I didn’t go to SDSU or a UC, but I do have a PhD in astronomy from another institution. I do know that the faculty at SDSU include several people who are among the most well-respected people at that type of school, but I don’t know much about the quality or placement capabilities of the master’s program there.

Top PhD programs do not normally look to MS programs to find their PhD students. Most of the American students they take will be coming in straight from a BS, and they normally require students to repeat all the master’s degree coursework at their school if a student comes in with an MS. It would be a mistake to assume that SDSU do well in placing their graduates in UC schools. It’s a very different situation than the placement of students in UCs for bachelor’s degrees by California community colleges. Also, state of residence is normally not an issue for graduate programs.

Also, a few other points: graduate students are usually given full funding, including tuition waivers and a reasonable level of funding for living expense. This is normally given either to all or no students in a program, and it never matters what state your residence is in (although some public schools encourage their students to establish residency as soon as possible).In exchange you’ll have some teaching assistant duties. This is less common for MS programs than PhD programs, but can happen for both. I do know that the master’s program at Wesleyan University in Connecticut has an excellent track record for placing students in top PhD programs, and they do fund their students. If you want to be a professional astronomer, you’re almost certainly going to have to leave California at least for a few years at some point in your career, so get used to it.

Today – you’ll need more than $300 for a bike shop bike. To answer the question… To the novice, you may NOT notice the difference between a $100 Wally World special & a $500 or $1,000 bike from a real bike shop right away. And that’s a shame. I see many glowing reviews on discount store web sites for these cheap bikes. Most people will write a review either the same day or shortly after buying a cheap bike. I’d like to go back a year later & see what they think of that same bike if it’s ridden on a daily or almost daily basis. That’s when problems arise. That cheap single walled rim (rear wheel) with a freewheel hub may start popping spokes left & right – especially with an over-weight person. The cheap derailleurs start skipping gears & not shifting properly – sometimes just because of a stretched cable – sometimes because the derailleur itself is shot in less than a year. Saddles or seats? Most discount store bikes come with terrible saddles. Then they sell those Bell Gel saddle replacements which are even worse. To a person that only rides once or twice a month, a discount store bike may be OK. For those of us who ride daily…you couldn’t GIVE me a discount store bike. In short – you get what you pay for. Compare it to buying a small car. Which would you really rather have…a Chevy Cobalt or a 3 series BMW?