San Diego State University (SDSU), founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area (generally the City and County of San Diego), and is part of the California State University system. It is the third-oldest university in the California State University system, and one of the oldest universities in California. SDSU has a student body of approximately 29,256 (as of the beginning of the Fall 2009 academic year) and an alumni base of more than 200,000. San Diego State University had an acceptance rate of 36.4 % for the 2009 academic year. According to SDSU's website, the university received 62,000 applications for the 2008 school year. The Carnegie Foundation has designated San Diego State University a "Research University with high research activity." SDSU is the only California State University campus with this classification, which places it among the top 200 higher education institutions in the country conducting research.