full-time undergraduates on
its 220-acre campus. The student/faculty ratio
is 20:1. It offers 33 bachelor's degrees, 13 master's degrees, and 9
teaching
credentials. The most popular majors are business administration,
liberal
studies, psychology, English, biology, kinesiology, and communication
studies.
It has a traditional of liberal arts teaching, and was chosen
to be the sole California representive of the national Council of
Public
Liberal Arts Colleges. Sonoma State is close to the city of Santa
Rosa and has been associated with one of that city's most famous
residents,
Charles Schulz, whose wife is a Sonoma State alumnus. The couple
donated $5 million dollars for the operation of the Jean
and Charles Schulz Information Center. It will be a
state-of-the-art
library and information center, with a computerized book retrieval
system.
As Santa Rosa is becoming a rapidly-developing technology center, like
Silicon Valley, Santa Rosa companies have been supporting technology
programs
at the university, like JDSU's
$1 million grant for a master's program in computer and engineering
science. Biotechnology research is being supported in the university's new
DNA sequencing lab. Sonoma State is not too difficult for good
students
to get into. The average incoming freshman GPA is 3.23. SAT 25/75
percentile: 940-1140. 8,392 applied,
5,837 admitted, 1,111 enrolled. It is a popular campus
for women, who
outnumber men by about 2:1. Minorities make up about 22% of the
undergraduate
population. Many students live on-campus. There are a number of on-campus
housing options, which vary
in price from $5,982 with no meals up to $10,340 per year for the
most expensive plan. Student fees are $1,808
per semester. (See here for cost
of attendance.)
Sonoma
State University
About SSU
University
of California at Berkeley
Online Tour
Campus map and
directions
Virtual
reality panoramas
SFSU is located on a relatively compact 94 acres in the city of San
Francisco,
near Lake Merced. It is a large campus, population-wise, with 28,950
students, of which 16,884 are full-time undergraduates. (See here for
more campus
statistics.) The college was established in 1899. It has 83
academic
departments, awarding bachelor's degrees in 117 areas and master's in
97.
It is unusual for a CSU campus in that it offers doctorates (in
education
jointly with UC Berkeley). Its most popular majors are business
administration,
psychology, liberal studies, computer science, biology, radio & TV,
English, cinema, art, and kinesiology. It is relatively easy for good
students
to get into. The average incoming freshman GPA is 3.17. SAT 25/75
percentile: 940-1140. 19,450 applied;
10,730 admitted; 2,895 enrolled Since SFSU is a
CSU, fees
are relatively low, at only $1564 per semester. Residence
halls are available for freshmen and sophomores. Dorm room
and board costs range from $8,510 to $8,830 per year, depending on
the
meal plan. (See here for the cost of
attendance.) Off-campus housing is available, but San Francisco has
one
of
the tightest and most expensive housing markets in the country, so
finding
housing can be a challenge. On the other hand, San Francisco is one of
the most beautiful cities in the world. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the
country.
San
Francisco State University
At
San
Francisco State,
taking a guided campus tour is the best way to get acquainted with our
university. Guided
campus tours are conducted during the week throughout the year.
The
schedule, which varies from semester to semester, will be posted at the
beginning of each
Fall and Spring semester. However, if you would like to visit the
campus on a day or time
other than what is scheduled, you are welcome to take our Self Guided
Campus
Tour map/brochure.
June to August 2006 - Campus tours will resume in
mid-June. Please check back during the week of the 12th for the
latest updates.
If
you would like to visit the campus on a day or time other than what is
scheduled, you are welcome to take our Self Guided Campus Tour
brochure.
www.sfsu.edu/outreach/Self-guided_tour.pdf
Campus map
Clickable map
of
campus buildings
"What Makes Us
Great"
Quick Facts
Photo Tour
The University of San Francisco has one of the best locations for an
urban
school, being situated in the heart of one of the world's most
beautiful
cities. It sits on a hill northeast of Golden Gate Park and south
of the Presidio. The university is a private Jesuit school, founded in
1855. It is compact for a university, on only 55 acres, but compared to
other institutions in San Francisco, it seems huge. Its venerable
towers
can be seen from all over the city. It has an enrollment of 8,447
of which 5,248 are undergraduates. The student/faculty ratio is
about
14:1. Along with a wide
range of majors, it also has graduate schools in business,
management,
education, law, and nursing. Popular majors are business,
nursing,
communications, and psychology. It also has five
regional campuses in Northern California. It is moderately
selective.
(See here for admission
criteria.) 5,338 applied; 3,961 admitted; 933 enrolled . The
average high school GPA of incoming students
was 3.44. Tuition is $26,840. Room and board are $10,240. 36% of the
students
live on campus. They are required to live on campus for two years,
which
is fortunate, since off-campus housing in San Francisco is in short
supply.
Daily ToursUniversity
of San Francisco
Campus tours and information sessions are available in the morning and
in the afternoon Monday through Friday, except on Federal Holidays. In
order to best accommodate your visit to the USF campus we ask that you
contact the Office of Admission by following the link below or calling
us at 800-CALL USF or 415-422-6563.
* Schedule an Individual or Family Visit
* Schedule a Group Visit
(High school counselors that would like
to arrange a group visit)
California
State University East Bay
"Visit our Hayward Hills or Concord
campus on your own or with a group. With at least two weeks notice, we
can arrange specially planned tours. You can truly get a feeling of
campus life at Cal State East Bay with our tours. Tours can include
meeting current students and participating in that day's student
activities. Visit Campus
Maps to find the best way for you to get to campus.
Campus
maps and directinons
Stanford
University
Campus
maps and directions
An Introduction
to Stanford
Stanford
Facts
Contact
Information and Frequently Asked Questions
Pictures
of Stanford University
Pictures
of the Stanford University Neighborhood and Surrounding Areas
Pictures
of the Stanford Dish Area
University
of California at Davis
Directions
to UC Davis
Virtual
tour
Campus Map
Sac State is located in the state capital along the banks of the
American
River. It is one of the largest CSU campuses, with 27,932
students, of which 17,429 are full-time undergraduates.
It is a good-size urban campus, covering 300 acres, with over 3 million
square feet of building space. It was founded in 1947 on the site of
the
current Sacramento City College. In 1953, it moved to its current site.
The campus is covered with trees and gardens. The adjacent American
River
provides some 33 miles of trails along the river bank, running from
Discovery
Park to Folsom Lake. A campus bridge over the river, the Guy West
Bridge,
looks like a miniature Golden Gate Bridge. The university
consists
of six colleges. It offers 60 undergraduate programs and 40 graduate
programs.
Popular majors are busniess administration, criminal justice, and
liberal
studies. Teacher education is the largest program on campus. The
university's selectivity is typical for a CSU. The average incoming
freshman
GPA is 3.2. SAT 25/75 percentile: 850/1090. 12,515 applied;
6,375 admitted; 2,340 enrolled. Fees are $3,314 per
year, with room and board at $6,474. Most
students live off-campus, but on-campus housing is available (see here
for more housing
information). California
State University Sacramento
Tours
"Individuals
and Family Tours - These tours are for an individual with up to 5
guests. View Frequently Asked Questions and book your tour here.
San
Jose State University
"Individual
Group tours are offered Monday-Friday at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Group tours consist of 15 or more people. Requests must be scheduled by
the first of the month for the next month. Online Registration is
required for all campus tours and an email confirmation will be sent to
all registrants to confirm the date and time of the campus tour
requested.
Directions
to
SJSU
Campus
map
Santa
Clara University
Campus Tours and Information Sessions
Admission Appointments
Class Visits
Santa Clara offers a special program for admitted students to shadow a class
with a current student. These visits are available most weekdays from
February through April and must be scheduled two weeks in advance.
Overnight Visits
Planning Your Visit
Directions
to campus
Campus map
University
of California at Santa Cruz
Group Tours (for groups of 6 or more) may not be reserved here. For
Group Tour reservations, please call (831) 459-4118.
Transfer student advising workshops are offered on the first and third
Fridays of every month and may be reserved online. Reservations are
required.
Reserve
a Tour Now >>
California
State University Monterey Bay
Guided Campus Tours
Self-Guided Tours
Directions
and campus map
UOP has a long
history. It was founded in 1851 as a Methodist school, California
Wesleyan
College, in Santa Clara. It later moved to San Jose, and finally to
Stockton.
It changed its name to College of the Pacific, then to University of
the
Pacific in 1961. The main campus in Stockton covers 170 acres and
enrolls about 4000 students, with 3,371 full-time undergraduates. It
has a wide range of majors,
from the liberal arts to the sciences and engineering. UOP has a four-year
guarantee for students, promising they will graduate in four years
in most majors if certain conditions are met. The student/faculty ratio
is about 14:1. The average incoming
freshman GPA is 3.49. SAT 25/75 percentile: 1060-1280. 5,869 applied;
3,304 admitted; 800 enrolled. UOP is located in Stockton, 80 miles east
of San
Francisco at the west edge of the Central Valley and 40 miles south of
Sacramento. Because it is in the Central Valley, off-campus housing is
cheaper and easier to find than in the Bay Area. Tuition is $26,088 and
room & board are $8,478 per year.
University
of the Pacific
Saturday Tours are available by appointment at 11:00 am
Saturday Tours are available by appointment at 11:00 am
Saturday Tours are available by appointment at 11:00 am
Fridays: There is one tour at 10:00 am
Saturday Tours are available begining in August
Maps
and
directions
Why
Choose Pacific?
UC
Merced is the newest University of California campus. It is the first
major American university to be built in the 21st century. It is
located in the Central Valley by Merced,
a city of 73,000, about mid-way between the Bay Area and the Sierras.
When it opened in September 2005, UC Merced
received 8,883 applicants and admitted 5,958. It is projected to grow
to 25,000 students by 2030. See here for the history of
the campus. The average high school GPA of incoming freshmen was
3.58. The average SAT total score was 1139. It has majors
in 3 academic schools: the School of Engineering, the School of
Natural Sciences, and the School of Social Sciences. Fees are $6,653
per year, and room and board are $10,260. Here is the cost
of attendance and housing
information.University of
California Merced
Tours
and directions to UC Merced
UC Merced Campus Tours
(Excludes major holidays; schedule is subject to
change, please make a reservation)
Saturdays at 11:00 a.m.
Virtual Tour
Campus
map
Fresno State is a large state university in the Central Valley city of
Fresno. It was founded in 1911 as Fresno State Normal School. It has
20,371 students, of which 14,184 are undergraduates, on a 388-acre main
campus
in the middle of the city. It also has a 1,011-acre University Farm at
the northeast edge of Fresno. The university has a number of colleges
and schools. The most popular majors are liberal studies,
business
administration, and agricultural sciences. The latter are significant
because
Fresno is a major agricultural and agri-business center. The
university's
selectivity is typical for a CSU. The average incoming freshman
GPA
is 3.15. SAT 25/75 percentile:840-1080. 11,348 applied;
10,823 admitted; 2,302 enrolled.
Fees are $2,933. (See here for more on fees.)
Room and board is $6,584. Most students commute from
home
or live in off-campus housing, while about 1,000 live in university-owned
housing. California
State University Fresno
Tours
"When choosing a university, it
is essential to become familiar with the campus atmosphere in order to
make informed decisions. University Outreach Services conducts
daily tours of the campus, so that prospective students and their
families can become acquainted with Fresno State.
Tours may be scheduled Monday through Friday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. by
calling two weeks in advance. Individual and family tours depart from
the Smittcamp
Alumni House. Group tours depart from the front of the Joyal
Administration Building. Special arrangements can be made to
accommodate your schedule. Saturdays may be available by appointment
only.
Last update: 3/2/2006
