So I got into cal poly in February and it looks pretty great. I visited in the summer (want to visit again) and everyone was great, very welcoming campus. But Seattle U has been giving me tons of scholarships etc. (tuition remission being one of them) and I really like them too. Myself being fairly prestige-swayed Cal Poly does look amazing (even besides prestige). I heard that they deflate grades a lot, though, and it’s very difficult to get into classes, graduate in 4 years, etc. Also to switch majors. I’m a declared math major but afraid that I might want to switch at some point if things don’t go well. Anyone have light to shine on those particular topics?
Four year graduation rates are impacted by multiple things. It used to be that classes were hard to get and the goofy registration system sometimes left seniors unable to get classes, because students not as far along in their degree progress happened to have registration priority. That’s WAY better now. There are also multiple undergraduate degrees at Poly that are longer than 180 hours, including virtually all of engineering and architecture.
Switching majors is also now easier. They still guard against “back dooring” into a selective major from an easy admit, but most students are able to switch if they want to.
Lastly, and I can only speak for engineering at Poly, but they certainly don’t grade INFLATE like many colleges do now. At Brown more than 2/3 of students get A’s. At Harvard, more than 90% graduate cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude. The average graduating engineering GPA at Poly is 2.75, give or take. Most employers however know of that range, just like they do for Purdue or Harvey Mudd College, and take that into account. I can’t speak for the rest of the colleges, but they aren’t all routinely going out of their way, even in engineering, to curve to where an average C is 80% (although that has happened in the CENG). Teachers have to disclose their grading methodology in the syllabus, so there shouldn’t be any surprises.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, “prestige” shouldn’t be a big part, if even any part at all in your calculus. What should is how the institution seems as a fit for you.
Go with your gut. Good luck!