Re: Chico State--Wiki has this to say:
Rankings

Academic

* 6th Best Public Master's Level University in the West 2008 [1]
* 4th Best Public Master's Level University in the West 2007 [2]
* 4th Best Public Master's Level University in the West 2006 [3]
* 3rd Best Public Master's Level University in the West 2005 [4]
* 3rd Best Public Master's Level University in the West 2004 [5]
* 4th Best Public Master's Level University in the West 2003 [6]
* 3rd Best Public Master's Level University in the West 2002 [7]

School statistics

From Peterson's in 2006[4]

* Enrollment: 15,025
* Average GPA (admitted students): 3.41
* Average SAT: 1238 (This represents the old SAT scoring system, new SAT statistics have not yet been published.)
* Average GRE:1210 (Old GRE scoring system)
* Average ACT: over 24
* Student to Faculty Ratio: 21:1

The school paper is #1, the athletic department is consistently among national champion winners, the campus has been voted one of the top sustainable campuses in the WORLD, one of its Professors was a Nobel Prize recipient, and the campus has been on the President's Community Service Honor Roll each year since it began participating.

All this while hoisting a few brews? Pretty good for a party school I'd say.
Maybe I should take up a career in Journalism, after all, how hard can it be? I survived Chico state, I bet I could hold my own at Radar!

I remember the days when Playboy magazine touted Chico State as the #1 party college. I remember Pioneer days which made national news when Chico police cars were burned during the festivities. But thats not the Chico State I know.... I wont deny that St Patricks day is a huge party day in Chico. Or Halloween. But Im sure I wasnt alone in making my education a priority. And perhaps contrary to the norm, I completed my stint in 3 1/2 years instead of 4. Chico State is a beautiful campus and there is a very active environmental presence there. Diversity is embraced and tolerance is encouraged. There is a feeling of being a part of a macrocosm there, since the campus is so beautifully built around the natural features of the creeks and huge sycamores and the various exotic plants that Annie Bidwell planted so long ago. In fact, Chico State's very proximity to the Historic home of John and Annie Bidwell reminds us daily of their legacy. Chico is an oasis of culture in a relatively remote location. Chico State is a huge part of that fact.

I am proud to say I had conscientious professors, challenging classes, and only a marginal brush with the nighlife (I will say that Duffy's Tavern on a friday night is the ONLY place to be in Chico in my opinion). I am a CSUC alumni, I graduated Cum Laude, and I guess, like anything, you find what you LOOK for. Too bad Radar didnt look beyond the bars. or the Playboy magazine. Chico is so much more.