Admissions

This really is a commuter campus, so the parking sucks. Get dropped off, or take public transportation (city bus free with student ID!) the first week of class. If you live on campus, there's a dandy shuttle system which makes it easy to get around campus. Prospective high school seniors: Apply to the Learning Alliance program- personal councilor for classes, support program and their own lounge. They have helped me through my college course planning and are extremely knowledgeable about the campus staff and classes.

Having a car is a really great thing unless your in the dorms. Living off campus is a lot more fun, but VERY ridiculously expensive! You will need a room mate AND a steady pay check! You wont want to ride your bike or walk really that much at all during summer because you will be dripping with sweat by the time you get to class. Some winters it rains like crazy so think about transport or wardrobes! If you are into a laid back beach town and a fun VERY social campus then its a great University!

Understand your work habits. If you need time to do your work do not heavily pack your schedule. Remember you can take summer school to get your units if you want to still try and graduate in four to five years. Also, make sure that you pay attention to how you schedule your classes so that you do not have to travel from one side of campus to the other side in fifteen minutes. It is not possible because of how big the campus is.

For future students who are planning to attend California State University Long Beach I advice them to think twice about what they are planning to study. It took me approximately two semesters to realize that Journalism was not the right major for me. If students come to this University not knowing exactly what they want to study, I would say to not worry and take time in figuring it out. Attend lectures that you think might be interesting; take courses that you would never imagine taking, talk to advisers from different departments about their programs, etc. Do not be afraid to take risks.
Make lasting relationships with professors is another significant tip that I would give future students. During my first year at California State University Long Beach I attended lectures but never made conversation with the professors. During the last three years I noticed that being not only a student in the professors classroom but being a friend benefited me immensely. I have received wonderful recognition letters, recommendation letters and advice from professors because of the lasting friendships. I would advice students to not be afraid to talk to the professor and attend their office hours, ask questions, ask for advice, and even strike up a random conversation.

For future students, I recommend you take few units because too many may overwhelm you. Join clubs and get involved because it looks great on your resume. Also, do great academically and study hard because the school honors high achieving students. Don't worry too much about the size of the school, but try to learn your shortcuts because it does get crowded.

Try to register for classes as early as possible; they are known to fill up quickly
During the last few weeks for finals, the library is open for 24 hours and the USU is open later.
At the beginning of fall semester, you should attend Week of Welcome to check out all of the clubs and Greek organizations.

Always ask for help: never was I made fun of as a freshman for asking where things were, or how to get to them. Cal State Long Beach has a great sense of community, the feeling of we're all in this together. So ask for help, whether you're just looking around, trying to get a feel, or if you're on your way to your PoliSci 103 class. You'll get far at LB with a little help from one another.

If you have a car and have to park at school, parking is usually a distance walk from all the classes in south campus, unless you have class in Engineering, Dance, Business building. If you're going to dorm here pick Residence or Los Cerritos dorm, they're the closest to the classes. Parkside is the furthest. I tell you the distances of these places because some professors are time sensitive about their class. Some wouldn't allow you to enter or turn in your work if you're late. I scootered my way from the parking lot to south campus and got there in 10 minutes. But do be warned of the slope division on north and south campus when trying to get to class.

Make sure to get your books used to save money.

Make sure you look at the map before you enroll in your classes. The campus is large and you might get two classes right after the other that are no where close to one another. Some teachers are understanding, but others do get peeved when you come in late or if you leave class early. This is mostly a commuter school, so if you don't live anywhere close to the university be positive that you are okay by not going home for months at a time.