California State University - Sacramento

Date: Oct 04 2005
Major: Physics (This Major's Salary over time)
The Physics BS degree is at its unit cap, meaning that they have reached the maximum number of units that they can require for a BS degree. Professors work by themselves, from planning their course to running it. This generates a problem because professors expect us to have learned a great deal from our prerequisite classes, however most of the time, we haven't. At the beginning of a semester, a professor will start off lecturing material that is far too complicated (I am not unique. Most of my peers agree with me), and they rush through it at a very fast pace. We feel unprepared for the material. Even engineers are surprised at the rate of our Phys 115 electronics class. They claimed that they had studied the same material over the course of 3 to 4 classes, however we are rushing through it without the ability to stop and grasp a full understanding of the material. However, I personally get much more out of a hands-on class like this than I do out of a theoretical class offered at this school. Professors here that teach more-theory based classes are very dull. We unanimously feel as if one of our professors doesn't quite understand the material himself. Other professors lecture on and on about theory, and we're lost after the first 15 minutes or so. Anyways, if you are thinking about choosing Physics, I would recommend a different school. GE, on the other hand, is nearly the opposite of what high school was like.., in an ideological sense, I mean. I remember my high school US History class as being overly patriotic, and suggesting that America is the only worthy country in this world—Well maybe not that extreme, but I had to give you an idea… For me, this is too far to the right. GE classes at CSUS, on the other hand, blame the white man for everything. Three people that I have talked to seem to agree that most of these ethnic studies requirements force white people to look down upon themselves. Too far to the left for me. While we are on the topic of GE, I would like to point out thatthis school has a lot of GE requirements. If you are looking to avoid this, I suggest you try a UC school on a quarter system. GE in quarter systems go faster than semester systems (2 quarters of US history vs 2 semesters—think about it…2 quarters~ sept-march (counting ALL time, even winter break), vs 2 semesters~ sept-june(3 months saved with quarter system! If you are technical, and want to calculate how much time you actually spend in class, then note that a semester is 15 weeks long while a quarter is 10 weeks long, so after 2 quarters of US History, you would save 10 weeks over 2 semesters. These are just 2 classes—think about all of your GE!). By the way, I think I should mention that I transferred from a quarter system. I'd also like to mention that Sacramento has a lot of cliques. If you are from a different area, do not come here. It will not be easy for you to gain friends if you haven't lived here since childhood. This statistic is, however, only based on 2 people—And being the hidden-away, studying creatures that we are, maybe it makes sense, but I sense hostility from other students as well. The campus is very crowded, I think around 28000 students are enrolled. The school is very slow about processing incoming transcripts—It takes them from 2-3 semesters to do it, however if you apply for graduation, they will expedite the process. The campus is beautiful—Trees, squirrels, etc.., but you have to decide whether all of the factors are right for you—and be reminded that I am biased against this school. Check other opinions, and check people with the same major as you for more insight.