California State University-Long Beach

I transferred to Cal State Long in 2018 from Cypress Community College. I graduated in 2020 with a degree in English Literature. Overall, I would say Cal State Long Beach is good college to attend because of the professors who taught each course. They would start off each semester with an introduction to their classroom and would provide reading materials necessary for their class. All of their textbooks, as an English major were related to the course and helped improve my knowledge of literature... Read More within the United States and the UK. We would review different time periods and authors who wrote using different ideologies, themes, and with different techniques. My professors would show how each author or text wrote in reflection of the time period as well as with different writing styles in mind. We would be asked to analyze the text and contemplate the meaning through essays and short answers/articles. We were also encouraged the improve our research skills and creativity, along with understand the basic concept of an essay and what is required beyond that. The professors would also allow students to come during office hours to improve on writing, better understand the literature, and ask for tips. I feel this made my experience at Cal State Long Beach great and would recommend and encourage other students to attend.

I really enjoyed my experience here! All of my professors were great, and they were always helpful in making the most out of my undergrad experience and giving advice for pursuing grad school. They were very kind and understanding, pushing me to improve, but still very in tune to the fact that students aren't machines and that we have lives outside the classroom. There were many opportunities to get involved with professors' research and do presentations, which boosted my confidence in doing research... Read More myself. There are also a lot of programs and opportunities designed to help first-gen students that I was able to take advantage of, which made applying for grad school less daunting.

I gave it 4/5 stars because I disagree with how some administrative things are done. Like many universities, CSULB is focused on getting students in and out as quickly as possible, but they do so to the detriment of students. The general academic counselors constantly try to get you to register for more classes so you can graduate as soon as possible, and that seems to be their singular goal. You'll be better off getting into some kind of on-campus program/group that has their own academic counselors (I was in the McNair Scholars Program) where they actually care about helping you shape your educational journey. There's also the fact costs just keep going up, especialy for parking. But overall, my encounters with the individuals and groups on campus were incredibly fulfilling.

California State University Long Beach (CSULB) was not my top pick for college, my dream school was University of California Irvine (UCI). I got accepted into UCI and attended for 2.5 years, but ultimately decided to switch schools for several reasons. CSULB had smaller class sizes, which made a huge difference in my understanding of material. With smaller classes, I had more time with my professors to learn and ask the questions that I needed. In addition to this, I felt as though CSULB had more... Read More opportunities for networking, which has been extremely valuable in my career. Finally, several of my professors worked at both UCI and CSULB, meaning that I was receiving a very similar education for way less money. All of these factors made CSULB a fantastic school for me.

California State University Long Beach is often said to be a commuter school by the local population and after attending, I am inclined to agree. It always seemed like it was a college where people go to school and then rush to get home compared to some other schools that have more people stay on campus longer.
Academically, I thought the education and quality of professors was fairly good although not every teacher was the best. Some buildings I had classes in were somewhat rundown with sketchy... Read More lighting and no central air conditioning. People were friendly enough and it did seem like they tried to make the student experience enjoyable at a lower cost

I had a really negative experience with CSULB's College of Professional and Continuing Development. I hadn't realized that I was enrolled in a class, and they charged me for it even though I never attended class, turned in assignments, communicated with the teacher, etc. When I tried to explain that I hadn't known that I was enrolled, I was met with a flat out refusal to hear my side of the story, as well as a notice in the mail that my $950 bill was being sent to collections. I felt really ignored... Read More and dismissed and I can only assume that my experience reflects on how the school treats it students in general. It also makes me wonder about the teachers at CSULB. I would have expected a teacher to reach out to an apparent new student who wasn’t attending class or participating at all, but that didn’t happen, which makes me question how much the teachers care about their students at this school.