Sonoma State University Top Questions

The worst thing I consider to be at Sonoma State is the lack of school spirit. In high school I loved to attend sporting events, as I was involved in sports. Since there is not a football team, I feel it disperses the students and there is no unifying factor. Although there are basketball and soccer games, not many students attend.

students at satellige campuses pay for activities and facilities, but cannot enjoy them, as they are located at the main campus.

I honestly wish there were stricter housing rules with quiet hours and alcohol use. Every night, I hear loud music and partying, which is somewhat expected, but it also seems a little ridiculous when it's wednesday night and students are trying to study. Although, I am also not trying to seem like the little victim here too. I do enjoy having fun at college parties, but I can wait until friday night.

The lack of commnity discussion of larger philosophical issues because, in my opinion, college should be about intellectual expansion and learning how to think critically, which I feel is lacking at Sonoma State University.

I would say that the worst thing about my school is the lack of social activities. Most of the students go home during the weekends which make finding weekend events a challenge. Although the lack of activities leads to more time for schoolwork, it would be nice to have something to do after all the work is finished. There are fraternities and sororities that you can join but outside of them there is not much going on. However, I do feel that the small class sizes and general focus on education more than makes up for the lacking social life.

I consider the worst thing about SonomaState to be the "Sonoma Aroma." At certain times of the year the campus and the surrounding town smells like cows. It really isn't that bad and I got used to it, but it really was an unpleasant surprise. It is definitely the worst thing I have experienced about Sonoma State.

Not diverse enough.

The worst thing I consider about my school is it's size. It's fairly small - 8,000 students. Even though this makes it much easier to walk around on campus, I feel it restricts my opportunity to meet new people. Everyday as I walk to class I see some of the same people. If there were more students, I think it would be a more socially involved school.

I would definitely consider the nightlife to be the worst thing about Sonoma State. The city is not a college town. For some reason, families keep moving into the city. Practically everything shuts down by 9 and ordinances keep being passed against students. The worst thing is housing. Renting a house is very difficult. I had to go to numerous open houses to find a house. There is a little nightlife in Cotati (a nearby small city), but generally requires driving to get to meaning you have to find a DD to get you there.

The worst thing about SSU is that we have no school spirit. Without a football team, there is nothing that brings everyone together. We do have soccer and basketball, but I think there is nothing better than a well-played football game.

The location it is in would have to be the worst thing. It's not bad, it's just alot different from what I'm used to. Coming from a rural area with lots of outside things to do it's hard for me to live in Rohnert Park. I wish there were more things to do for people who don't have cars. It is a very nice town, just a little too suburban for me.

Interestingly enough, the food is the worst thing, and it isn't even all that bad! I mean, it's not Mom's home cooking, but it will tide you over during the semester.

I consider the lack of diversity the worst thing.

It's not in a major city

I do enjoy my school. I am actively involved in a sorority and am at campus nearly all day long, five days a week. However, the administrators and staff personel really leave much to be desired. If you have a problem they are not very helpful. They often act as though it is a burden to help. This sentiment is common among the students and well as professors. I have heard more than one teacher exclaim how they feel like second class citizens in the offices or admin buildings.

It's NOT a smoke free campus :(

lack of available classes, have to fight to get into the classes that you need. stressful registration. Just had my linguistics class cut because of state budget cuts

I'm not gonna lie to you. Before you consider Sonoma, you should really decide how you feel about the smell of cow manure. Yes, that's right. Cow manure. It's a little thing we Sonoma State natives like to call ..."The Sonoma Aroma." Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Anyway, every now and then it reeks of cow manure. You might want to hurl the first few times, but after a month of being at SSU, your nose becomes immune to it. It's like having a superpower, only a slighly less impressive one.

I am not extremely fond of the book buy back policy. Rarely are books able to be bought back by the school. Most of the time you must donate them to get them off of your hands, or they will buy them at a very small fraction of the price that was paid, and then resell them at the exact price the book was originally purchased for. I understand that a profit must be made to continue the system, yet I believe they are abusing our need for books.

The ratio of males to females at SSU is low so it makes it difficult to find a partner. Many of the classes become gender specific which is interesting.

It is too liberal for me. The school is very focused on growing into a bigger school. It is build a ton of new dorms to get more students living on campus. It is a great small school and the school wants to grow from 8,500 to more than 12,000 students over the next few years. It is not too bad but it would be nice to have a small school still.

guys to girls ratio there are way to man=y girls and not guys and the fact that it could be more diverse

The Sonoma Aroma. On hot days the manure on surrounding farms creates this nasty smell that's unavoidable.

The small campus means not many students and with budget cuts the variety of classes have been cut.

The lack of campus activities

The police in Rohnert Park are terrible and will pull you over for nothing at all. There isn't much crime in Santa Rosa/Cotati so they don't have much to do. Also sometimes there isn't much to do in Sonoma depending on the day or weekend.

Sonoma is not racially diverse at all. I can see that they are trying, which is nice, but it is still mostly white people.

I think the worst thing about the school is the impacted classes, I would love for the medical programs to be open to everyone and I hope they will hire more professors to extend this.

The lack of diversity, otherwise I really like the school and the campus enviornment.

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