<p>I am taking into consideration Cal Poly SLO, UC Berkeley (maybe), and UC Irvine for computer science. I love the idea of “learn by doing” at Cal Poly SLO and the fact that they pay attention to the freshman/sophomores, but I would also like to get a masters later on - UCs would be perfect for that. </p>
<p>What I’d like to know if:
if it would be better to go to Cal Poly SLO for my Freshman/Sophomore year for more early opportunities for research and internships then transfer to a UC for my masters/PhD.
[ul] or if I should just go to a UC freshman year all the way till I get my masters/PhD. [/ul]</p>
<p>There are a lot of other factors I’m taking into account (such as social life, financial aid, extracurricular, and leadership), but I’m asking mainly about the education and opportunities for this thread. </p>
<p>My AP Calc teacher recommended that I go to a UC so I could get to know the professors for future researching and projects. While on the other hand, the CEO of Softnet told me it’s ok to just transfer to a UC as your CalState experience would be helpful. SO I CAN’T DECIDE. Your opinion would be much appreciated (:</p>
<p>It’s hard to transfer to a uc not from community college but it’s not impossible. UCB is far more prestigious than cal poly and UCI as far as education goes so if that is the only thing you are basing your decision on then go there. </p>
<p>If you like socializing partying and what not, cal poly may be the best option for you in that regard. UCI is boring although it is close to Newport beach and UCB has a party scene but it’s mostly run by fraternities and sororities. .</p>
<p>I see cal poly as overall well rounded school and UCB as the most prestigious academic wise but all 3 of these are great schools and you can’t go wrong with either one.</p>
<p>If you want to get a PhD then one of the UCs would probably be better for you than Cal Poly. At Cal Poly you will get a practical, hands-on education that will prepare you for a job immediately after your Bachelor’s degree. It will not give you the depth of theory that you would need in order to get into a PhD program easily, and so you’ll be at a disadvantage when competing among UC undergrads to get into graduate school.</p>
<p>You’d also have the opportunity of more breadth and depth of research at a UC vs Cal Poly. You might even have a paper published by the time you’re applying to grad school.</p>
<p>Look at the difference in curriculum among the 3 schools and note how much more lab courses there are at Cal Poly vs the UCs. There isn’t a clear path to transfer from Cal Poly to a UC because the curriculum is so different.</p>
<p>If you want to get a Master’s then Cal Poly would be great. If you’re sure you want to get a PhD, then I’d recommend a UC.</p>
<p>Thank you so much; that was very reassuring. I’m considering a PhD perhaps later in life anyways. However, another question: When it comes to earning a well paid job <a href=“I%20love%20computer%20science%20and%20I’m%20up%20to%20date,%20so%20now%20I’m%20taking%20into%20account%20salary%20because%20I’m%20expected%20to%20pay%20for%20my%20little%20brother’s%20college%20tuition%20in%20the%20future”>i</a>* after my masters, is it true that going to Cal Poly would be better? </p>
<p>I felt as if I did my undergraduate stuff at Cal Poly <a href=“the%20’learn%20by%20doing’%20and%20more%20professors%20teaching%20than%20TA’s”>i</a>*, that it would be a great balance with getting my Masters at a UC. Practical+Theoretical seemed nice to me - especially that I’m aiming for a high position one day.</p>
<p>USB for undergrad. In four years, you’ll have way more options. USB is one of the premier universities in the WORLD. You hold the Golden (state) ticket. Cash in and confirm your prize at UCB.</p>
<p>Would competition be a concern for UCB when it comes down to opportunities? I’m sure I can handle the rigor, but I would probably feel a little inferior to those surrounding me. Of course, I’ll try my best still.</p>
<p>Recent graduates of Cal Poly in Computer Science earned from $45,000 to $95,000 per year after graduation. This is a very wide range and it’s impossible to predict how much you’ll earn 4-5 years from now as there are simply too many variables.</p>
<p>I’m a senior in high school right now and I will be visiting SLO sometime during my Spring break. I admit, I want to get my masters, get experience in the workfield, then get my PhD sometime in the future. I can’t fully decide what I would want to do with a CS degree, but I know that I’m on the right track - hopefully I’ll determine it soon.</p>
<p>You go to Cal Poly for undergrad, get true hands on experience, and then go on to a research university for a masters, or a PhD later on. Nothing about Cal Poly will prevent you from getting into a good post grad program.</p>
<p>Going to Cal Poly for two years and then transferring and finishing at a UC is not a good action plan. Complete your undergrad where you start. Then go on to grad school, etc.</p>
<p>Another option is to take the 4+1 undergrad and masters combination program where you can have both degrees upon graduation.</p>
<p>UC’s are good, Cal Poly is good, the focus is different at both. Go to campus, experience each school and then decide.</p>
<p>let me ask a more fundamental question… WHY do you want a Masters or Ph.D.? In the job world, it is your ability to solve problems creatively, work hard, produce results, and work well with others that determines your success. Nobody cares about Masters or Ph.D. Everybody cares about your actual skills and experience.</p>
<p>A Ph.D. is a requirement for teaching at a University. Is that what you want, or do you want a great paying job in business?</p>
<p>It is your Calculus teacher who planted the idea that a UC would be better. Has your Calculus teacher ever had a real job in business or research in Engineering or Comp Sci? How would he/she know?</p>
I think you’ve got the order reversed. You want to “get experience in the workfield”, then get your Masters, rather than the reverse as you stated. You may find when you’re “in the workfield” that having a Masters makes no difference to promotability or success on that job, or you may find it would help. The point is, you can work first, then figure it out. I assume you’re not rich, so getting a job right out of college rather than waiting 18-24 months would be a wise thing to do.</p>
<p>Look, Masters degrees are pretty common these days. No hiring manager is going to say “Holy #shizzle, you have a MASTERS!!! I’m hiring you right here, on the spot!” It is quite common for people to assume that a degree guarantees a great job. This is not the case. And it certainly isn’t the case in engineering, and some other technology, where experience with a BS is more important than no experience with a Masters.</p>
<p>^^Most people usually figure that out as time goes on. </p>
<p>Bachelor degree is the new high school diploma. So many people have them that the market is over-saturated with bachelor degrees–because of this, their value has dropped. Most low-paying jobs require a bachelor degree these days.</p>
<p>I understand where everyone is going with this, and it all makes sense - and I admit that my family’s making under 30k a year so it’s rather important to earn money. So to narrow it down, should I get my masters at a UC or Cal Poly?</p>
<p>By the way, I’m the kind who wants to aim extremely high. So I won’t just settle for low title as an engineer at a company. I’ll definitely work my way up and always keep learning</p>
<p>If you want to be in a high position career as an engineer than I would just recommend a Master degree. Ph.D is usually for those who would like to become a teacher at Universities or involve themselves in research intensive related work–its unnecessary to acquire this degree for an executive engineer position at a job.</p>
<p>Because your family earns $30k, chances are likely that your tuition will be fully covered by financial aid.</p>
<p>And to compare UC vs CSU, you’re pretty much comparing apples to oranges. They are different because they focus and teach differently. If your plan to get a job after you graduate or even pursue masters, then CSU can do the same job the UC can at a cheaper cost. If you plan on pursuing a Ph.D then UC will be the better option (Note: I said better option due to the fact that it will teach you how to research and you’ll get a glimpse of it what it’s like while you earn your Bachelor degree. It will prepare you better. However, it doesn’t mean if you don’t go to a UC that you won’t succeed in the future. Rather, it means you have to adjust and get use to when you could of already done so when you earned a bachelor).</p>
<p>Also, honestly, to tell you the truth, I believe the only ones who care about the school’s reputation are high school students and transfers. Once you go to a school, you get over the fact that you’re going to a university. It’s a lot like entering Freshman in a high school, cool at first then your over it later. It just becomes another school. Another analogy I like to use is a car. Remember getting your first car? You’re excited, happy, and willing to drive your friends everywhere! But after a while you get over it and become desensitized to the fact that you have a car.</p>
<p>So, my point is go to the school you like and that fits your needs. You succeed in environments you enjoy.</p>
<p>CADREAMIN – I do not know all the schools that have a 4+1 program in CA. But I know for a fact that UCSD has it. My kid was accepted to UCSD, UCLA and several other UC’s. If my memory is correct UCLA did not have it. Not sure about any others or the Cal States.</p>
<p>MegChai – You can get your masters at either school. It just comes down to if you want to go to a teaching college (Cal Poly) or a research university (any UC). You will graduate as a work ready engineer from Cal Poly and get out sooner with a masters. You will most likely need about a year of on the job training after graduating from a UC as you will be stronger in theory but behind in real world application. This seems to be the general consensus of everyone that I know from both systems.</p>
<p>I am assuming that you are Asian by your CC moniker. We are a mixed race Asian family with deep ties to the local Asian community. There is an unfounded bias towards the UC system in the Asian community. Some folks were surprised that my son turned down 5 UC’s to go to Cal Poly. Some even thought that Cal Poly was a trade school and expressed shocked surprise that our kid, a valedictory scholar in HS, would choose a Cal State for engineering. So, speaking from experience some Asian folks are a bit clueless when it comes to choosing the right program and I believe this bias is why Cal Poly is 11-12% Asian and most UC’s are in the 40% plus range when it comes to Asian students. We disregarded our community bias and chose the school that was best for our son. All it took was one trip to Cal Poly for the Open House and we were sold. We also spoke to many engineers in our area and all of them told us to go to Cal Poly based on my kid’s specific learning style. His buddies that are at UC’s are completing their sophomore years with essentially ZERO engineering classes behind them. Cal Poly had my kid in his first engineering class in the first week of his first quarter of his freshman year.</p>
<p>Now, I must add that all his friends at the UC’s are pretty happy and would have made the same choice again. But Cal Poly is just different and if you are looking for a good job during school (internships, co-ops, etc.) and after graduation Cal Poly could be a good choice.</p>
<p>Also, here is a fun fact – when we were at SOAR with our kid, we were seated with a Chinese couple originally from Hong Kong. Both the husband and the wife were engineers and had met a UC Berkeley. The husband then went on to Stanford for his masters. Why was he enrolling his kid at Cal Poly? Because when he graduated from Stanford with a master and got a job there was a kid in his start group of new hires that only had a undergrad degree from Cal Poly and it took 12 months to catch up with him with on the job training. He never forgot how embarrassed he was by the disparity in real world experience. True story.</p>
<p>That kid could of been:
A.) Motivated
B.) Very good at networking
C.) Superb people skills (Made the employer like him a lot during the interview)
D.) All of the above.</p>
<p>People underestimate the power of people skills. People skills are VERY IMPORTANT. This is an extroverted world, which makes it biased in favor of Extroverts! You need to be good with people in order to land a job. Chances are the guy who went to Stanford was an introvert. Introverts have to work harder and earn higher degrees because they lack the people skills to favor them. </p>
<p>My friend, who barely graduated high school, did not go to college because he hates school and don’t have the grades for college. However, he has supreme (And I mean ridiculously good, god like.) people skills. He first started a job as sales from a small store, changed to car dealership sales man, changed to assistant of a talent agency, and now is an entertainment talent agent with several clients. He is only 22 (Recently turned by the way) and his salary is above $200,000–this doesn’t even include the additional bonuses, gifts, and commissions. This is even way more than those who went to college. He is the type of guy who can smooth talk his way into anything.
I envy him, but at the same time I applaud him. My story is this, the most important thing in the job factor is people skills. The social extroverts are more likely to land successful jobs than the ‘quieter’ introverts.</p>
<p>^^^ Completely agree that some folks need no college at all. Two of the best bosses I’ve ever had never went to college. One in international trade consulting that came up through the customs brokerage industry. He was the only Sr. Manager I ever met in the Big 4 (KPMG, Deloitte, PWC and E&Y) without a college degree. The other was in financial services and had people working under him, such as myself, with masters degrees and even one PhD. He was the smartest guy on the team.</p>
<p>However, in this case with the couple that I met at SOAR, the kid from Cal Poly just had mad skills and outperformed everyone else because of his training. There were no magical people skills in this case that tipped the scales in his favor. He was plug and play at the company from day one.</p>