San Francisco State University Top Questions

What is your overall opinion of this school?

Chris

I love walking around campus and seeing every kind of face. I think the diversity (and it's also one of styles and personalities! Just look around...)at SFSU is something every school should strive for. I think the campus is a perfect size as long as it doesn't keep adding students with no classrooms to fit them in. I think it's very easy to grow to love the school and campus environment...when it's a nice day and everyone's out on the quad, sprinkled all over the campus, it's an awesome thing to see. I've learned recently what kind of political history our school has and that's something that I'm really proud of. SFSU is definitely not a college town and I think that becomes a deal breaker for people, so to speak. THe fact that people are coming from so many different places and are many times going to school to get on BART and commute an hour or more home, it makes it harder to make connections with other students who have opposite schedules and priorities closer to campus. There is so much diversity but a lack of more meshing together.

Casey

Location! Location! Location! SFSU is a microcosm of San Francisco...large but entirely manageable and filled with all different kinds of interesting people. Most people hear "San Francisco" when I tell them I go to SFSU. The city is supportive of the school, but has far too much going on to be considered a "college town". It is a large state school, but everything for me has always run smoothly. I mostly just hang out at the Cafe by the Humanities building talking to people and drinking my espresso. We are a low key student body. We like our school, but we're not going to be obnoxious about it. Last year, there were some student walk outs to support the faculty in their negotiations with CSU, and even that wasn't too crazy. Protests? All in a days work. I don't know what people complain about in regards to school...usually when I hear someone bitching it is personal.

Kyle

The best thing about SFSU is the city. The school itself isn't that impressive. I liked the fact that it was very diverse. There's such a wide range in how people dress, how they act, who they interact with, and what they're interested in. And I like that. It was very interesting, and never boring. The problem with SFSU is that it's in San Francisco. I say it's a bad thing because it draws all the focus away from the school. If you go to say Chico, you'll find that there's nothing out there. The school is the only thing the students have. San Francisco has so much stuff going on constantly that it's a commuter school. You go to class and then you leave. People don't congregate on campus. Why would you when there's an awesome city sitting there? The amount of students that actually go to SFSU is around 30,000 (I think) but if you walked around campus you'd think there were only 3,000. Another downside to SFSU is the weather. I had a professor explain to the class that SFSU was built on the last 100 acres available in San Francisco. And guess what, it's in the worst location. The spot with the worst weather. It's constantly overcast and windy. There's maybe two months out of the year of sunshine and warmth, and they're not consecutive. The upside is that people actually go out and do things on the sunny days since they're so rare that people have to take advantage of them. The frustrating thing is that if you go twenty miles in any direction, and sometimes just downtown, it'll be sunny and hot. For some reason, the cold water off the coast blows in and the hills trap the moisture or something. Whatever it is, it's a bad location weather wise.

Charlie

I really like the actual campus and the classes offered. There are awesome professors that are really attentive to their students' needs. The campus is pretty, in a good location, and for the most part the people are cool. It's a really diverse campus which I feel is only beneficial to your education. Its the kind of school where you can get as much or as little as you want from your education. I don't think there's school pride, but more or less city pride... we take pride in being in San Francisco. However, the administration aspects of the school get a little rocky -- the way we sign up for classes is kind of a stressful process and the administration hasn't necessarily made it any better in the time I've been here.

Andrew

free gym membership is the best thing, enough sections of each class or larger class sizes so that everyone is guaranteed a spot in the classes they want to sign up for would be something i'd change, size is good, people react when i tell them i go to sfsu the same way as if i would have said any other school, i spend most of my time in my dorm, what college town? never interacted with the admin so wouldn't know, the one thing i think is unusual about sfsu is that the school keeps admitting tons of students even though class sections are decreasing

Linda

SFSU is just the right size; not too big or small. The school reminds me of my old high school, Independence, in East San Jose. Independence was the largest high school in the Eastside district(containting about 5000 students), and the buildings were spread around much like SFSU, except there were only one story buildings. I love how the lake is right next to school, and I actually like the fact that students always walk by my apartment to get to campus across the street. I remember how I use to walk home from my school down the street everyday with my friends, I believe it gives off a good and safe vibe. The only thing I would change about SFSU if I could would be to have free parking, and fix the buildings where they will have less stories; it's a workout everytime I walk up four flights in the Humanities building.

Pat

My favorite thing about SFSU would have to be the Rack 'n' Cue poolroom, located on the lower level of the Cesar Chavez Student Center. Other than the game of pool itself, I love how easy it is to meet new people there. I just walk up to a table and ask if I can join in, and more often than not, the person or persons playing agree, introductions are given, and voila! I've just made new acquaintences, and who knows? maybe more. It does cost $7/hr to play though, so whenever I "crash" a table I'm always sure to give whoever leased the table a few dollars for letting me play. If I could change anything about SFSU I'd probably change the size of its campus. It's really quite large! All of my classes are divided into only two buildings, but they're on either side of campus and at the end of my day my feet are killing me! Then again, skateboards, bikes, scooters, etc. are allowed so maybe I should look into that! Whenever I tell people I go to SFSU, the usual reply is a sincere "cool." San Francisco is such a great city that I think people who don't go to school there are genuinely interested/impressed when I tell them I'm a student. I spend most of my time in the HSS and Humanities buildings, but when I'm not in class I'm usually playing a game of pool, or if I'm feeling particularly ambitious that day, in the J Paul Leonard library. San Francisco is not considered a college town by any means. SFSU is primarily a commuter campus, as is UCSF I believe, so no, "what college town?" indeed. Thus far I've only met one administrator, but if he was at all representative of the rest of the admins, then my opinion of them is very high indeed. I'll let you know more about this soon! The biggest controversy right now is probably the projected budget cuts beginning next semester. Lots of classes are going to be cut and it has a lot of people, students and faculty alike, up in arms, myself included. I believe there is a good deal of school pride--I see lots of SFSU sweatshirts and whatnot and people generally seem happy to be there--I know I am. I haven't been to that many college campuses, but I reckon that SFSU having its own bar is pretty unusual. Since this is only my first semester, I can't yet pinpoint an experience that I'll always remember--I'll have to get back to you on this one too.