Is San Diego America’s Finest College Town?

SDSU and UCSD Are on the Rise, and They’re Bringing Their City up With Them

Who needs ivy-covered walls, Palo Alto farms, or Telegraph Hill when you could study in America’s Finest College Town?

That’s the thinking of more California kids in the 21st century. Led by its two dynamic and forward-thinking public universities, San Diego, which once billed itself as “America’s Finest City,” is turning itself into a paradise for students.

San Diego’s public schools—San Diego State and UC San Diego—are bucking recent state and national declines by boosting enrollment. And in an era when California is retreating from developing, they are building a new campus, …