San Francisco. Should I go to college there? (San Francisco State University,SFSU)?

I am a Master's Student at SFSU. Mark Twain once said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer in San Francisco." Compared to the rest of the Bay Area SF is incessantly foggy and about 5-10 degrees cooler than the rest of the area. SFSU is near the beach, but it and the water is always cold. There's a mall literally next door to the school, and a zoo, The Haight, and Golden Gate Park a few miles down the street from SFSU not to mention everything else SF has. The campus is pretty with there's lots of flowers. It's all on a big hill (like most of San Francisco). There's just about every kind of food in the student union The library is under construction. If you want a book, you have to order it and pick it up the next day. You can't get books immediately, or browse. Although I enjoy going to SFSU, there are other schools in Northern California you could check out too; UC Berkeley, and San Jose State University. Right now the climate in the California State University (and the University of California) system is tense and bitter. Fees are going up, there's fewer classes, teachers pay checks are cut, the school year is being shortened, and they are not accepting applicants for spring which will make the already more stringent admissions even more competitive and getting classes. The school is close to a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station, which means that you could possibly live in another part of the Bay Area and still take public transit to school. SFSU is generally a commuter school. Hope that helps.

It snows like once every 15-20 years (ie: basically never), except the higher mountain peaks which get a light brushing every year or two. It rains a lot through December, January, and February, the occasional but predictable sprinkle in March and November, and typically doesn't really rain at all from about May through October (with an exception here and there at the tail ends). Temperature wise, it's pretty tepid... highs in the 60s (and lows in the 50s) throughout most of the year. Winters it often won't get past the 50s (and the lows can drop to the 30s, but usually stay in the 40s), summers/Indian summers can get into the 70s (on very rare occasion, 80s and 90s). But yeah... typically in the 60s all year round... definitely not the "warm, sunny California" image (which is based mostly on Southern California, not Northern). However, that only applies to San Francisco proper/the coast; if you go a few miles inland, it regularly gets into the 90s and 100s during the summer, so... SFSU... um... It's not a bad school at all, but is subject to the problems of any State school. To get tenure, many professors who also teach at Stanford, Berkeley, USF, etc... teach at SF State. However, since you're not a California resident, you'll be paying quite a bit more. Not sure how much tuition is now, but it used to be almost equivalent to a lot of "better schools" for non-residents, so... Maybe wanna look into other schools, too. As for where to live... the logical choice would be to live on or near campus at first. If after the first year you've found a favorite neighborhood in the city and/or are sick of living on campus, then move.

San Francisco weather IS chilly foggy and windy. It is not the typical California you see on TV (try southern california for that). So if you like the gloom, then San Francisco would be good for you. As for schooling, SFSU is a good school with a strong academic reputation, but it is going through a lot of problems at the moment. Tuition prices are going up by 15% and then a further increase next year. Starting this Spring semester, no new students allowed! I am not sure what they will do for the Fall semester yet, but they might not let new students enroll as well. This is all due to California being bankrupt and in a horrible financial hole (I know, I work for the State). Also, SFSU is a very crowded school and I have heard that it is hard to get the classes you want. There are other schooling options in the Bay Area. University of California at Berkeley is an exceptional school and is still pretty progressive. Berkeley is a fun town (I live there) and San Francisco is only a 20 minute subway ride away. Very close. If you drive to the city it would take only 10 minutes.