<p>Just my 2 cents on salary.</p>
<p>I-banks and management consulting firms, both of which are extremely high pay industries, recruit at Cal, but not Cal Poly. Many non-engineering majors at Cal would enter those 2 industries if they don’t move onto graduate schools.</p>
<p>So in theory, wouldn’t that give Cal an edge in average salary calculation in a big way?</p>
<p>Hi blindmonkey!</p>
<p>Well, wouldn’t those two industries hire Econ or Bus Ad majors … or Math … or some major offered at Cal Poly? If Cal Poly students have the training but aren’t being considered because those companies choose to only hire from Cal, then I don’t think that gives Cal an advantage.</p>
<p>However, I agree that if those industries tend to hire from Cal-only majors (Classics, Near Eastern Studies, Scandinavian, Slavic Languages and Literature, Social Welfare, Religious Studies, Geography, …), then Cal has an edge because my assumption was that those majors have starting salaries below the average. </p>
<p>In looking through the majors for both schools, I noticed that Cal Poly has a lot of agriculture majors which Cal doesn’t. That might balance things out a bit. Which is why I think considering common majors is the only fair way to compare schools. </p>
<p>Another factor is size. If Cal Poly places 90% of the Mechanical Engineers each year and their graduating class is 150, and if Cal places x% of their ME’s but their graduating class is (I have no clue, but it’s bigger … is it double? triple?) … well, you get my point. </p>
<p>I wonder if the dropout rate is the same for both schools. I suspect Cal Poly gets a higher percentage of students through the program, but maybe not. </p>
<p>But I think vballmom summed it up perfectly: "If you intend to go on for a PhD, then again I’d recommend a UC over Cal Poly. Your chances at grad school admission will be enhanced by the in-depth theory you’d get at at UC; without that, you’d be competing for admission to grad school against students who have the depth that you won’t get at Cal Poly.</p>
<p>If your plans are to stop with a BS or MS and then go directly to work, then Cal Poly will give you the best preparation."</p>
<p>Berkeley’s ME class is about 500 students.</p>
<p>@DRussian
I’m deciding between UCD as a ChE major and Cal Poly as a GenE major with a concentration. I LOVE everything about Cal Poly, (environment, curriculum, and campus), but they don’t have my major. I really like Davis and think I could grow to love it, but I really want the “Learn by Doing” philosophy that Cal Poly has. Plus, I’m not 100% sure that I want to do ChE, but it’s what I want to do at the moment. Decisions…</p>
<p>well, here is my i think final update: I think that I am going to end up choosing UCSB over UCSD and Cal Poly. Here are my reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I was offered the Regents Scholarship at UCSB, the benefits of which are too good to pass out, which include:
a. Priority Registration (while I am sure I would not have a problem at UCSD or Cal Poly, this would allow me to get pretty much any schedule I want)
b. 6000/year scholarship (bringing the cost to be the same as in Cal Poly)
c. I am automatically admitted into the Honors Program (only top 10% of all students for the College of Engineering).
d. I have the opportunity to participate in college research starting in freshman year (almost all others have to wait until junior/senior year)
e. I have far more access to professors than other students (getting recommendations will be far easier, provided that I work hard and do well; this is perhaps one of the most important benefits)</p></li>
<li><p>I am enrolling in Chemical Engineering, and possibly Materials Engineering; UCSB has one of the best undergraduate programs for Chemical Engineering in the nation (better than UCSD, and Cal Poly doesn’t offer it), and UCSB has, from what I have researched, the #1 or #2 best Materials Engineering program in the country. </p></li>
<li><p>I visited the campus; really hard to turn down such a beautiful campus right next to the ocean (because I am Honors, I can live in honors dorms, which are the closest to the ocean; there is a chance I could get an ocean view from my dorm!)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>With all of the benefits of an amazing Chemical/Materials Engineering program, as well as the benefits of having great access to professors (as I said before, far more over other students), it seems that UCSB offers me an amazing opportunity to get accepted to a great graduate school. While I do admit that Cal Poly’s hands on experience was enticing, in my opinion, my greater access to professors for research and just in general outweighs that because it would greatly help me get into a good graduate school.</p>
<p>So that pretty much ends my journey. Thanks OsakaDad for all of your help and the information about Cal Poly, but the benefits of Regents Scholarship, and the prestige of ChE and MaterialsE, at UCSB was too good to pass out (and the fact that the campus is gorgeous).</p>
<p>@DRussian: Thank you for taking the time to share your decision, reasons and thought process. That sounds like a very sound decision and the clear choice given your goals. It is helpful to hear what others have decided. Congratulations on getting Regents at UCSB. I’m sure you’ll love it there. Best wishes on your education and career!</p>
<p>@DRussian – for ChemE you will be in the right place at UCSB. You are correct Cal Poly does not even offer it. I expect you will have a very, very bright future! Best of luck!</p>
<p>Hate to chime in about something else but, can we talk about Cal Poly’s academics other than engineering?<br>
What has been the experience in these classes?<br>
Have you been satisfied that you are receiving a well-rounded education?<br>
Have you developed significant skills outside of your chosen academic sphere?<br>
My daughter wants to pursue marine bio and natural science. What has been your experience, if you’ve had them, of these fields?
How is the writing curriculum?</p>
<p>You would get a better response by creating your own thread on the topic. That is also standard forum etiquette.</p>
<p>I did, no response.</p>
<p>@memphispeg – my kid is very challenged by his communications and English classes. He is an engineer and the “learn by doing” philosophy transfers to these classes undiluted. For his comm class the instructor is requiring him to cold call a company in his field of interest and interview a manager as high up in the food chain as possible. Very challenging for an introverted engineer. For English class he had to so street interviews and report on someone’s life story. Math has been challenging and he has done well. But the school has really made him bust out of his comfort zone.</p>
<p>Thanks OsakaDad - I’ve become a big fan of ALL of your posts (I’m convinced you are a one-man marketing department for this school!). My daughter has been homeschooled by me, a very liberal arts minded teacher. I would hate to have her not expand on some of the skills and knowledge in the humanities that she has worked on in the last few years. Not that she needs to be a humanities major, but she does want to keep that knowledge base in her life.
We will go and visit next week and she has signed up to sit in on both a bio class and a ballet class. I will snoop around the art gallery and look at what the students are reading to get an idea of what’s up in the liberal arts at Cal Poly.</p>
<p>Thanks for the good luck! I am really happy with my final choice! There was a lesson learned in my decision. About a month ago, I never truly considered UCSB; however, after having some faith and giving the school a chance, I discovered some truly incredible things about the school (such as its great ChE and MaterialsE programs)! Thanks again for all of the help! I really believe that I made an amazing decision!</p>
<p>Good luck DRussian and thanks for the vote of confidence memphispeg! Enjoy your experience at Cal Poly!</p>
<p>OsakaDad - You’ve said it was wonderful on these boards for so long, I want you to know that you are right!! But, in truth, it was even better than what we have seen and heard on the web. Looks like she’s going. We are doing paperwork and COA verification today to make sure. I think we have a “Mustang”.</p>
<p>Congrats memphispeg!! This is why I always encourage folks to go and visit the school. It is a fantastic place.</p>
<p>memphispeg wrote:</p>
<p>"OsakaDad - You’ve said it was wonderful on these boards for so long, I want you to know that you are right!! But, in truth, it was even better than what we have seen and heard on the web. Looks like she’s going. We are doing paperwork and COA verification today to make sure. I think we have a “Mustang”. "</p>
<p>If this were Facebook, I would reply with a huge LIKE to your post, memphispeg! :-)</p>
<p>Bumping this thread up because there is some good information starting at post 1 for those that will have the tough decision of choosing between more than one great engineering programs. Started in 2012 but same issues facing many today as admit letters are sent out.</p>
<p>I just Chose Cal Poly over UC Davis im not sure i made the total right decision but the SIR is in. I went to Cal Poly last year and fell in love with the campus. The professors seemed to care about the students and I think I will great education in Animal Science even if UC Davis has a better financial package and also a top Animal Science program. I have wanted to be a vet since I was 4 and Cal poly has a great joint program.</p>