California State University - San Marcos

Date: May 20 2005
Major: Accounting (This Major's Salary over time)
I can only address the business program (accounting) as I experienced it. CSUSM is relatively young (1989). Many of the business courses (especially in the last two semesters) are designed around group projects. If you are unfortunate enough to have underachieving group members, you pay the price in terms of grades, time, etc. The "crown jewel" of the business program is Senior Experience. It is a course in which your group is paired with a business and you serve as consultants. It was very challenging and, in the end, rewarding: you get to put relevant experience on your resume along with some references. The results and experiences vary with the group-business pairings (e.g., indifferent group members and/or a flaky business will make you miserable). The accounting program structure, however, is not up to par with San Diego State's. I learned this through interviews with accounting professionals. The faculty is good; there are a few instructors here that are truly outstanding. Many accounting faculty are very active with local firms and take an active interest in giving advice pertaining to resumes, etc. Even so, I can name a few professors that should not be teaching and are evidence of the lack of quality depth when compared to, say, SDSU. There is a foreign language requirement here: three courses in all. To me, this is a big waste of time and money. The time and money could be better used for additional accounting/business courses. Overall, a rewarding experience. CSUSM has a lot of potential. However, all things considered, I feel that I am at a disadvantage compared to a peer from SDSU.