Hi fellow CA SLP program applicants! I have an undergrad major in psychology and 0 prereqs done, but I plan to start on some at Utah State Online during the summer semester. I was accepted to SDSU (the only CA school I applied to).
jessca - I've heard only positive things about SDSU and CSU - East Bay. Sorry, I don't know anything about SFSU.
SDorUWslp - I'm in a similar dilemma. I'm mainly deciding between Boston University and SDSU right now.
When I went to the CSU - East Bay info session, I remember that the professor holding it said something along the lines of...their faculty didn't feel that GRE scores was an accurate predictor of the student's future performance in the program. I'm not sure if that's the reason the other CSUs don't require the GRE though.
From what I heard, rankings matter more if you're interested in research, and they don't necessarily reflect the rankings of the teaching quality/clinical experience. With that said, I'm not looking at rankings at all and basing my choices more on other factors.
I also had concerns about the influence of budget cuts on the program, so I emailed the director who was very thorough and understanding in answering all my questions, so I suggest you email her with any specific concerns. It seems like the cuts are not affecting the program/students as much as I thought, and I can see that they're really dedicated in doing everything they can to overcome any obstacles.
keepthefaith - The SJSU students I've talked to seem to enjoy their program overall, but if you're interested in research it may not be as good of a fit for you.
JayF - I observed a SLP who went to SDSU, and I think she did her undergrad in the Midwest. I'm not sure where she is from originally though, nor am I sure if it's harder for out-of-staters to get accepted to CA state schools (at the grad level that is. I've heard something about them preferring in-state residents for undergrad, but I'm not sure how true that is either). Either way, you'll be adding some diversity to the class, which is awesome! I'm also very interested in second language acquisition, but probably not fluent enough in my 2nd language to do bilingual therapy haha.
Best of luck to everyone trying to make a decision! I feel like there's a high chance that I'll choose SDSU. I actually applied to mostly out-of-state schools because I wanted a new experience, but now cost is playing more of a factor than I thought. Well, everyone keep us updated on where you end up choosing! Maybe some of will become future SDSU classmates - then we could start getting to know each other before school starts and maybe even see if we could fit well as roommates.