Sacramento State is set in the capital city of California, but the campus is by no means a concrete jungle. In fact, its 3,500 trees make every day feel like Arbor Day. This is a designated Tree Campus USA university, so you know it takes the landscape and environment seriously. Sometimes students get to grab shovels and plant new trees. But opportunity blooms year round on campus. There’s an Aquatic Center where you can take windsurfing and jet skiing classes. Is it too cold out for that? See what’s going on in The Well, the student health and fitness center. Here students get vertical on the climbing wall and go the distance on the indoor track. By the way, the American River Bike Trail is across the street from the campus bookstore. What’s so special about it? USA Today ranked it the sixth best urban trail—in the country! With all of these activities, don’t forget to give your body some much-needed rest. Treat yourself with a visit to the salon and spa located in the student union. Then grab some comfort food on the way out. If you’re in the mood for Asian cuisine, pizza, or burritos, you’ll find it here. From activities to eateries to planting trees, there’s something for every taste at “Sac State.”

Sacramento State offers a great mix of fully online degree and certificate programs. For example, you can earn a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, career and technical studies, or American Sign Language programs from the comfort of home. The certificate programs only take up to one year to complete depending on the area of study, meaning you may be able to boost your skill set in a matter of months. You can choose from specialized certificates including water treatment plant operations, state supervision, student dropout prevention, contract management, and community college faculty preparation. Want to find out if Sacramento State is right for you before you enroll? Try their Open University program and take a class without the commitment. You can get to know campus, meet professors, and grow your skills all without going through the full-fledged application process. When you’re ready to make it official, you’ll already be an expert in all things Sacramento State.

Sacramento State’s athletic teams are crushing it on the conference level. The Hornets have secured 62 Big Sky Conference championships, and most of those since 2000. The men’s and women’s tennis teams are by far the most accomplished, with 13 and 14 conference wins (respectively). But women’s volleyball isn’t far behind, coming in with 11 conference championships. Along with causing a buzz for their athletic achievements, the Hornets are breaking academic records. Student-athletes averaged above a 3.0 GPA during the 2015-2016 academic year, and 32 of them earned Big Sky Conference all-Academic honors in fall 2015. Their ability to balance athletics with academics is inspiring. If you want to be a Hornet on a more recreational (yet still competitive!) level, then you can get involved with an intramural or club sport. Students play the ever-popular sports of tennis, soccer, rugby, volleyball, and baseball. But they can also try something a little different. How about rock climbing, bass fishing, wakeboarding, floor hockey, or foot golf? You do you!

Big news if you’re interested in research: Sacramento State is opening a student research center in fall 2016. But the university is already a bustling hub of research activity. You’ll find over 20 research institutes and centers, including STORC, the Sustainable Technology Optimization Research Center. At STORC students and faculty work together on aquaponics, composting, and alternative energy projects. In spring 2016 students made vermicomposting bins. These bins make it possible for people who lack access to healthy food options to grow organic produce at home. Also, since the university is part of the larger California State University system, you’ll have chances to compete and collaborate with students statewide. Through CSUPERB I2P (which stands for the CSU Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology Idea-to-Product competition), student teams research and present plans for cutting-edge technologies. Sacramento State students took first place three years in a row. And, if you at all doubted their abilities, in addition to first place they also took second and third place in 2014! Curious about what kinds of products they’ve dreamed up? The 2014 winning team created a surgical kit that addresses postoperative adhesions; the 2013 winning team designed a handheld device that rapidly produces a bone healing substance called thrombin from a patient’s blood sample. When it comes to academic opportunities at Sacramento State, this only scratches the surface.