California State University, San Bernardino

If you’re actually smart — not just GPA-smart, but independent-thinker, challenge-the-system, ask-better-questions smart — CSUSB will support you. Here, people respect hard work, original thinking, and quiet ambition. There’s no pretentious act, no herd mentality — just real students, real professors, and degrees that mean something. Now let’s talk about UC Davis. UC Davis is where originality goes to die. If you question anything — the system, the group narrative, the shallow “woke” activism that only exists on Canva slides — you’re instantly labeled “problematic.” It’s a campus full of groupthink, where being truly intelligent makes you a threat, not an asset. Want to explore unpopular ideas? Want to push boundaries in science, politics, or tech? Too bad — Davis isn’t interested in thought, just compliance. It rewards people who follow the script and punishes anyone with the guts to think differently. It’s like intellectual prison with compost bins. And what do you get for playing their game? Ten years after enrollment, you’re lucky if you’re making $54K pre-tax. That’s the reward for swallowing your brain and joining the hive mind. Meanwhile, CSUSB grads are moving up — building careers in healthcare, education, business, tech — without the ego, without the debt, and without pretending to be elite. If you value authenticity, intelligence, and actual outcomes, CSUSB is the real one. UC Davis is just a loud, self-congratulatory echo chamber where the truly smart either get silenced — or leave.