I am not sure if this is why those individuals said they didn't like the climate of Sac's program, but a common complaint I have heard of Sac State is that they have a high preference for students who completed their undergraduate at Sac State. I believe I saw on their department data a while back that they have only accepted two or three students from outside colleges into the grad program over the past three years. Further than that, I can't really speak on the climate of the grad program but I hope this helps some!