Cal Poly SLO or CC -> UC

<p>I got a conditional admittance to cal poly slo with a chem major.. i didn't think i was going to get in. my parents think I should go to a cc then transfer to a uc since I don't really know what I want to do (they dont know that i got into slo yet). that's where my question lies. Do i go to SLO with the chem major? I like chemistry but i'm not 100% sure if thats what I want to study.. is it possible to change majors? being admitted here kind of threw me off.. i was planning on taking the cc -> uc route since I only applied to 2 other state schools that arent very good</p>

<p>and what is the conditional admission based on? keeping grades up for the rest of the year?</p>

<p>it's up to u...i mean i really don't know what i wanna do either..but i guess i'm going there now...it's a good college and i get to experience new stuff..the major i chose...it probably allows me to do a variety of jobs after i graduate...that's what i've heard but not exactly sure...but yea...if u wanna take the cc to uc route...then go for it...it's not a bad idea either..it just depends where u wanna go and which college you're comfortable with. by the way, conditionally accepted basically means that you're accepted...it'll change to officially admitted later on..just don't slack off;)</p>

<p>possible to change majors at cal poly? i know the have the upside down curriculum thing</p>

<p>Unless you're planning to work hard enough to get into Cal LA or SD, Cal Poly is pretty equal with the rest of the UCs.</p>

<p>i agree...i guess that's one of the reasons why i chose cal poly over UCdavis...weaksauce, yea i think it's possible to change majors...from what i've heard, just keep up your grades and i don't think they're make it hard on u if you really wanna change..and the "upside-down" curriculum thing...it's not really upside down...u just take a few major classes in your first year and second year along with ur GE classes so you'll get the feel/intro about your major...something like that. lol i'm not a student at cal poly yet...but this is all what i heard from other cal poly students...</p>

<p>Cal Poly is a most excellent school! Congratulations!</p>

<p>Still, many do have difficulty changing majors bcuz you start out taking classes in your major as a frosh, in order to get you to a place where you can have some/hopefully lots of hands on experience, hence the polytech designation.</p>

<p>How difficult it is to change, largely depends on your major and how related &/or impacted the major is that you want to transfer into... so do you have any idea what interests you besides Chemistry?</p>

<p>I would go to Cal Poly Slo. Cal Poly Slo is a fantastic school. Unless for sure you know that you can expect to get into Cal, LA, or SD when you transfer, but other than that Cal Poly is equal/better than the other UC's.</p>

<p>so u would choose slo over everything besides the top 3 uc's?</p>

<p>Cal Poly is a fine school, but it is focused on career preparation (as opposed to the liberal arts). Hence the name "poly" in the name. It is harder to xfer from a cal-state school to a UC than from a CC since by law the UC schools give priority to CC xfers. But it can of course be done.</p>

<p>thanks for all the responses</p>

<p>i really don't know what other interests i have besides chemistry.. i'm pretty good at math, i'm taking ap calculus right now.. what kinds of careers are possible with chemistry? is it even worth getting a chem major? i dont want to be a teacher.. but who knows, that may change</p>

<p>there are tons of career possibilities for someone with a degree in chem. There are careers that use the chem background directly, such as lab work, the biochem industry, or going into a branch of medicine. You can use it a little more indirectly by going into technical sales where the science background is helpful, technical marketing, or into management in a technical industry. With a science background you might thrive by combining it with a Masters in Public Policy or Public Health. Finally you can go into virtually any other career field, just like other liberal-arts grads. This means anything from advertising, sales, consulting, working as a researcher for the government or industry, entrepeneurship, management, journalism, you name it.</p>

<p>Of course you don't just graduate and get handed one of those jobs. You need to do some work up front. First you need to identify your interests and strengths, and this includes finding out about different careers by talking to people in them. But most important for most of them is taking steps while still in college to stand out from the crowd. The best way to do this is with internships. There is an excellent book, BTW, that talks about a lot of this. It is called "Major in Success" by Combs, and it is filled with stories of how college kids identified their interests and got a head start. And when you get to college start visting the career center frosh year. They can help you with a lot of this. Waiting until senior year to think about careers and visit the career center is waiting too long.</p>

<p>I'd sayCal Poly is on par with the mid-range UCs, SB, Davis, Irvine. I prefered SB myself, but Cal poly is a good school... especially for engineering or architecture.</p>