<p>I’m from California, and I’m majoring in mechanical engineering. Academically, how does Cal Poly Pomona rank against the Univerity of Oregon and the University of Arizona? I know that as far as athletics, those two are flagships in their states and have big-time football. The price of Cal Poly Pomona and strenght of its engineering program make me want to go there.</p>
<p>I’m a native Oregonion and went to UoOregon. I didn’t realize they had mechanical engineering.</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona is probably more well known for engineering. I was just down in that area and thought it was quite beautiful. </p>
<p>Eugene is a great town, lots to do, lots of diversity.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Arizona.</p>
<p>If you are going to school for the engineering degree, I would say go to CalPoly. (If you were majoring in say Psychology, Architecture, Music, I would say Oregon.)</p>
<p>I think OP meant Oregon State University (at Corvallis) and not University of Oregon (at Eugene). Probably Cal Poly Pomona for engineering like crizello mentioned. University of Arizona is a jock school. Personally, I wouldn’t go there for engineering.</p>
<p>Oregon State University is the primary engineering school in the State of Oregon. Also, he OP improperly mixes his metaphors. I wouldn’t use the term flagship to describe public college athletic departments. Besides, comparing Pacific Ten Conference members to Division II Cal Poly Pomona is apples and oranges.</p>
<p>Thank you for your responses. Yes, I meant the state university (Oregon State – Corvallis)… sorry about the confusion :/</p>
<p>I should have said: the university that Linus Pauling went to as undergraduate.</p>
<p>Indeed, as LakeWashington mentions, OSU is THE engineering university of Oregon. However, I wonder if the out-of-state expense is worth it.</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona on the other hand, is not THE engineering college of California (Berkeley), or southern California (Caltech), or even eastern LA County (Harvey Mudd). However, it punches well above its weight in terms of engineering reputation and the ridiculously low cost ($4,500/year) is very appealing to me.</p>
<p>What about Cal Poly San luis Obispo? I would like to know which of those engineering schools are better? Oregon State or Cal Poly SLO?</p>
<p>cal poly slo, it’s a lot harder to get in though</p>
<p>I’m trying to decide between Cal Poly Pomona and Oregon State University too (with a degree in engineering). I understand that Pomona is surrounded by a lot of industries (being in So. Cal) so that means great opportunities for internships. Plus Cal Poly does “Hands-on” learning. So how does Oregon State compare? I like the diveristy and the campus, but thats pretty much all I know.</p>
<p>I know a lot about Cal Poly Pomona as my son was accepted there for engineering and the Kellogg Honors College and we toured the school and had multiple conversations with deans and professors. I myself graduated from the University of Arizona.</p>
<p>Let’s start with the UofA. First, the UofA is a World class research institution in the PAC 12. Here is some info regarding their program funding:</p>
<p>“The National Science Foundation (NSF) ranks UA 21st among all universities nationwide in research funding, and 14th among public universities. The overall ranking for the UA is up from 22nd in the last NSF report. UA ranked 3rd in the country in physical sciences research spending, at more than $124 million, and 14th in the country in industry-financed research expenditures, at nearly $30 million.”</p>
<p>USNWR ranks it top 50 (49th) in engineering for undergrads and top 40 (27th - 38th depending on major) for graduate schools in the PhD granting institutional category. [College</a> of Engineering || National Rankings](<a href=“http://www.engr.arizona.edu/about/index.php?ID=32]College”>http://www.engr.arizona.edu/about/index.php?ID=32)</p>
<p>Personally, I really enjoyed my education at the UofA although I was not an engineering major, I was an international studies / business major. The experience was a lot like that of a major UC campus (I’ve taught at UCLA and toured several UC’s for my kid). However, I got much more personal attention than at a UC. Some of my upper division classes, albeit this was in the 1980’s, had as few as 5 students in it. After my sophomore year, I rarely had more than 15-35 students in each class depending on popularity. Even as a freshman my largest classes averaged about 50-75 people. However, I once had an introductory psych class that had about 250-300 students in it. This may have changed over the years. I had some outstanding professors, several of whom were big Ivy League graduates (Harvard, etc.). Also, I LOVED the Sonora Desert and living in Tucson. If you love the outdoors, it is a real magical place once you get to know it. It is the only place in my life where I felt deeply connected to the land and the weather. The heat, even in summer, never bothered me personally. There are lots of crazy characters in Tucson. When I lived there, there was a noticeable transient/homeless population in the winter.</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona, on the other hand is a “hands on – learn by doing” institution that does not grant PhD’s. We prefer this type of undergrad education for my son. Here are the rankings for CPP: [url=<a href=“http://dsa.csupomona.edu/visitors/rankings.asp]Rankings[/url”>http://dsa.csupomona.edu/visitors/rankings.asp]Rankings[/url</a>]</p>
<p>“Cal Poly Pomona is tied for 15th in the nation for top undergraduate programs in engineering amongst all private and public schools, according to the U.S. News & World Report 2010 College Rankings: Universities-Master’s category (1. T-Harvey Mudd, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 3. Cooper Union). Of the top 15 schools, only six are public, which makes Cal Poly Pomona tied for 5th best public school for engineering in the U.S. (1. U.S. Military Academy, 2. U.S. Naval Academy, 3. CP San Luis Obispo, 4.U.S. Air Force Academy, 5. T-U.S. Coast Guard).”</p>
<p>I think that the advantage of CPP is that there are a lot of local firms that hire straight out of CPP. If you distinguish yourself, you’ll do great in the area of internships and job offers. SoCal Edison, JPL, Raytheon, Northrup, etc. all recruit there. If you eventually desire upper management or research positions later in life, you should seriously consider grad school. USC seems to be a place where many CPP grads go for graduate school. I know that some select CPP grads went on to Cal Tech. </p>
<p>My son had many choices including 5 UC’s, Cal Poly SLO and CPP. In our case, and we did exhaustive touring and research, our ranking of the schools he was accepted to was as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>Cal Poly SLO (currently attending as a MechE major)</li>
<li>UCSD</li>
<li>Cal Poly Pomona - Honors (very high on our list)</li>
<li>UCSB</li>
<li>UCI - Honors</li>
<li>UCLA (Their program was a total mismatch for my kid’s learning style. Yes, we would have chosen CPP over UCLA. )</li>
<li>UCSC</li>
</ol>
<p>Unfortunately, I know nothing about OSU. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>One more thing. For added prestige on your resume. But even more important for the benefits it offers, such as PRIORITY REGISTRATION, special classes, dorms, dedicated counseling and a lounge, apply for and get into the Kellogg Honors College at CPP. If you did not apply already that is OK – get a great GPA and do it next year. This honors college, unlike many, has real teeth to it and could transform your experience at CPP if that is the school you choose.</p>
<p>You have some excellent choices and we really came very, very close to choosing this school.</p>
<p>According to Kiplingers best value colleges:</p>
<ol>
<li>Cal Poly Pomona</li>
<li> University of Oregon</li>
<li> University of Arizona</li>
</ol>
<p>[Best</a> Values in Public Colleges, 2011-12](<a href=“Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger”>Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger)=ALL&id=none&table=public#colleges</p>