A Transfer Student's Review of Cal Poly SLO

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Let me start by saying that I am not an embittered Cal Poly reject or a student who's flunking out...I am part of the 10% of transfer students who were admitted this past fall, and I also have a very strong GPA.</p>

<p>Now, I have to say that Cal Poly and the town of San Luis Obispo are extremely overrated. My experience with this place has been VERY different than what I expected upon my first visit to the area. Most locals I have met have moved to the area out of fear, saying things like, "The people in LA scare me," or "San Francisco is getting way too gay these days," or "I took a pay cut to move up here b/c I want my kids to be safe." This is what leads to the perception that this is the Happiest Town in America, although I don't believe it truly is. I have also been told by several locals that the SLO police department is VERY corrupt.</p>

<p>I have also encountered my share of mean-spirited people, such as the truckload of rednecks who insulted my girlfriend and I while walking down Higuera Street one evening. I've also met quite a few rude senior citizens who despise the college students living in "their town." They seemingly fail to realize that Cal Poly is the ONLY reason this town exists with a healthy economy...if the school wasn't here, they wouldn't be here either. It's also worth noting that I have been nothing but respectful to all seniors I have met, but I am still guilty by association simply for being a college student. There is also an enormous homeless population here.</p>

<p>As for Cal Poly itself: it's mediocre at best. The "Learn by Doing" philosophy is overplayed - simply assigning a group project for every class is not enough to claim that we are doing real-world work. Also, the campus is very young and quite immature. It's not as bad as party schools like UCSB, but other universities seem to court more serious students (depending upon the major). I have had a couple of great professors, but the majority have failed to earn my respect. Most are career academics with little to no real-world working experience, a real disappointment for me as a business student.</p>

<p>Also, classes are VERY difficult to get into, and most students fail to graduate in 4 years. Due to the quarter system, each class grade is based upon a handful of assignments, which makes it much more difficult to get A's than with semester schools. Also, Cal Poly has a much lower graduation rate than comparable schools, which is easier to understand now that I'm here - the school's relentless claims of perfection create an environment where students feel alone (and sometimes even ostracized) when they don't agree with such claims. Many people take personal offense if you don't agree with them that Cal Poly is the best school on Earth. Just because I don't agree with your views of the school does NOT mean that I'm attacking your character as a person. A student should not be outcast for his/her refusal to drink the Kool-Aid.</p>

<p>In the words of my advisor who is new to the school, Cal Poly is "drunk on its own Kool-Aid," and she is leading efforts to improve many different elements. I think the school has potential, but it really needs to simmer down and realize that it's not the last word in amazing universities. It's slightly above average at best, but still as a LOT of things it can improve about itself. I would give it 2 stars.</p>

2

<p>I sense you’re holding back, please let us know what you really think! </p>

<p>In summary, you’ve met a bunch of scared, mean-spirited, rednecks (by the truck loads!), disrespectful senior citizens (those are the worse!) and Kool-Aid drinking students (who seem to like Cal Poly SLO). All of those school loving students are clearly WRONG, and after careful analysis (reviewing grad rates against peer institutions and such), you’ve given the school 2 stars out of 5 (I guess, maybe it’s out of 10 stars?). :(( :(( :(( </p>

3

<p>I admit that I am a “Kool-Aid” drinking parent of a successful Cal Poly SLO student. We are completely satisfied with the school. Having said that, I am very concerned that you are headed down the wrong path at Cal Poly and you need to make a hard decision. If trashing Cal Poly online was for therapeutic purposes and you feel better after posting your comments then that is great. However, if you are truly as dissatisfied as you say, I strongly suggest that now that you are stuck at Cal Poly for the next few years that you put your energy into improving the university. The time will go much faster. Either that or get out as fast as you can. No one should be miserable for an extended period of time. Also, if you have no respect for your school you will have no respect for your degree. If you dislike where you are so much, how will you be able to effectively market yourself upon graduation? I guarantee you will not get hired anywhere if you promote yourself as a graduate of a “two star” program. It might be best to cut your losses and get out of town before it is too late. You might be better off at an Ivy or a school like Wharton. Sometimes, a school just is not a fit.</p>

<p>For my kid and our family, Cal Poly continues to surprise us. Recent examples include being given a scholarship at the beginning of his junior year without us even asking! Yes, they just handed our kid money for keeping up a high GPA. This is not a joke, it really happened to us. Another great happening is that he is now captain of his engineering club and the school funded his team’s project for national competition. Yes, the students have to put some skin in the game and purchase their own plane tickets to the competition. But the actual project itself was supported by mentor professors and the school. They even got corporate sponsorship for the project. The only complaint that I’ve heard from my kid is that there was too much food on the meal plan and he couldn’t eat it all and after a while it all started tasting the same. His solution? He moved into a modern on campus apartment with a full kitchen and now he cooks for himself. Anyway, to each his own and it seems like you need to make a very serious decision. If I were you, literally for your own sanity and future career, I’d start working to improve the school and get with the program or get the heck out of town before you become an embittered casualty. </p>

4

<p>Life is too short to be that unhappy. Either try to make changes to what you see is wrong with Cal Poly or San Luis Obispo or look into transferring to another college. Sometimes a college (and it’s location) are simply a wrong fit for a student. Seriously, think about the fact that no one should be miserable there last two years of college and consider their school at best mediocre. </p>

<p>My son is a student at SLO and has had a successful freshman year. He’s achieved high academics, lucked into a position doing research in his major (voluntarily his first quarter, receiving credits 2 & 3rd quarter, and being paid this summer). He became involved in EC activities that included participating in there national competition, and has found his “tribe” of friends. He’s happy. He found the right college for him. He likes the city. I’m happy for him. However, does he like living on campus? Only for the first year. He’s moving off campus into a house with his EC friends in the fall. Does he like the food? Nope, and he lost weight. Does he like the city of San Luis? Very much, and would consider living in that area if he was able to in the future. </p>

5

<p>Perhaps the experiences versus expectations vary in different majors? The OP mentions being a business student, but many go to CPSLO for engineering.</p>

6

<p>^SLO does have a highly rated business program. </p>

<p>My son’s a chem major. I think a little over 25% of enrolled students are engineering majors. </p>

7

<p>I can’t help but think that your attitude shows to the town and college. I am (almost) a senior citizen who is disabled and who has a son attending Cal Poly. The students I see are ever so polite offering to help me in many ways, always willing to give me a smile, hold a door etc., same is true downtown. It is probably the warmest place, in terms of friendliness, I have ever visited. Regarding the college, I know students from many of the schools, and none report what you do. They love quarters as they have more opportunities to learn, it is hard they say as they squeeze 2 mid terms, multiple homework/projects/papers etc., and quizzes in the 10 weeks, so if you are a good student there isn’t as much time to play, but they do find time. The numbers of wins against higher rated colleges in competitions, the number of rankings of majors in the top 10-100 colleges out of nearly 3,000 (Business college within top 100 in all rankings I have seen, and in top 30 for some) seems to disagree with your “findings”. Finally Cal Poly has the highest 4 year graduation rate of all CSU’s, and until they find a way to account for the large number of degrees that take more than 180 units to complete, then I won’t accept the numbers. My son will graduate with a Master’s and BS in 4 years, I have met too many people to count who are or have graduated as much as a year early and under 4 years who also did internships, education abroad programs, worked etc. There are some issues with registration however I don’t know of any who don’t have a complete schedule each quarter, and they are making major changes to help the system. I’m am sorry you apparently chose the wrong school for you, maybe you can still transfer out to one more to your liking.</p>

8

<p>Cal Poly is my 2nd choice if I don’t get into USC</p>

9

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<p>…never said you were…suspecting you are an embittered UCSB reject, actually:</p>

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<p>…but by all means bash a few other schools while you are at it…</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2014/014015/us-news-world-report-ranks-ucsb-graduate-programs-among-besthttp://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124744/”>http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2014/014015/us-news-world-report-ranks-ucsb-graduate-programs-among-besthttp://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124744/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“CWTS Leiden Ranking - Ranking 2022”>CWTS Leiden Ranking - Error;
<a href=“http://www.shanghairanking.com/FieldENG2012.html”>http://www.shanghairanking.com/FieldENG2012.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>You can transfer out to UCSB if it’s that bad. Sorry, new poster with only 2 posts. </p>

11

<p>There is not a single school in the world that will be a good fit for everyone. Not even Harvard or Stanford are perfect fit for everyone. </p>

<p>Like everyone said, if Cal Poly is not your thing, transfer out. But just because Cal Poly didn’t work for you, it doesn’t mean everyone else feels the same. I personally LOVE Cal Poly and SLO. Best decision of my life. Everything they said about the level of bliss in SLO, and the quality of the Cal Poly education (learn by doing) are all TRUE for me. </p>

<p>I think you are just very negative about your whole life situation right now, and you are directing your anger at everything SLO and Cal Poly. It’s fine, just take action and get over it soon. </p>

<p>Your complaint about SLO PD is really indicative of the depth of your frustration. I think that is a strong sign that you need to take charge of your situation and decide whether transfer or simply a change of perspective is needed. You owe it to yourself to be in a new environment that will make you happy.</p>

<p>Honestly, whether SLO police is corrupted or not is completely extraneous to your current life situation. LAPD has a pretty dodgy policing record, it doesn’t make UCLA a bad place. </p>

12

<p>I appreciate everyone’s candid responses to my post. My intent was to provide an honest review from the perspective of a transfer student. When I was researching my school options I looked for both the good reviews AND the dissonant ones…I haven’t found that, generally, there is a balanced discussion of Cal Poly, so I am simply providing another perspective.</p>

<p>I am genuinely happy to hear that students and their families have experienced good things at Cal Poly. I agree with the consensus that certain schools & certain towns are for certain people, and I agree that SLO has not felt very comfortable to me in the time I’ve been here. Having said that, I will be working as best I can to invest in the campus and invest in my education here, whether the campus is to my total liking or not. I actually am quite happy with my life as a whole, I am simply providing a perspective from the “other side” as stated above.</p>

<p>As for the piece about the SLOPD, I am simply repeating what I have heard from a couple of locals (on separate occasions). I have not personally dealt with any of them, so I can’t really say. </p>

<p>And to COLLEGEVETTING: You need to cool your jets. I presume from your post that you are precisely the type of individual who is unable to separate his/her personal identity from your school, taking personal offense to someone with a differing opinion (as I discussed in my review). I wasn’t attacking you, so don’t attack me. It so happens I turned down an admission offer from UCSB (and 9 other schools) to attend Cal Poly. </p>

13

<p>The problem is that you are really green behind the ears with little experience there and posting ‘things you heard’ but have no experience.and well as some really irrelevant stuff. I give you a C-. I’m family familiar with the area, a my sister used to live there.</p>

14

<p>BrownParent, you have no idea what I do and don’t know. I couldn’t care less about whatever “grade” you think I deserve. This is a candid look at my experience, and you people who don’t like it need to get over it. I’m entitled to post my opinion just as anyone else is allowed to post theirs. </p>

<p>Also, I suggest you learn to spell before posting. </p>

15

<p>@BrownParent‌ is mad cuz he’s not a Harvard parent
His kid or kids had to settle for lame Brown</p>