All About Chico

CSU, Chico's History

In 1887, General John Bidwell, pioneer, statesman, and founder of Chico, donated eight acres of cherry orchard, and construction began on Chico State Normal School. The campus opened in 1889 with 90 students and five faculty members. The first class of teachers graduated in June 1891. Chico State Normal School became Chico State Teachers College in 1921. The legislature converted its teachers colleges to state colleges in 1935, and Chico State Teachers College became Chico State College. In 1972 the college became California State University, Chico.California State University, Chico

All About Chico

• California State University Chico (popularly called "Chico State")
• Founded: 1887
• President: Paul J. Zingg
• Student/Faculty ratio: 24 to 1
• Average Undergraduate Class Size: 31
• Campus Acreage: Main campus 119 acres; University Farm 800 acres; Ecological Reserves 2,330 acres
• Total General Fund Budget, including revenue: $174,558,133
• Location: 90 miles north of Sacramento; 174 miles northeast of San Francisco
• Service Counties: Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yuba
• School Mascot: Wildcat
• School Colors: Cardinal and White
• Alumni/ae: 128,000

Students (Fall 2011)

Full-time Equivalent students 14,984

(FTE: total number of course hours enrolled in during a particular semester, divided by 15 for undergraduates; divided by 12 for graduate students)

Number of total students 15,920

• Freshmen: 3,319 (2,429 first-time; 890 transfer or continuing) (21%)
• Sophomores: 2,157 (14%)
• Juniors: 3,703 (23%)
• Seniors: 5,549 (35%)
• Postbaccalaureate Students: 1,192 (7%)

Age

• CSU, Chico Average (undergraduate and graduate): 24
• Undergraduate Average: 22

Ethnicity

• American Indian: 0.8%
• Asian: 5.1%
• Black/African American: 1.8%
• Hispanic/Latino: 17.1%
• Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.2%
• White: 58.3%
• Declined to State: 9.5%
• Non-resident Alien: 3.6%
• Gender
• Female: 52%
• Male: 48%

Freshman Profile

• Average High School GPA: 3.31 (admits) / 3.22 (enrolled)
• Mean SAT Scores (Composite): 1059 (admits) / 1038 (enrolled)