Sfsu

[dia009]

Has anyone been through SFSU core sciences in recent years?
What there neighborhood suggestions?
I'm moving to SF from LA and will have very little time to find a place to live since I'll be abroad during the summer.

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[Nasrudin]

I'm a senior biology student. Neighborhood depends on your needs, will you be commuting to work or just going to school. I've lived all over the city. Keep in mind the school is on the far SW corner of the city so Daly City is just as good of an option for school commutes only. If I was you and I was by myself and was planning on getting a job I would live in the Tenderloin for cheap rents and to live close to the stations--the M line goes right to campus. Avoid the busses if you can in any case. The Richmond and the sunset have some options for cheaper apartments and that's not a bad commute. Do you have a car? Dude you gotta be more specific for me to help you. SF is not just a college town where everybody has the same needs as you do. Alot of people here work full-time.

 

[dia009]

I'm a senior biology student. Neighborhood depends on your needs, will you be commuting to work or just going to school. I've lived all over the city. Keep in mind the school is on the far SW corner of the city so Daly City is just as good of an option for school commutes only. If I was you and I was by myself and was planning on getting a job I would live in the Tenderloin for cheap rents and to live close to the stations--the M line goes right to campus. Avoid the busses if you can in any case. The Richmond and the sunset have some options for cheaper apartments and that's not a bad commute. Do you have a car? Dude you gotta be more specific for me to help you. SF is not just a college town where everybody has the same needs as you do. Alot of people here work full-time.

Sorry about earlier, I was in a rush to get out of the library.
Thank you for the info.
Actually, I'm going to sfsu for a 2nd bachelor to do the pre-med classes
School is the focus, but I would also need to have access to extra curriculum acitivites in the city, ie: hospitals.
Where exactly is tenderloin. I can't find it on a neighborhood map.n I've also heard such bad things about it...
I was thinking Sunset's rent isn't all that bad since westwood rent is even more outrageous.... (vomit...)
I have a car but it's optional, i can leave it in LA for my family. Parking seems impossible in sf.
Thank u again~~~

 

[Nasrudin]

Sorry about earlier, I was in a rush to get out of the library.
Thank you for the info.
Actually, I'm going to sfsu for a 2nd bachelor to do the pre-med classes
School is the focus, but I would also need to have access to extra curriculum acitivites in the city, ie: hospitals.
Where exactly is tenderloin. I can't find it on a neighborhood map.n I've also heard such bad things about it...
I was thinking Sunset's rent isn't all that bad since westwood rent is even more outrageous.... (vomit...)
I have a car but it's optional, i can leave it in LA for my family. Parking seems impossible in sf.
Thank u again~~~

OK here we go.

I meant if it was me--I'm a 6'5'' 230 lb male--homeless drunks are not intimidating to me, It's alot of young males hanging around doing nothing except selling and making themselves a target for the other chuckleheads that makes me nervous--this type of thing occurs in small pockets throughout the city so you just have to check it out. I don't enjoy the ambiance of the T.L.--located east of Van Ness--North of civic center--west of Union Square--south of Russian Hill--but...if you're slick about it you can live in a cool apartment for cheap and do without the car as an expense commutes anywhere are quick from the main stations in the downtown area.
Now parking is not a problem in some areas so If you want your car for getting around you have alot of options. Presidio would be cool...I've seen alot of rooms advertised in Craiglist with other roomates. Parking is also not that much of a hassle in the Avenues either The Richmond or Sunset neighborhoods. I live in the inner Richmond and love it. Nice quiet working families lots of good Asian food of all varieties with cheap vegetable markets etc. Sometimes you have to look awhile for parking but if you want to pay extra you could be hassle free in some buildings.

If you want to live alone expect to pay chunk of change outside unattractive areas. Use Craigslist but also hit the streets. Rents have seen an upswing after the dot com fallout so good luck. Bring you cash and be ready to pounce.
Look at Daly city. the rent is a little cheaper. Avoid North beah, marina because the parking is tough and its expensive and way out of your way for school.

Ask me questions if you need to.

Also slightly east of campus on that hill are some small basement conversion apartments for cheap that you could walk to school. Be careful--I ran into some straight up chinese slum lords in the sunset and around campus in my apt. searches--if something doesn't feel right its probably not. I've seen some cheap decent in law options but i'm not so comfortable living in someone's house, there's less formal legal protection. But for a woman this might add some security to living alone if you young and on your own for the first time.

P.S. Civic Center and Tenderloin are similar. I've been here 10 years..some of the neighborhood titles represent more of geo/cultural loose association not so much an exact place to me, so you might have to rely on maps or a local to decipher the rent listings exactly in that regard. Best thing is to go and see for yourself at different times of the day before signing your lease.

 

[MDsomeday22]

I graduated from SFSU in May with my BS in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. I was on the pre-med track. SFSU now has postbac sections in most of the core science classes (physics, bio, chem). They are actually pretty difficult; so don't be fooled just because the program is at a state school.

As for volunteering, I would recommend San Francisco General Hospital ER. I volunteered there for 3 years and I can honestly say that I've seen EVERYTHING that you could possibly see in an ER.

Where to live: I would suggest the sunset (also called the avenues). Rent is cheaper here and it's a quiet neighborhood. If you're not living downtown, all the neighborhoods of SF are relatively safe. I've lived all over the city for the past 5 years and I've never felt unsafe. Just make sure you are living relatively close to the MUNI or at least a bus line.

Good luck and feel free to ask more questions if needed

 

[notdeadyet]

If I was you and I was by myself and was planning on getting a job I would live in the Tenderloin for cheap rents and to live close to the stations--the M line goes right to campus.

But the M doesn't run through the Tenderloin.

OP- The Tenderloin is not a good neighborhood for a pre-med (of any size or weight). There are rough parts of SF that can be cool to live in, but the Tenderloin is not one of them. The only folks who live there by choice do so because they're from out of town and don't know better or just get off on the sleaze factor. The neighborhood mostly consists of very FOB immigrants with no other option. Unlike most ethnic neighborhoods in SF with a sense of identity, the Tenderloin is nasty enough that these folks get the hell out, usually as soon as they can. The result is a transient community and folks who exploit/prey on them. The only upside of this neighborhood is that it's not a bad commute downtown. It's not a nice commute to State, though. I lived in the Tenderloin for nine months.

Housing near State is cheap enough and if you have a car, you can commute in from Daly City. It's not the most interesting of neighborhoods. If you want a better SF experience, I'd recommend living somewhere like West Portal or Balboa Park, both of which are a very quick commute and on MUNI lines so that you can explore the rest of the city. If you want to try cheap, the Mission has lots of cheap housing and can be a quick MUNI/BART trip away.

Best of luck with the move.

 

[Nasrudin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tenderloin_%28San_Francisco)

Whatever works for you. Choices of this nature are quite personal.

 

[BeanerMD]

Anyone know anything about Monterey? Cal State at Monterey Bay is there- is this a reputable enough school at which a nontrad could audit some classes? Are there any hospitals nearby at which I could volunteer? Since I'm a midwesterner heading west (maybe), I could use all the advice I could! I've still got some apps out and interviews scheduled, but my plan B is to join my husband in CA, take some more classes, work, volunteer, blah blah blah. Please, any advice from you Cali folks would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[notdeadyet]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tenderloin_(San_Francisco)

Whatever works for you. Choices of this nature are quite personal.

Again, having lived there, I don't really need to read Wikipedia to get a feel for the place.

You're right, it's a personal choice and some folks do dig the Tenderloin. But for someone coming from out of town, I wouldn't refer them to one of the most dangerous and seedy neighborhoods.

 

[mrs_lady]

I agree, there's no reason to live in the Tenderloin. It is not a nice place. If you want a quick commute to State on transit, you can live within a few blocks Market Street west of Van Ness, close to a Muni station. BUT if you have a car, I would recommend the Sunset (or Richmond might not be bad either, it's further away, but much more happening). It's hard to get to SF General via transit. I would keep your car if you have one. I don't think parking is too bad if you get further out toward the ocean. I personally think that riding the 28 bus is a complete disaster. I would rather get to State on the 29, so you might rather live along that bus line. And here is the holy grail you've been looking for:

http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mmaps/official.htm

 

[notdeadyet]

Anyone know anything about Monterey? Cal State at Monterey Bay is there- is this a reputable enough school at which a nontrad could audit some classes?

CSUMB is one of (or the?) newest of the CSU campuses, so it doesn't have the reputation that other, better known CSU's have. But if you're truly auditing classes, they won't affect your GPA and the reputation of the school probably doesn't matter too much.

Monterey is very much a military town. There is the Defense Language Institute (where the military trains all its linguists) and the Presidio. Monterrey also have a prime industry in tourism.

Is your husband already out in Monterey? If he doesn't have a job lined up there, it can be a tough place to find work, depending on what field he's in. If he already has a job there, I'm sure you could find a hospital where you could volunteer (though none come to mind). I'd also recommend looking into free clinics, which have lots of hands-on opportunities (especially if you have some Spanish).

If you're looking specifically for a place to improve your app for medical schools, you might be better off by the Bay Area (which has postbacs at Mills, SFSU, UCB Extension, and CSU Hayward) and the LA area (which has a whole bunch as well).

Best of luck!

 

[MDsomeday22]

I would definitely not consider CSU Monterrey. This school is a relatively new member of the CSU system and is mainly focused on marine biology. As far as I know, they don't really have a pre-med track, although I'm sure they offer all the classes.

Monterrey is also a pretty small city, very beach townish. I would check out schools in Northern California:

San Francisco State University
San Jose State University
Stanford University
Berkeley

All of these schools have pre-med programs and a couple have postbac programs especially for premeds. This way you would also be close to lots of hospitals for volunteering opportunities.

Good luck!

 

[notdeadyet]

If you want a quick commute to State on transit, you can live within a few blocks Market Street west of Van Ness, close to a Muni station.

Very good point.

dia009- mrs_lady has a good recommendation. In neighborhoods called the Upper Mission and Lower Haight, you can find lots of apartments within a 10-20 minute walk of Van Ness MUNI stop, which will take you quickly to SFSU. Both neighborhoods are good introductions to the City (Upper Mission has an edge on the numbers of bars and restaurants, and the added convenience of being close to BART). If you look for places in the Lower Haight, find out how close they are to the projects there, which can make the neighborhood a little dodgier than you'd like.

One thing you'll notice, from mrs_lady and others, it that it is MUCH preferrable to live on a MUNI line than a bus line to get to SFSU. Our bus service is okay, but can be slow and erratic. MUNI lines (the whole transport system is called MUNI but it's often used to refer to the light rail train system) are usually more frequent and predictable.

I've lived in the several neighborhoods in SF (including the Mission and Tenderloin) and have been here since '94, so feel free to post/PM questions, if you'd like. It's a great town.

 

[BeanerMD]

My husband already lives there and is part of the military installation- hence, why I don't have much flexibility in living elsewhere in beautiful CA. If I'm only doing one or two classes, though, I don't mind driving upwards of an hour to go somewhere else for classes. Any recommendations (since CSUMB seems to be just "okay and new")?

You guys are such a wealth of knowledge- thank you

 

[notdeadyet]

If I'm only doing one or two classes, though, I don't mind driving upwards of an hour to go somewhere else for classes. Any recommendations (since CSUMB seems to be just "okay and new")?

Not really. I'd personally advise against doing a full-fledged self-made postbac at CSUMB, but for just taking a class or two, I'm sure it would be fine.

The nearest better-reputed college to where you'll be is UC Santa Cruz (full disclosure: it's my alma mater, go slugs), but it's about 45 minutes away without any traffic and there's often traffic. I wouldn't bother if you're just taking one or two upper division bio or chem classes.

 

[BeanerMD]

true, but I'd also like to have options (if CSUMB only has one or two upper level bios, chances are, I already took them as microbio undergrad or in my masters program). Then again, the phrase "beggars cant be choosers" comes to mind, and I should probably just take an upper level bio and a soc class or something...

The free clinics are definitely something I'd like to do (be it work or volunteer, I don't really care)- I used to work for one back in the day, and I miss that environment. If I really needed to work, I could always waitress or find the local establishment...

 

[notdeadyet]

true, but I'd also like to have options (if CSUMB only has one or two upper level bios, chances are, I already took them as microbio undergrad or in my masters program).

Try going to their catalog to check it out. Pickings will be pretty slim if you were a microbio undergrad/MA. You might check out UCSC, which has a strong science program.

The free clinics are definitely something I'd like to do (be it work or volunteer, I don't really care)- I used to work for one back in the day, and I miss that environment.

Free clinics are pretty common in California, due to the number of underserved. Come to think of it, a Spanish class is probably a good investment if you don't have any. It's a plus on any application, but especially if you'll be applying to the UCs as a Californian.

 

[BeanerMD]

Try going to their catalog to check it out. Pickings will be pretty slim if you were a microbio undergrad/MA. You might check out UCSC, which has a strong science program.

Free clinics are pretty common in California, due to the number of underserved. Come to think of it, a Spanish class is probably a good investment if you don't have any. It's a plus on any application, but especially if you'll be applying to the UCs as a Californian.

also have a BA in Spanish but good thinkin! Actually, I'm hoping I would be able to utilize it more in a smaller clinical setting. I'm not using it so much these days working in a hospital- go figure.

thanks

 

[dia009]

THANKS EVERYBODY.....
MuHAH MUAH MUAH..
i hate the busses....
i used to take the big blue bus to get to school for one quarter.. it is soooooo slow.. so i moved next door to campus the next quarter.
so.... yes, i understand the pain of the bus

 

[Nasrudin]

true, but I'd also like to have options (if CSUMB only has one or two upper level bios, chances are, I already took them as microbio undergrad or in my masters program). Then again, the phrase "beggars cant be choosers" comes to mind, and I should probably just take an upper level bio and a soc class or something...

The free clinics are definitely something I'd like to do (be it work or volunteer, I don't really care)- I used to work for one back in the day, and I miss that environment. If I really needed to work, I could always waitress or find the local establishment...

If the school offers baccalaureate biology programs I'm sure it would suffice for taking pre-reqs. I happen to disagree with the idea of comparing "reputations" for your situation in terms of commuting hours each day for school. The other posters are indicating breadth and strength within the premed context and that could be a factor if you were interested in certain areas of research. But for just building science coursework..It does't matter too much.
IMHO comparing reputations of CSU's is like trying to see who's hound-dog has the nicest slippers...it don't make a whole lotta sense.

EDIT!!!!! I just read your post about you already have undergrad and grad bio work. Nevermind my post!!