Humboldt State University

I graduated with my degree in Liberal Studies Elementary Education from HSU in December 2013. The faculty, the program, the courses, were overall, GREAT! In my undergraduate career, I spent nearly 100 hours in elementary classrooms getting hands-on experience working with students and teachers. Most other CSU's do not offer near this much real-world learning. I observed, tutored, and taught a diverse population of students from schools is Arcata and Eureka. A majority of my professors were extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and willing to meet and talk with you about anything. Still, there were some classes that were pointless and boring. The adviser was great as well. Overall a fantastic program.

THE TOWN: LESS OF A PRO

I didn't hate Arcata as much as a lot of other people did, but it still has its short comings. I came from Orange County, so living in Humboldt was very different for me. The weather was cold, but I still managed. There aren't many stores, but I still managed. The movie theater is small and quaint, but I still managed. The beaches up near Trinidad were by far my favorite places to go. I spent most of my weekends with my girlfriend who would visit me from Chico every week.

THE STUDENTS: BIGGEST CON

I would say that HSU itself was not a bad experience. My program was great. Arcata is cute, quaint, and nicely quirky if you can handle all the transients and hobos that flock to the plaza. But my fellow students were the thing that made me hate my time at HSU the most. Looking back, I wish I had gone to a different school closer to home. I didn't fit it. It was extremely hard to make friends. I felt so alone for the whole 2 years I was there. So let me explain…

In order to fit in at HSU with your fellow students, YOU MUST SMOKE POT! I didn't smoke. I rarely drank. And I had a girlfriend. Bad combination for me. Everyone just wants to hang out and smoke. Literally all the time! My roommates would sit in their rooms and smoke several times a day. And since I didn't smoke, I was left out of any sort of social gathering. My advice, if you want to enjoy your time at HSU, you better love pot.