Best Colleges in San Francisco

Questions About Going to College in San Francisco

How are the career opportunities for college graduates in San Francisco?

Get ready to let your newly minted skills shine through the dense morning fogs of San Francisco. This city has a low unemployment rate of 3.5%, ranks No. 5 in job growth in the states, and boasts a household median income of about $86,000.* Positioned halfway between London and Tokyo, and between Seattle and San Diego, this Bay Area city is a center of global business. Stop by the Creamery or Blue Bottle in the SoMa district, and behold the next tech geniuses hard at work on their startups. Buy them a good cup of coffee, and you may land yourself a spot in their virtual office. Travel to the FiDi District and take in all the financial institutions San Fran has to offer. But it’s not all Golden Gate Bridges — expect to spend a huge chunk of your pretty dollar on local eggs, almond milk, and that one-bedroom rental.

What major companies/industries are hiring what type of graduates/skills in San Francisco? Growing industries?

San Francisco drew hordes of hopefuls in the mid-1800s with the Gold Rush. Then in the 1950s through the 1970s the steep rolling hills called to the artists, the Beatniks like Jack Kerouac, the liberals who craved self-expression and personal freedom. Nowadays, tourism, financial services, healthcare, and technology dominate the job market. Apple, Facebook, and Google are looking to fill their plush, modern seats with computer engineers and the best-of-the-best problem-solvers. Hospitals like St. Mary’s Medical Center and the California Pacific Medical Center demand the top med graduates to help treat their patients, who span from in-the-area to out-of-state, with cutting-edge technologies. Then there are thirty international financial institutions that call San Francisco home, like Wells Fargo, Golden West Financial, and Charles Schwab, that cater to the MBAs and accountants who don’t mind putting on a suit Monday through Friday.

Is San Francisco more of a college town or a great place to start a career and family? What communities are best?

Calling all adventurers — ready to build their skills (scholarly and worldly), grow their careers, nurture their families, or live their lives to the fullest. San Francisco offers diverse neighborhoods and a breezy attitude toward alternative lifestyles. Anything goes. For college-goers or recent graduates who want to wear their sandals year-round, they can happily call San Francisco home as the city ranks No. 5 in education in the country.* San Francisco is home to institutions like the University of California, Hastings College of Law, and City College of San Francisco, to name a few. Mustachioed men and suspender-strap ladies, in school or recently out, can find their place in the Mission District among vintage stores, artisan coffee shops, and rental units that are more affordable than most in the area. As for those other areas, they best land themselves a solid job before locking in a rental — San Francisco is one of the top 10 priciest rental markets in the nation.**

“Everywhere you look, everywhere you go, there’s a heart, a hand to hold onto” sings the decades-old opening to Full House. The family sitcom, set in San Francisco, shows the side of the city catered to families. A mix of Victorian and modern architecture line the high and low and in-between streets. Families can find new housing alongside pockets of quirky shops and restaurants in Russian Hill, listening to the rumble of cable cars passing in the background. Or, they can overlook the Pacific atop Nob Hill, as they relax with their spouse and kids at Huntington Park next to the cherubic fountain. And Fisherman’s Wharf is a must-visit for parents and kids alike, with the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum and Madame Tussaudes gallery of wax statues.

What do the locals in San Francisco like to do for fun?

The bold and the free settled in the West, and they still call this city home decades later. Tony Bennett wailed “I left my heart in San Francisco,” and many locals feel the same when they’re away from the city for even a week. The always-mild weather staves cabin fever and lets the locals stay active all-year, from rock climbing at Mission Cliffs, surfing the Pacific waves, practicing downward dog in Fort Mason Park’s open meadow, or just enjoying a walk and the green, rolling cityscape view.

Brunch is nearly as popular as breathing. Avocados, beets, asparagus, and more from local farms spill into farmer’s markets, restaurants, and local groceries. Locals love their PBR and microbreweries. And they love their dogs even more, with acres of dog parks scattered throughout the city. They ride their bikes or hop aboard a cable car to get around. And they value their self-expression and progressive spirit above anything else— it’s common to see people in costumes (sometimes their birthday suits) often for a good cause like working toward Zero Waste by 2020.

What’s the dating scene like in San Francisco? Will I meet my perfect mate?

The city welcomes people of all sexual orientations. And there’s a menagerie of all kinds of personalities from which to choose: hipsters, yuppies, techies, nerds, and hippies. Don’t be surprised to get asked out while you’re at the grocery store with a text later that night asking if you’d want to take a bike tour in Hayes Valley with a *winkey face emoji*. And after you take an Uber ride to Hayes, expect a 50% chance that your date may not show up. Because “maybe” means no and “yes” means maybe in San Franciscan speak—there’s a downside to the laid-back lifestyle when it comes to dating. And since most people came to San Francisco to avoid the Midwest and East Coast lifestyle of settling down with a spouse to procreate, you’ll run into a lot of suitors who are looking to have a good time. They’re happy to take you to the Rich Table in Mission for sardine chips and cocktails, but equally eager to check their Tinder account to see who swiped right for a good time tomorrow night.