California State University, Chico

California State University, Chico is one of the few universities that still feels real. It’s not driven by hype or image. Students here get genuine support, grounded education, and a strong sense of community. It’s a place where you’re treated like a person, not just a number or marketing metric. Critical thinkers are encouraged. Practical learning is prioritized. You graduate with skills that matter and a mindset built for real success—not just superficial accolades. In contrast, UC Davis has increasingly become a performative and image-driven institution. The school projects excellence, but much of it is surface-level—built on branding rather than substance. It markets itself heavily and builds a reputation that doesn’t always match the student experience. Many bright, independent minds end up feeling stifled, while those who conform to the system—regardless of merit—rise more easily. It rewards appearances and safe thinking more than originality or depth. At Chico State, students develop sharp thinking and are allowed to be themselves. At Davis, there’s a strong culture of performance over authenticity. It’s polished on the outside, but often lacking the academic soul that truly empowers students. If you want real value, real people, and a campus culture that doesn’t just pretend to care—Chico State is the better choice.

I was super excited to start in the fall of 2024, but the city is not great. For Chico being home to a university, they take no pride in keeping their town safe and clean. The campus is beautiful, but there are a lot more better CSUs in California. All the buildings are super outdated, no diversity in the city, students are rude and entitled, homless everywhere, horrible drivers, weird locals, incidents almost every single day, and the neighorhoods surrounding the univeristy are trashed and suspicious. They push you to move into streets that are close to campus which are the worst areas to live in with the most crime and homeless roaming around. I have had several suspicious people walk by my home while living in Chico and get personal belongings stolen. Several incidents that have occurred i.e, shootings at student apt complexes, random gunshots at night, and several other incidents. There is nothing to do in Chico and anybody who says otherwise is lying to you. Unless you like to be outdoorsy and have the time and money to be driving up to lakes and parks then Chico is fit for you, but no student is going to be driving 1.5-3 hours just to get to a decently sized city that has more food and entertainment to do and that is why every student just goes out to all the dirty nasty bars in Chico. Its a mid school and city, I wouldn't recommend anyone to attend yet alone live in the city.

Miss this beautiful campus and place so much. Hope I get to go back here someday and listen to the creek flowing through campus

As a visitor, the campus is a beautiful place to visit. CSU facilities staff does an excellent job of maintaining all of the grounds and buildings. I felt safe on campus.

i LOVE Chico State! Great school. Everyone works together to serve the students.

This campus is beautiful and overall my experience has been great here. Some of the teachers are a little too much with their opinions on society and pushing how they feel on their students is the only downfall here. It can become redundant and a bit annoying when you don't think the same way they do.

Great school, very kind and welcoming environment.