SJSU vs CSULB

fancyeyes, BSN, RN · Mar 22, 2014

you should probably just wait and see where you get in...

zzbxdo · Mar 22, 2014

Yeah.. Regardless of how strong your application is, wait til you get acceptance letters. Chances are your options are gonna get chopped off, they are all competitive csus. Let that type a personality go while you can. Both areas are nice?.. Just Google.

andendeavor · Mar 23, 2014

I agree with others that you should wait and see, but I'll just give you my input about what it's like to live in the SJ area and other information. It's largely a commuter school, so compared to other schools, it lacks a social life since a majority of the students are commuters. We're also located downtown, so you might want to take that into consideration. It's fairly safe during the day, but not so much during the evening and late nights. We've had alerts about people getting robbed, flashed at, and attacked, but if you go in groups at night and don't go out too late (after 1), then you should be fine. A few months back, there was supposedly a bomb scare and a gun alert, but I'm sure every school has had something similar to that happen. Since we're located downtown, there are a lot of homeless people on campus, but most of them are harmless and don't ask you for money or anything like that. Our library is open to the public and not just students, so sometimes, there'll be really loud children. I don't rent, but my friends pay at least $800+ per month for their apartment or bedroom, so if cost of living is important to you, you might want to take this into consideration, along with the 8.75% tax. SJSU and SJ does have its pros though. The campus is located near lots of restaurants and food places and there's a light rail nearby, so you can just use that if you don't have a car. People are friendly and welcoming here, and thought it varies, all of my professors so far have been more than willing to help me if I don't understand the material.

RunBabyRN · Mar 26, 2014

One thing with LB is that they have a 2 year BSN, which is nice. I applied to both, and got into LB, but ended up attending Sonoma.

I've lived all over CA, including Humboldt County, Sonoma County, Tahoe, and San Diego. I LOVE the SF Bay Area. I live in Sonoma County now, and I love that the coast is right there, but we can easily get up to Tahoe. San Francisco is a great city. The culture in NorCal, I feel, is better than SoCal. The people are friendlier, and there's more diversity. Same goes for the outdoors- lots of diversity up this way.

The South Bay can be kind of "hoity-toity," depending on where you are, but it's quite nice in general.

Nonetheless · Mar 31, 2014

at CSULB a certain number of new grads get hired by LB Memorial. LB Memorial exclusively hires new grads from CSULB. You should go for CSULB. The job market is awful in CA, and any leg up is necessary.

babygirl2014 · Mar 31, 2014

andendeavor- Thanks for your input! What are the job prospects after graduation? Is there a hospital that hires grads from SJSU? Or would I need to move down to SoCal for a nursing job?

babygirl2014 · Mar 31, 2014

obesity33:thanks I appreciate your help! Do you currently attend CSULB? Does LB Memorial hire more trimester students or basic program students?

Nonetheless · Mar 31, 2014

obesity33:thanks I appreciate your help! Do you currently attend CSULB? Does LB Memorial hire more trimester students or basic program students?

Hi! I do not attend CSULB, but I went to a job fair where Long Beach Memorial was presenting and they made it very clear that they have a contract with CSULB and that they exclusively hire from CSULB for their new grad programs. The job fair was oriented to New Grad RN's, but LBMMC was there to advertise to the experienced nurses who had come earlier in the day.

CSULB is also near the VA in Long Beach, and the VA LB generally hires new grads from their summer externship program, which would be easier to work in if you are geographically close to LB and know the area.

I would recommend CSULB just for those reasons, but I do not know much about SJSU as a school or the CSULB admissions process.

Both are good schools, and have good, solid programs, so either way, you will be an RN from a good program.

andendeavor · Apr 2, 2014

I'm not in their program, but I go to SJSU. The director of the program has told us it's difficult for graduates to find jobs after graduation in the SJ and Silicon Valley area. 2 graduates who graduated last year found a job in the area, but she said many had to move down to SoCal or go out-of-state in order to find a job. Since I'm not in the program, I don't know if there's a hospital that hires a certain number of grads like what obesity33 mentioned for CSULB,

zzbxdo · Apr 2, 2014

I'm not in their program but I go to SJSU. The director of the program has told us it's difficult for graduates to find jobs after graduation in the SJ and Silicon Valley area. 2 graduates who graduated last year found a job in the area, but she said many had to move down to SoCal or go out-of-state in order to find a job. Since I'm not in the program, I don't know if there's a hospital that hires a certain number of grads like what obesity33 mentioned for CSULB,[/quote']
I agree with this statement. I have lots of buddies from sjsu and only a handful of the recent graduates land a local acute care position. Socal is tough too but there are much more new grad programs but wages ate generally lower in relation to rent and housing.

Nonetheless · Apr 5, 2014

I'm not in their program, but I go to SJSU. The director of the program has told us it's difficult for graduates to find jobs after graduation in the SJ and Silicon Valley area. 2 graduates who graduated last year found a job in the area, but she said many had to move down to SoCal or go out-of-state in order to find a job. Since I'm not in the program, I don't know if there's a hospital that hires a certain number of grads like what obesity33 mentioned for CSULB,

I know for sure Long Beach Memorial exclusively hires new grads from CSULB (the guy at the job fair made this clear) but I don't know how many CSULB students are in that situation. It could be only a small portion of the class (1-2) or a large portion of the class (5-10).