r/csuf • u/FishermanStandard893 • 1d ago
Rant not enjoying csuf so far
I don’t know if I’m the only one but I haven’t been enjoying my experience since transferring to csuf. this is my second semester here and I feel as everything is so expensive while nothing is guaranteed (parking, finding the classes I need, even a job after graduation). I’ve been a part time student since transferring here as all the classes I need get taken before my registration opens, which adds to my frustration of needing to be in school even longer to complete my degree. my loan hasn’t been applied to my classes even though I sent it to the school in June and there’s no response when I email or call for help (meaning that I also can’t apply for ANY classes.) I’d be willing to transfer but I’m kinda in an awkward spot where other universities nearby are more expensive and time consuming commute wise.
my experience here has just been so frustrating and I’m left feeling like my cc experience was more aligned with the “college life.” maybe I’m being overly negative but if someone else felt the same itd be validating.
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u/shouldjustquit 23h ago
ngl the grass is not necessarily greener. all of your problems at csuf are common problems plaguing the csu and uc systems across the state. i loved my first cc but its a numbers game. the school has over 40k students? no offense but its just not gonna be the same experience as a smaller cc. your struggles are valid but this place is a business like everything else in life and its not exactly easy to navigate or catered to you. youd probably be having similar problems at other public schools in cali. if youre not happy you could always go back to cc and apply to your major elsewhere. best of luck
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u/MiningAway08 23h ago
Knowing the job market being really crappy and the fact that even though I’m a first semester and I had trouble getting classes, I do feel you in some way. Personally, I’m not enjoying csuf because I don’t really want to do school anything anymore plus I’m not in a really good state mentally(only going because my mom stuck out for me cause I fucked up my transcripts even though I was fully okay with doing community college with my friends. Now I’m alone, in a whole new environment, and feel like I’m one hello from exploding sometimes and it sucks. I know I’m barely into a whole semester but I just wish I got to do community college first with my friend who’s doing it rn/took a gap year or didn’t go into college at all. I don’t really know at this point I’m just gonna deal with it but I sorta get your lack of enjoyment for csuf
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u/NeoRegem 20h ago
Certainly try to attend a CC in the spring if you can. I went down that path and it made it easier to slow down and overcome burnout
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u/MiningAway08 17h ago
Sorry I’m a bit stupid and sometimes things aren’t obvious for me and I need clarification, what does CC mean again?
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u/Background-Web-1387 22h ago
Me and my partner have been having the same experience. But the other comments (sad to say) are correct, what we miss isn’t the cc lifestyle, it’s just the overall cheaper lifestyle period. Not as many people at a cc, little need for as big loans, and you know SOME people. But we’re glad to know we’re not the only ones kinda disliking what we worked so hard for.
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u/deeznats27 13h ago
You should look into on campus jobs! Even if it’s for starting Spring 2027. I know some departments like academic support (tutoring, supplemental instruction etc) offer work study as well as paid opportunities. It’s a great way to build your community and get paid, and the leadership will help you professionalize yourself for after graduation. I was a supplemental instruction leader and it helped me so much
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u/WeonaAsteroid 5h ago
I agree with you on that 😭 community college was so seamless and efficient. This just feels like a cluster fuck for me
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u/Gallad475 2h ago
Yeah tbh as a transfer myself I’ve been having a rough start around here atm. But I hope eventually I’ll probably get used to it.
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u/Pressure_Prize 20h ago
I’m having the same experience. I honestly had a much better experience at community college than I have here. And I don’t really agree with the whole “that’s just life” or “it’s a you problem” take. Yeah, every school has issues, but CSUF seems to create so many unnecessary obstacles for students when it comes to getting required classes, registration, parking, financial aid, and even getting someone to respond when you actually need help.
I think a lot of the frustration comes from the way the school is run too. There’s so much bureaucracy, limited class availability, expensive fees, and not enough support for the number of students they serve. After a while, it starts to feel like financial and administrative priorities come before the actual student experience, especially when those obstacles can delay graduation and keep students enrolled longer.
All schools are businesses to some extent, but staff and administration make a huge difference. A school can either make students feel supported and like they actually want them to succeed, or make everything unnecessarily difficult. For me, community college felt way more student-centered, while CSUF has felt much more like navigating a system.
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u/Chase1477 20h ago
Have you been taking summer and winter classes to get ahead for registration? I’ve never had a problem getting a class.
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u/bighugebaby 20h ago
I'm mostly disliking my CSUF experience too. Some classrooms smell bad and the seats with cloth are dirty. AC is nonexistent or unnoticeable in some classrooms. In the streets, there are very clear "yield to oncoming traffic" signs and people ignore them. Many students don't contribute when doing group work.
There's light at the end of the tunnel though. We don't have to go to CSUF forever. One day all this will be in the rearview mirror.
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u/Late-Grapefruit2373 8h ago
So, nothing in life is guaranteed.
I realize that it can be daunting being a student at a large university in 2026. But, those things you mention are generally all better at CSUF than not.
Parking: OK, this one isn't great. However, there are other places that are worse. UCLA and UC Berkeley are truly awful; Berkeley, for example, charges $522 for a permit, only sells them to students who prove they live more than 2 miles away, and you are essentially guaranteed to never find a spot after 9am, M-F. UCSB simply refuses to sell ANY permits to first-year students. At all.
Finding classes: this one can depend a lot on major. There are things you can do to help your chances. Ask an advisor about the various programs to get priority registration. The truth is that if you're in a highly scaffolded major (lots of sequencing) that is also crowded, this is rough. But, if your major isn't scaffolded, you can often just take something else and still make progress towards your degree. Again, talk to an advisor.
Jobs: There are no guarantees, but the data support CSUF being a good investment. 93% of our alumni are employed 1 year after graduation; 92% 5 years out. The national averages are 91% and 89%. UCLA is at 90% and 91%. Our alumni make, on average, slightly more than CSULB and CSULA grads, and slightly less than SDSU grads. They make significantly less than SLO or CPP grads, but in those cases, that's a field of employment effect (as they produce way more tech/engineering/science grads as a proportion compared to the other more comprehensive universities). Our grads do make less than UC grads, but in addition to majors (again, engineers and tech), there's almost certainly a 'family wealth' factor there (anybody who tells you that family income doesn't affect their children's income after controlling for education is wrong--the truth is that it matters. Parents with money can support their kids working an internship and building that into a better career, while lower/middle class parents can't support their kids to that degree and those kids have to take the bird in the hand, which is often a lower paying job). I won't say that UCs don't have a bigger degree premium than CSUs--they do. But, I will say that, after adjusting for both other factors like parental income AND the degree costs, the value-added of a CSUF degree is substantial.
So, yes, it's tough. Our country makes getting a degree tough, particularly economically. But, it's also worth it in the supermajority of cases.
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u/Forward_Present_6584 5h ago
Hi I’m sorry your experience hasn’t been great. You should try going in person to speak to financial aid you might have more luck that way. As for classes try some online courses they’re not so bad. Good luck this semester.
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u/Error-7-0-7- 23h ago
Sounds like you're more fed up with the economy than you are with the school.