Humboldt State University

This is one of the friendliest campuses ever.
It takes a while to get used to it and the town itself.
But once you do you will find your place.
So much to do here, we will visit often.
Just attended a graduation here a few weeks ago and it was one of the best well managed ceramonies ever attended.
So fast, casual, inviting, comfortable I now know why they are held rain or shine.
other schools should take some tips from Humboldt.

HSU home of the Lumberjacks. A great campus, nestled in the middle of a redwood forest, and within walking distance of the town it is a part of and within biking distance to the pacific ocean.
Some departments are leaders or tops in their respective fields, you can get a good education in an amazing setting on a nice campus. The Campus Center for Appropriate Technology, with several environmental majors is at the top in its field; Biology and Biomedical sciences and Environmental & Natural resources.
The CenterArts program brings great world class music to the area, The Van Duzer theater seats about 900 and is an amazing venue for live music and performance arts, along with the smaller Fulkerson Recital Hall and a couple of other even smaller performance venues on campus — The CenterArts annual music/​performance schedule for each year always yields great music/​performances and students of the campus can attend any of these for very little.
Humboldt State also has an excellent research library, which I’ve used on more than one occasion when the county library did not have the information I required.
I’ve read a couple long-​winded reviews griping about all the things wrong «around» the college — which actually have nothing to do with the campus, facilities and programs offered at this institution of higher learning.
3.5 Stars — rounded up for one of the nicest college campus locations anywhere.
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My alma mater.
A lot of what’s to expect from HSU has been said already. Last time I visited was in summer of 2011 (I graduated in ’09), but the place is a time capsule. Outside of a revolving door of businesses coming and going, here’s what’s to expect from Humboldt County:
1. Drug addicts. Bay area kids are ALL druggies. DO NOT TRY TO ARGUE WITH ME ABOUT THIS. Anybody who knows Humboldt knows what strains are current. This is universal. Humboldt has three major exports; pulp, Dungeness crabs, weed. Anybody who’s not smoking pot is hooked on meth. Most are into both. Blow, molly, shrooms, Reggae on the River, whatever, the culture in Humboldt revolves around experimentation and addiction.
2. Higher cost of goods. The gas gets carried in by one ship every week going up to Crescent City to avoid the Redwood Curtain. So you pay more for gas. All other items have around a 30% markup as a result. Then you have fair trade and co-​ops. As a result, Humboldt County is expensive for cost of living versus consistent income
3. Few jobs. The truth is, the biggest employer in the area is HSU, and they pick work study students over general applications because the government foots 60% of the check, ie. FAFSA minority students. For all others, you can expect frictional unemployment. If you are currently employed by Starbucks, Wal-​Mart, Target, or any other chain big box that still manages to exist in Eureka, you can expect a forced termination when you move to Arcata to attend college. It usually takes months to get your job back. If you try to get a local job, EVERYONE requires a resume. Attractive trust fund kids who fit in usually get picked first. Expect huge tension between locals and college kids.
4. The Homeless. They should make a reality show based on the local homeless in Arcata. Something in the line of Food Network’s Dinner’s Drive-​ins and Dives. When I attended, Big Al was on the corner everyday on H Street right before frontage road asking for rent. On the campus bridge was the black fellow who made alien signal transmitters out of CD’s and DVD’s. He’d poop into a plastic bag in his pants under the overpass. Every. Single. Day. There’s a term for the people who reside in the Arcata Plaza; the Plazoids. Plazoids range from 101 transients to local Trustafarians selling glass pieces from their parents SUVs. This is a tiny taste of the spectrum of homeless individuals you will encounter just in Arcata. When you consider McKinleyville and Eureka, Humboldt is nothing but a massive community of the worst people to prey upon other people for a living.
5. The bar scene. No college town is complete without it’s bar scene clientele! This is both good and bad at HSU. Good news, if you’re on a dime then you can get cheap beer with friends anytime before 1 am. Bad news is that there are no true clubs. They fold each and every year. The Ugly. Humboldt has a caste system that revolves around going to the bars and who you fit in with. There’s the Alibi crowd, the Toby and Jack’s crowd, (my God!) the Sidelines crowd, the Shanty crowd, the list goes on. If you want to survive college life at HSU, or have any personal life, you have to go to the bars…
6. Which brings me to number six, sex life in Humboldt. Women outnumber men by 2% on campus and you wouldn’t know it. There is a drastic number of redheads who attend HSU. There’s also a rather large proportion of the community who are hairy, rotund, practice poor hygiene. Factor in the percentage the LBGT community who are not «into you», the scant number of normally attractive people, people who are under the legal age, and the caste system in the area, HSU can be impossible to find people who you want to even date, let alone be around. There is also little entertainment in the area. Then you have HSV, HPV, gonorrhea, and chlamydia outbreaks to consider… The pretty women get superiority complexes because there’s so few of them, the attractive men act like exploitative assholes, good luck finding an actual mate at HSU.
7. Campus. Gorgeous doesn’t describe northern California. It will always be that way. No manner of people want to live in rain for 3 months straight out of a year. It’s in the 40’s nearly year around. As a result, Humboldt County has the most pristine beautiful northern rainforest national parks in existence, and the best campus of any State Campus. The campus has gone through a renaissance since I attended. They spent a bunch of my classmates money on more dorms, apartments, a parking garage, a new library, a huge business and sciences building. Humboldt’s got problems but the campus isn’t one of them. The staff is extraordinarily laid back and caters to the students. Administration is terrible. They will try to milk you for another 2 years if they can. You need to be vigilante in your academic load and challenge anything administration tries to pull. They will take liberties…
8. Shopping. There is none.
And I still made it! You can too.

I loved attending HSU (Class of 2013). The classes are small and it’s a really personal, nurturing environment. The forest is literally HSU’s backyard and the beach (Mad River) is only a 5 minute drive away. The bus is free with tuition/​fees and the cost of living in Humboldt is amazing. When you hit 21, the local craft beer scene is unprecedented. I miss HSU/​Humboldt every day (my husband, Class of 2014, will tell you it’s true). The only problem with coming here is you will probably never want to leave.

This school is amazing. I have only one semester left and I am already sad that I’ll be leaving. Arcata is such a nice little town with amazing people. I will never forget it. HSU has the best professors ever and it’s located in the middle of the redwoods. I am so in love with this place. I made my best friends here.

Amazing view .nice clean air. People here are very nice .hope the kid will be a happy guy here. The soccer field is nice. right in front.

I have attended the Fall Admissions Day and I enjoyed my day. Not only was I accepted to Humboldt for next Fall, I had to drive 12 hours from San Diego. I would say the reason I would enjoy to attend Humboldt is because I want to get out of SD, as well as attending something out of my comfort zone.

Most amazing school ever! I just went up there this last weekend for Fall early admissions day and I loved it! I got accepted and can’t wait to start school there! :) I’m from sacramento and can’t wait to get away from the city! If you like the city this isn’t the place for you but if you love the environment and the outdoors then this is the perfect place for you! My favorite part is that there are trails 5 minutes from campus :)
Everyone is super friendly and helpful!
I couldn’t think of a better place to go to college.

Humboldt State was my home away from home for a little over 5 years. It’s a great place filled with great people. I graduated from Humboldt in 2012 BA in Communication. I made amazing memories, met my wonderfully amazing friends, found what I was good at, and learned many life lessons. Overall, I enjoyed my HSU experience very much.
Now here are some ifs:
If you like the fast paced and busy city life, Humboldt is not for you.
If you don’t have a car and hate public transportation, HSU is not for you.
If you own a car and plan on driving to campus HSU is not for you (Opt for a bike, leave your car at home.)
If you don’t like fresh air HSU is not for you.
If you don’t like friendly people, or people who don’t know you smiling at you, HSU is not for you.
Now…
IF you like Nature, Humboldt is definitely for you.
If you want to get away from the city life, Humboldt is definitely for you!
If you want to interact with diverse mix of open minded cultures, Humboldt is for you!
If you want to explore, hike a trail, or relax in the forest for you break; all within minutes of where your class was, then HSU if right for you.
If you don’t mind people not knowing where you went to school, HSU is right for you.
If you want to study any of the Sciences, HSU is right for you.
If you choose to attend Humboldt State just remember, Public transportation is your best friend, bikes make life easier, don’t stay indoors– go explore, board games/​food/​and friends (BgFFs) make any boring night specktacular.
Humboldt State is the most Northern California State University (CSU), Instate Tuition (cheapest tuition of all CSU’s last time I checked), but far enough so it’s as if you’re in a different state.
*Update:
I’d like to also mention in retribution to previous negative reviews, HSU does have a multicultural environment, unfortunately it’s not as big as one might expect/​or like, but it is present, you just need to know where to look, usually the quad is a good place to start. There are many clubs and organizations revolving around the diversity of the campus.
(((Also, as far as I know freshmen are allowed to bring vehicles; it’s just strongly advised you don’t because you’ll be on campus most of the time, and you’ll be taking up parking space.)))
Thanks, and definitely visit before deciding.

My experience with HSU is one of a staff member. I grew up in Los Angeles and my work experience has been solely in the private sector with people who have basic or advanced people skills.
I came to Arcata for a personal family reason and had to find work. HSU is the best employer in Arcata/​Eureka besides the Police Department or Courts, and I still took a 50% pay cut to move up there… Sucked. Before I tell you why I left, I can tell you that I couldn’t have left faster, and when I did (7 months later), I high tailed away, and on approach to the city, was the only one grinning cheek to cheek as I drove back into my beloved LA, on the 405, packed in glorious traffic, consisting of modern and luxury vehicles. Oh the glory! You won’t find any luxury vehicles in Arcata… It’s silly to say now, but without the comforts of home, I was a fish outta water.
1. The administration of HSU are mostly incompetent, angry, immature and non professional creatures, in regard to both appearance and manners. They are unfriendly, critical, gossiping gargoyles. I was shocked. Aren’t they all supposed to be on the silly smoke and all relaxed?
2. Working for a state run institute with unions was like what it must be to work for the DMV.
3. The town is full of: homeless, meth heads, drunks, pot heads and retired hippies from Los Angeles who deny they come from Los Angeles. The people are mean, entitled, and mostly uneducated, hostile, and small minded folk who like to put down people from Los Angeles. I find Los Angelesians to be much more laid back and friendly than any of these turds.
4. If you’re not a gun-​slangin’, pickup truck drivin’, beer drinkin’ Republican, cow heardin’, drug dealer, then you’re a drug addicted hippie who moved up here from LA or down from Seattle to breathe fresh air and hug trees.
5. You can’t find a car wash, decent nail, hair or skin salon, place to get your legs waxed (because everyone is a hippie and grows all their hair) or decent place to go shopping. They haven’t yet imported perfume or deodorant, let alone embraced skin or dental care. Their biggest mall is a Walmart, Sears, Pier 1, Ross, TJ Maxx… just shoot me now. Dogs on leashes? Nope.
6. The food is for the most part awful, everything is organic, vegan, compost this, recycle that, let your kids run wild in the restaurant because it’s «natural». Everything closes at 8 except the bars.
7. Want a doctor, dentist or dermatologist? Go back to LA. Need surgery or a critical care unit? Fly 4 hours to San Fran for it.
8. Want to see a black or Mexican? They’re either in the prison or hiding in the red woods, so go back to LA.
Like someone else on this site said, nice place to visit, but don’t move here unless you fall into any of the above mentioned categories that clearly drove my nerves back to LA.

Beautiful campus! So many redwoods and flowering plants, I felt like I was on a nature trail. The buildings look new, the dorms look super nice. The track looks awesome, I would love to run some laps.
I love how there are so many sets of stairs! You get a workout just walking to and from class!
Everyone seems to be really friendly here. I received plenty smiles and hellos while I was touring the campus. Honestly, if I could go here I would. Too bad I live in New Orleans!
Anyhoo, the good looking black guy (Julian?) who has a lip ring that works at the bookstore was super friendly! He was really attentive and helped me pick out a goodie to take home. He was really personable, made me feel like we were already friends. He also answered my questions that I had about the university and told me what he liked about it. Thanks man!

It is such a pretty campus! If your major has anything to do with the environment, you should definitely go here!

Some of the departments are great, some of them, not so much. But that is bound to be true for most universities. I like the area and the city of Arcata. It’s got it’s stereotypes, and they are mostly true, but if you like the rep, it’s a good place.

This school has some amazing pros, and some serious cons.
The campus/​area:
The campus itself is stunning. The trees are beautiful and if you live on campus, it is amazing to just look out your window and see nothing but beautiful greenery. Now the town itself and Eureka is not so great. If you are into a rural style hippie living, this will be your oasis, however I just could not handle it for very long. Everything familiar to city folk is a long drive away. The trees, beautiful. The city? Not so much.
The school administration:
This was just okay, honestly, nothing special. Some staff are extremely unprofessional on the phone, but others are okay.
Classes:
Awesome. I really enjoyed my classes here. Most teachers are on a first name basis and its very laid back. The classrooms though are usually too heated. Wear layers here, your going to get hot in class and freezing outside.
Overall, come here if you want a taste of the hippie life. There are usually strong feelings about Humboldt, either you love it or you hate it. Great school, really bad location.

Note– It’s not so much the University that I have a problem with– it is much more the area where it is located and the student body… if you can get over those things/​they don’t bother you then this could be a GREAT school.
I only lasted one semester at HSU, so don’t put too much weight on my opinion. Also, I transferred to HSU right in the winter from HAWAII. Yikes.
The weather is so miserable. During the semester I spent there it rained nearly EVERY day… It is NOT fun to walk in the wind and rain and show up to class drenched. If you can somehow get over the depressing weather, there are some pros… and some more cons…
It IS an absolutely beautiful campus, and Arcata is charming. There are beautiful beaches, places to hike and do other activities all around you (But, you can really only get out in the summer to do these because of the weather, and many students don’t stick around then).
There are great food options if you are vegetarian/​vegan and a great natural foods store in town. Arcata is small so you can bike/​walk to everything you need. At the same time, there isn’t much to do. Eureka, the nearest ‘big’ town, has very creepy energy and a high rate of heroin addiction. The economy is depressed up there so it can tend to be low-​income and solemn. Also, it will be really difficult to find a job if you are one of the many students who needs to work while in school. I applied at every place I could think of– restaurants, movie theaters, daycare… everything pays only minimum wage and there are never any openings due to the competition from nearly every other resident/​student. I was unable to get a job (even at Starbucks in Eureka after having worked at the Starbucks in Hawaii for 2 years). I have no idea what I would have done if I had ended up staying longer.
I had great teachers while I was there and I really enjoyed my classes. Based on the classes I took, I would say the faculty is great, but I only dealt with 4 teachers…
I cannot say much about my fellow students. One of the main reasons I transferred to Humboldt was because I wanted to attend a school where people were politically/​environmentally/​socially aware and active, and Humboldt has a huge reputation for that. What I instead found was a bunch of idealistic young people who liked to talk the talk but were too lazy to walk the walk because they were stoned ²⁴⁄₇. You can’t change the world when you are glued to the couch, high off your ass eating potato chips, even if they are organic.
I often found it frustrating to be sitting in class looking around, realizing I was the ONLY non-​stoned individual in there. Class discussions had to be forced by the teacher and often what students would come up with would be something like this… «uhhhh, mannnn… yah… I mean, I think the book, like, like. realllly spoke to me… yahhh.» Jesus, how many bong hits did you take this morning!!! UGH.
I also found it difficult, as a transfer student, to make friends. It was always pouring and people seemed be rushing from one building to the next, trying to get out of the rain. No one was outwardly friendly to me, unless it was over mutually shared enjoyment of MJ. It would be nice to see more programs designed to help connect students to one another, college is supposed to be a time where you meet people and make connections!
The gym is nice, they seem to have good student support services (such as free counseling), and they have some killer programs if you are majoring in Wildife/​Forestry/​Environmental Science. etc.
I think it is the sort of place you definitely need to visit before deciding to take the leap and attend HSU. Walk around, spend some time taking it in, and REALLYYYY think hard about whether or not you want to call this place home for the next 4+ years…

This school is amazing in so many ways. The school is small which is good b/​c you can easily find your class rooms. Also, another great thing about this school is that the forest is just behind the football field and in there you can find yourself either playing disc golf, hiking, or just a nice stroll though the forest.

Humboldt State is an amazing university!

Humboldt State has made a monumental error in axing the nursing program:
The graduating nursing class of 2012 had one of the HIGHEST collective GPA’s of any program within the school. In a time of unprecedented need for quality staffing for training the next generation of nurses, HSU instead decided to pander to soft-​science nonsense.
I attended the 2012 graduating ceremony from someone I know from the nursing program (who graduated with honors). The administration of the college has been openly hostile to nursing, snubbing it from one turn to the next. It isn’t as profitable or as politically «hip» as all the «social justice» and «environmental justice» platitudes which we were forced to endure during the ceremony.
Even more galling was the unabashed call for an additional $ 200 million dollars of state funding, even while the administration is making record salaries. Drive up into the hills of Arcata and you’ll see the mansions these guys live in, all the while the students rack up record levels of student debt in programs that are increasingly all about «feel goodism» and not anything substantive like Industrial Technology (another axed program) and nursing.
Avoid this school and with it, the culture of management that puts politics and money at the forefront, not a solid education for the careers of today and tomorrow.

I don’t know I did not have the most pleasurable experience TO SAY THE LEAST. The cool thing about HSU is that the teachers are nice and helpful if you ask for help, but I feel that any CSU or UC system is that way, many people just choose not to ask. Overall if you love the city I would say HSU is a nice place to visit but a terrible place to live. I cannot wait to transfer to CSULB in the fall and get the H-​E-​double hockey sticks out of this god forsaken town!
I am a city girl and so this is not my favorite area BY FAR! If you plan on getting your degree from HSU in 4 years then good luck. I have been here for 3 years and I have yet to hear of anyone who has graduated in 4 years (even art majors seem to take longer than 4 years for some reason). Problem number 2, as with all CSU’s HSU has raised its tuition for the last 3 or 4 semesters in a row. It is getting expensive to come here. Plus all other big towns are 5 – 6 hours away and gas is about $ 4 a gallon right now so it’s not that great of an investment if you plan on visiting family for break.
Sadly I have experienced as a person of color that the towns people are not very nice when it comes to «outsiders» and they try to snub you. It’s really ridiculous! The doctors in this town are terrible, and if you want to find one accepting patients then you better at least 6 to 8 months in advanced, if you try to get in any sooner then good luck! I had to literally call 24 doctors in the town before I found one that was accepting patients, and the only reason he was accepting people is because he had just opened his office that week.
Things around here are really a monopoly and you will notice that it’s mainly a few select people who own everything in Arcata and Eureka. Apartment prices in Arcata are jacked up way higher then they should be for this area, but I wouldn’t suggest living in Eureka because of all the crack heads… but bums are crawling everywhere in Arcata so I guess it’s just as bad. Big hippy town, but if you like that sort of thing go for it! Have fun no matter what you do and enjoy the experience.

BEAUTIFUL campus! Redwoods and the beach surrounds you and it is a place you can totally fall in love with… if you visit.
I went here for a semester and almost could not even last that long. I am from the bay area but this place is FREEZING! They tell you the temperature never goes above 75, and they mean it. Always windy, rains a lot, and you will slowly lose your tan despite having sunshine and the beach, it is often too cold to go out tanning. Campus is clean and large, easy to navigate, classes seem alright though not anything fantastic. Food on campus is rather great, especially the salad bar! Dorms are decent though nothing to brag about (I stayed in Cypress, 8^th floor).
DO NOT come here if you are someone who loves to be out doing things. The cities around here are extremely small and there is nothing amazing to do. Yes there are the common things including a mall that is about 20 min drive away. In fact anything you are interested in doing is a drive away. That being said, freshman are not allowed cars. There is a shuttle to take you but it is a pain in the ass. You will have a MASSIVE culture shock. It is inevitable. Yes there is a huge population of ‘hippies’ and stoners, that is pretty much a well known fact by everyone who has ever heard of the school. it is safe to say that if the smoking pot, hippie, laid back type of life is what you enjoy, this is the school for you. If it is not, I would go elsewhere.
Nice to visit, not somewhere I would suggest going otherwise.