California State University-Northridge Top Questions

What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

Richard

I wish i had known some of the people in the music department so i wouldn't have gone in now knowing anyone.

Mikiko

I wished i would have known more about jobs within the school.

Yvette

I wish I would have known what field I wanted to receive my B.A. Although I wasn't completely unsure, my first year's units at CSUN were not compatible with the units required in my field

Keighlynn

I wish that I had known more about getting involved on campus and volunteering. I also wish that I had known how to talk with professor and connect with them better and earlier in my college career.

Edgar

Commuting is difficult. Please live near campus and enjoy the best of a college university experience you can get. Be active and don't be afraid to try new things.

Haylie

I wish I could know more information about college life and how to self-discipline, but then again, no matter how much information students get before attending college, they will always feel strange and new during the first year. Students can expect some of the things that happen in college, but they really need to experience that as well because experience is what truly help them learn and grow.

Sarah

I wish I would have known more about Finacial Aide and Scholarships.

Loosine

I wish I had known more about the programs the school offers. There are too many great programs that I would have taken an advantage of sooner if I was aware of them. There are also a great many people who are willing to help out each student with their school work and other administrative needs. I wish I had taken part in more club activities. The school is very welcoming and I wished I had been more open to the programs they offered.

aracely

I would have liked to have gotten advice from graduates for their experience on attending CSUN. Maybe they could have given me some advice on how to manuver the campus.

ryan

how mediocre this school really is.

Douglas

I wish I had known how complicated it was to try and enroll in an upper-division class with only a small amount of openings and the university's inability to add another course in its stead.

Tianna

Housing plans, and ways to recieve more money to afford school.

Amy

The dorms are nice, but they close the gates to them very early and it is really annoying, especially if you have a car. Parking is beyond horrible, so take early morning classes if you want to easily find a parking spot. Also, join something. That is where you will make the most friends.

Kyle

I wish I would have known how good the school actually is. Cal State Northridge doesn't get the repsect that is deserves for being a quality high-end university. I decided to go to Northridge over UCLA and I am perfectly happy with that decision. I wish more people would have told me that Northridge is a top university in California and not just a "commuter" college as some refer it to. Cal State Northridge is a great school and people should not tell you otherwise.

Mirwais

I wish i knew about more scholarships so i wouldnt have to take out a loan for college

Yasmine

I wish I would have known how hard it would be to pay tuition. I also wish i would have known how hard the classes would be.

Nicole

I wish I had known that all of my roommates were deaf and I was living the the Deaf Studies building. I didn't know ASL or anything about deaf culture. I wish the school had informed me of the specific needs of this community.

Garran

I wish tht people would have toldme that it would be a very different transition between high school and college. It's such a dramatic switch, it was very suprising when i was first admitted. I wasn't sure where my classes were, not sure where there were places to eat, or where myt friends were. Besides that, it was also very difficult trying to fix my schedule to one that was convinient for me. It's not easy to live 45 minutes away from your college. Those are the things that i wish people had told me before college.

Marilyn

I wish i had known more informations about scholarship opportinities and about the variety of schools that there were.I wish i had prepared myself more financially.

Destiny

The Double major policy. I intened to be a double major, but the new policy in place does not allow me to be eligibly because i suceed its cut off at 7-9 credits.

Tahnee

It is important to have an idea of your major before attending college because classes required in your major may also fullfill the mandatory General Education requirements that each student has to complete. Complete all of your developmental Math and English courses by registering for the ELM/EPT. Take Summer School classes if you don't pass these tests. Once you are enrolled in college, you can start out with 12 units, however, if you can manage more than 12 units, do not let anyone scare you into thinking otherwise. You will be the determinant of that.

Edith

I wish I had known that this is school is a commuter school where, most of the student commute to the school and typically most students are not very involved in schoo run activities because they are never there.

Irvin

Some of the things I wished I knew before I started to attend CSUN would be the programs that are available to me. Another thing I wished I knew about CSUN would be the importance of having a way of transportation to get around the campus. Also I would of liked to know places I could of gotten hire to work.

Maya

I wish I had known about programs that help students get into college. Also to tour the school before you decide to go there because I thought going to college in LA would mean living in a busy city and things are easier to get.

Chase

One thing i wish i would have known about Cal State Northridge is the size of the campus. Coming in as a first time freshman i had no idea how big a college campus truley was. Unlike other studenteds, i never purchased a bicycle or a skateboard to transport so walking was very time consuming for me and tiring as well. Another thing i wish i would have known about the campus is that it is a commuter school. Not many students live on campus. All there are a few, most commute to school.

Jessica

How difficult it was going to be to get into require classes.

Lauren

I wish I would have known how to manage my money better. I have learned how to do so now, but in the beginning it was a real struggle and caused me to go into a lot of debt. Now thankfully I am almost out of debt, but it would have been fantastic to know what I could have done to prevent the financial struggles that I've had to go through.

jaklen

I wish i was told which teachers to avoid .

Kayla

What I wish I had known before coming to this school is whether this school had any extra curricular activities and if they liked having their students be involved.

Charlotte

I wish I would have known how bad parking was and that if you get there after 9:30am it is very difficult to find decent parking. It would have also been nice to know that college is not much different than high school. That the only real difference is setting your own schedual and making sure you do your work. I had college made out to be big and scary and sad and found out it was the exact opposite.

Teresa

I wish I would have known how hard it was going to be, and i don't necessarily mean academically but mentally and intellectually. Since I live on-campus, I don't have parents around to tell me what to do, wake me up, make me food to eat, and stuff like that. I have to be responsible and do everything on my own and it's a challenge considering that I have lived with my parents for 18 years. I had to become more independent so be prepared for a challenge, especially if living on-campus.

Charmayne

I wish I knew that I needed to be more independent and self-motivated. It was not like high school. I had to learn to become my own adult and motivate myself to keep up on work or get assignments done.

Ashley

I wish i had known what major i was going to declare before i started attending CSUN. If I had declared my major i would not be behind with my classes that are required for my major.

Tabitha

The best times to go for Parking are in the am. Also, you can park off campus relatively easy for free.

brennan

The amount of commuter students it had.

Chandelor

I wish I would have known about all of the talented alumni that have graduated from this school and the many resources available to students for help in furthering their long-term career goals.

Monique

That it would be very easy to fall off the wagon and fail a class if you do not focus.

Leslie

I wish I would have know how quickly classes become closed and you dont have a chance to sign up for it.

Sandra

No, I had already been aware of the academic programs CSUN had to offer.

Victoria

Take as many units at the beginning as possible, you'll be glad you did at the end!

Emily

That I should have saved a lot of money.

Natalie

I wish I had known how the housing works. I lost my dorm room because I miss the deadline. I wish the school would do a better job in informing students.

Joshua

I wish I had that some of the core classes required for my major had waiting lists that start a school year in advance. I'm in my 5th year now but I can't help but think I might have been able to graduate in 4 years if I hadn't had to wait 2 semesters to get into some of my core classes.

Erin

How hard it would be to get a job post graduation. Also, how impacted my major (journalism) was.

Patriece

Nothing really. My highschool had me very prepared for college life.

Jonathan

I wish I had taken a tour of the actual classroom buildings instead of the outside. The lack of efficient air conditioning, and the overall run down appearence would have made me question attending this school.

Justin

CSUN is a very good school for a few specific areas of study, such as film or accounting, but the rest of the academic community (including to a small extant CSUN's professors!) tend to look down their noses at CSUN. This is not a problem for most students, but for those of us who plan on going on to graduate studies it does hamper our efforts a bit. I

Natalie

I wish that i had known a lot more. Like not taking any advanced or honor couses in high school. i was told that high school is supposed to get you ready for college, but it doesn't unless you take advanced courses because those courses actually teach you what you learn in college. the regular classes did nothing for me and that is why it isn't that easy for me to get good grades, i have to learn from scratch instead of at least having an idea of what to expect.

Chris

That just because your in Pre CTVA doesn't mean you will get accepted to CTVA.

Amy

that college life is tougher then you may think in high school and that working and being involved and going to school full time is tough.