I’ve been having a hard time figuring out which school to select. I have been admitted to both schools. I want to go to Pomona but really dislike quarters and am not too fond of Southern California. San Jose State’s location is ideal and they are on semesters but I don’t know how strong their Aero program is. I don’t mind sucking it up and going to Pomona but I want to be sure it is worth it. If you’re a current Pomona/SJSU Engineering student or alumni your feedback would be greatly appreciated and others of course.
Both programs are pretty good, and I have seen people recruited from both schools where I work. Pomona has a stronger ME program than AE, but their AE program is still plenty adequate. Career wise, you really can’t go wrong with either choice, so if you feel SJSU is the better fit, go for it.
I visited Cal Poly Pomona and spoke to a few students and got to see the campus. I must say, the place is beautiful and the engineering students had nothing but positive feedback. I would really like to go to San Jose but after seeing CPP I think it may be a stronger program. I miss the bay area but CPP really made a good impression on me and I can see myself being successful there.
I graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in '82 with an aero degree. What I can tell you is that I worked my a** off. Aero is among the toughest majors - at the time I think we had about 10 units of unrestricted electives. The statics, dynamics, thermodynamics, subsonic/supersonic aerodynamics, heat transfer, structures, materials science, physics, chemistry, calculus, differential equations, advanced engineering mathematics, and so on that you will study use the same books as any other school and covers material that has largely remained unchanged for decades. The labs were terrific, the teachers were super knowledgeable and engaged, and my classmates were down to earth people who worked hard. I know many of my classmates went on to be pilots (commercial and military), work in aerospace, and branched out to other fields, like computing (which I did).
I went on to get an MS in Aero at Stanford while working full time at NASA Ames. I have been employed continuously since I graduated from Cal Poly and would rate my education as excellent. The school produces critical thinkers, doers, and people who are willing to take risks.
From what I can tell, the quality of education at Cal Poly Pomona is as good as ever, the campus is growing, with new buildings, and its rankings keep getting better. I appreciate the diversity that Cal Poly offers (I say that as a caucasian male). In my view, it’s a real world education, with real world people, and in a location that is conducive to study and reflection. The major contrast is that Cal Poly is not in an urban setting like SJ State, so you will see differences in student life. Thinking back, I had no time for much outside of class - I managed to get my degree in 4 years without taking summer school, and that left little time for anything else…okay, so I’m a workaholic, but if you’re going to study engineering, you need to get used to hard work 
Anyway, I think Cal Poly Pomona offers a tremendous education and value. And I like what I see in their current strategic planning effort.
HTH
Thank you for the feedback on CPP. I am actually transferring from UC Irvine. The school is great but the engineering is lacking a lot. Hardly any camaraderie among students. Classes have roughly 200-300 students. Professor’s don’t really care how you do they simply lecture off of slides and test you. So I made the decision to apply to transfer out. Pomona sounds like an amazing place. I interned at Ames not too long ago. Absolutely loved it. I actually want to go to Stanford as well for grad school so seeing a person that went down an identical path is very motivating.