Big West Conference

Cal Poly, or the California Polytechnic Institute at San Luis Obispo, is consistently ranked as one of the top undergraduate engineering schools in the country. Its schools of architecture and agriculture are also ranked highly. Cal Poly has a "learn by doing" philosophy of education, and students do just that on the sprawling campus of just under 10,000 acres that includes a ranch and vineyard. Cal Poly is the most selective of the Cal State schools.

• Location: San Luis Obispo, California
• School type: Public engineering school
• Enrollment: 19,325 (18,302 undergraduates)
• Team: Mustangs
• For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, see the Cal Poly admisson profile

Cal State Fullerton is one of the largest universities in the California State University system. Established in 1957, this public university now offers 55 bachelor's and 50 master's degree programs. Business is the most popular program among undergraduates. The university's 236-acre campus is located in Orange Country near Los Angeles. The school wins high marks for the diversity of its student body and the number of degrees awarded to minority students. 

• Location: Fullerton, California
• School type: Public university
• Enrollment: 36,262 (30,737 undergraduates)
• Team: Titans
• For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, see the Cal State Fullerton admisson profile

California State University at Long Beach, or CSULB, was established in 1949 and has since grown to be one of the largest universities in the CSU system. The 323-acre campus is located in Los Angeles Country and features impressive landscaping and a distinctive pyramid-shaped sporting complex. CSULB often wins high marks for its value, and the university was awarded a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for its strengths in the liberal arts and sciences. Business administration is the most popular major among undergraduates. 

• Location: Long Beach, California
• School type: Public university
• Enrollment: 35,557 (29,324 undergraduates)
• Team: 49ers
• For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, see the Cal State Long Beach admisson profile

Cal State Northridge is one of the larger universities in the California State University System. The school's 365-acre campus is located in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. The university is made up of nine colleges that offer a total of 64 bachelor's and 52 master's degree programs. Business Administration and Psychology are the most popular majors among CSUN undergraduates. The university has earned high marks for its programs in music, engineering and business. 

• Location: Northridge, California
• School type: Public university
• Enrollment: 35,198 (29,576 undergraduates)
• Team: Matadors
• For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, see the Cal State Northridge admisson profile

UC Davis, the University of California at Davis, is frequently ranked among the top public universities in the United States. The school's excellent in research and teaching has earned it membership in the Association of American Universities, and strengths in the liberal arts and sciences earned it a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. The school's 5,300-acre campus, located west of Sacramento, is the largest in the UC system. UC Davis offers over 100 undergraduate majors, and the university's strengths are diverse -- arts, humanities, biological sciences, and engineering. 

• Location: Davis, California
• School type: Public research university
• Enrollment: 31,247 (24,626 undergraduates)
• Team: Aggies
• For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, see the UC Davis admisson profile

The University of California at Irvine is located in the heart of Orange County. The 1,500-acre campus has an interesting circular design with Aldrich Park in the center. The park features a network of paths running through the gardens and trees. Like the other top University of California schools, Davis has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and membership in the Association of American Universities. 

• Location: Irvine, California
• School type: Public research university
• Enrollment: 27,142 (22,26 undergraduates)
• Team: Anteaters
• For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, see the UC Irvine admisson profile

Located 50 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, the University of California at Riverside is one of the ten schools in the UC system. The school is in a period of rapid expansion, and it has been recognized as one of the most ethnically diverse research universities in the country. Business Administration is by far the most popular major among undergraduates, but the university has strengths in the liberal arts and sciences that have earned it a chapter of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. 

• Location: Riverside, California
• School type: Public research university
• Enrollment: 19,384 (16,996 undergraduates)
• Team: Highlanders
• For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, see the UC Riverside admisson profile

UCSB has wide ranging strengths in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and engineering that have earned it membership in the selective Association of American Universities and a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. The 1,000 acre campus is also a draw for many students, for the university has miles of beach-front property on the California coast. UCSB made one of my lists of top public universities.

• Location: Santa Barbara, California
• School type: Public research university
• Enrollment: 22,850 (19,796 undergraduates)
• Team: Gauchos
• For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, see the UC Santa Barbara admisson profile

The University of the Pacific's attractive 175-acre campus is an easy drive to San Francisco, Sacramento, Yosemite, and Lake Tahoe. The most popular undergraduate majors are in business and biology, but education and the health sciences are also strong. The University of the Pacific was awarded a chapter of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honor society for its accomplisments in the liberal arts and sciences. The university offers an unusual breadth of disciplines for a school its size. Pacific also has a School of Law in Sacramento and a School of Dentistry in San Fransisco.

• Location: Stockton, California
• School type: Private university
• Enrollment: 6,401 (3,501 undergraduates)
• Team: Tigers
• For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, see the University of the Pacific admisson profile