I was accepted to both Cal Poly and the University of Miami for industrial engineering. After visiting both schools I like Miami slightly more than Cal Poly for personal fit, but would still be perfectly happy if I attended cal poly. Miami’s engineering is far from being highly ranked, but on accepted students day the head of the department said how they have a 99% job or grad school placement rate and that students make great relationships with their professors. He also said how it would be possible to get my masters is Industrial Engineering at Miami in five years. Being from the Northeast I like how it would be easier and cheaper to get home and also how it is directly outside of a major city. Cal poly on the other hand is very prestigious for engineering, has the same small class sizes that Miami has, and I really like their “learn by doing” method for teaching. The one turn off of Cal poly for me is how far it is away from a major city to do something like intern. Since I would be happy at both schools, I want to know which school would give me a better education and better job opportunities upon graduation. The cost for both schools come out to be around the same so the price is not really a factor. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated because I am torn between these two schools.
Thanks!
My son is a student at CP and I am certainly biased towards Poly. With that said, I’m a HUGE proponent of going with your gut. If Miami feels like the right place, then it probably is.
@e66sNbacon We feel your pain. Now that the acceptances are starting to roll in, my daughter has to choose. She was just accepted to UCSD in Chemical Engineering (got the ‘call’ last night), but she’s not crazy about UCSD and she didn’t get her 1st choice of Mechanical Engineering.
She’s still waiting to hear from UCLA and USC (though USC is likely not an option due to cost).
If she doesn’t get accepted to Mechanical at UCLA she’ll likely wind-up going to Cal Poly (where she’s already been accepted).
Cal Poly is a great hands-on school where she’ll be taught by professors (not grad students) in reasonably-sized classes. I could easily see her getting lost in the crowd at UCLA, but we’ll have to wait and see. (UCLA Decisions come out next Friday).
I think that Miami is better for you based on what you said and for your major.
Hi there, Cal Poly also has a 99% job placement after graduation. On top of that, engineering majors here get bombarded by companies attempting to attract new talent. We get every major company from Silicon Valley and several from even the east coast to come pull some engineers. I myself got offers for Facebook and Apple this year, although I’m definitely going with Apple, as a mechanical engineer with a subpar GPA. There’s a statistic somewhere that indicates that aside from Berkely, Apple hires the most graduates from out of Cal Poly.
@e66sNbacon have u made a decision?
Cal poly also has a 4+1 blended masters, so Miami isn’t alone