California State University--Long Beach

California State University—Long Beach is a public institution that was founded in 1949. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 32,711 (fall 2022), and the campus size is 322 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. California State University—Long Beach's ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #105. Its in-state tuition and fees are $6,904; out-of-state tuition and fees are $17,200.

With its location overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the California State University—Long Beach, or CSULB or Long Beach State as it is known, offers students a mix of academic and outdoor life. All freshmen, unless they commute from a parent’s home, are required to live on campus. It’s a scenic place to live, as more than 3,000 peach trees line the campus, a donation made by local Long Beach citizens. The school’s sports teams compete in the NCAA Division I Big West Conference and are especially competitive in women’s volleyball. Students can check out more than 300 organizations at CSULB, including fraternities and sororities, special interest clubs, social action organizations, and honor societies.

For graduate students, CSULB offers programs through the College of Business Administration and the College of Health and Human Services, among other schools. Notable alumni of the California State University—Long Beach include J.F. Lawton, screenwriter of Pretty Woman, and Tara Cross-Battle, a former Olympic women’s volleyball player. Acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg first attended CSULB in 1965 and, though he did not earn a degree then, later returned to complete his bachelor’s in 2002.