<p>My son will most likely be accepted to the engineering departments of Cal Poly SLO, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal, UCSD, UCSB and UCLA due to stellar GPA, ACT/SAT scores and prior technology experience. We have already started to get admission notices and/or emails asking us to apply for merit scholarships from all of them. His preference is Cal Poly Pomona due to proximity to home, the polytechnic approach to hands on learning learning, loads of interships and job prospects, fewer impacted programs, smaller size, and specific major. He wants Electronic & Computer Engineering Technology. Cal Poly Pomona is the only school that offers this very specific major that we know of. Additionally, he wants to be a working engineer with a job immediately after college. He may pursue a master's degree after several years of work experience yet only if needed. He really just wants to start "making cool stuff" and get into the field right away. I expect that he will pursue internships at the earliest opportunity. His reasons for Cal Poly Pomona are valid. Additionally, prestige or rankings are meaningless to him. He just wants a good fit and a good education at a good price. Nevertheless, it is a big deal to decline a spot at some of these other schools. In my opinion, he will be successful no matter where he goes. Nevertheless, I want to make sure that he will be competitive in the job market long term and not be held back because he chose a smaller not as well known school. Anyone have an opinion as to which school will give him what he wants and give him an advantage in the market place? Or is Cal Poly Pomona respected enough in So Cal to put him on par with grads from those other schools? Comments will be most welcome!</p>
<p>I think the only thing to do at this point is to wait to hear from each school. But one thing you or your son could do is contact the career offices or engineering departments of each school to see if they could provide you with a list of employers who come to recruit at their school. Additionally, it would be beneficial to ask for any statistics in regards to employment, such as percent of students who find employment upon graduation, how many of the seniors responded to the survey of the entire class, how long after did they find employment, average starting salary.
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/major/major.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/major/major.stm</a> For Berkeley
Although I am not studying engineering, I know that for the more practical majors at UCLA, like Engineering, you do see big name employers posting for internships, and having recruitment/info session days on campus.</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona is a good school, but UCLA is better and it’s not too far. UCB is a good school as well, but it’s far and he may not be happy there.</p>
<p>He should really consider UCLA if he gets accepted. I suggest you go here [Relationships</a> Matter | LinkedIn](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/]Relationships”>http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/) and do an advance search…look at where UCLA and Cal Poly Pomona grads are working ;)</p>
<p>You might already know this but just want to caution you and your son that Electronic & Computer Engineering Technology is NOT Electrical Engineering. And often it is consider a step below a BS engineering degree in the eyes of academia and companies due to many schools such as ITT or DeVry offering similar degrees. Also, a engineering technology major is usually academically less challenging than a BS in Engineering. </p>
<p>Given your choice of study, you can’t directly compare CP Pomona to the other aforementioned engineering schools because they don’t offer engineering technology degrees, and the level of academic competitiveness is substantially different. </p>
<p>Cal, UCLA, Cal Poly SLO engineering schools are very rigorous and have better reputation than CP Pomona both in industry and in academia. Given your son has outstanding academic achievements, I would highly recommend both of you to revisit your decision of choosing an engineering technology degree vs. a BS in Electrical or Computer Engineering. Your final choice will substantially impact his employment outlook and further academic pursues. </p>
<p>I definitely agree that if given the choice between UCLA BS EE or CPP Engr. Tech, UCLA wins hand down every time in the eyes of employers and graduate schools.</p>
<p>Berkeley EECS is by far the standout program.</p>
<p>Proximity to Silicon Valley cannot be overlooked, especially compared to inland Los Angeles.</p>
<p>Southwest flights to Oakland from Ontario airport are frequent and cheap. Your son can also get around by BART…he won’t need a car.</p>
<p>I would want to go to the best program I can get into - if costs are reasonable.
I was happy I got out of the SoCal bubble for my college career and I enjoyed the experience immensely. But that’s me.</p>
<p>CP-SLO is highly respected in Calif, but Cal-Eng is one of the top 3 in world (and highly respected throughout). EECS @ Berkeley is (nearly) a no-brainer if he gets in. </p>
<p>Three potential downsides to consider: the culture at Berkeley is a lot different than SLO; 2) the competition at Cal will be much more significant; EECS at Cal is its hardest major IMO (altho the architects could make a good claim to most rigor). Of course, it’s that rigor that is also recognized world-wide.</p>
<p>I agree with ickglue about the relative rigor of an engineering technology degree vs a BS in Electrical or Computer Engineering. I think a technology degree will hold him back more than any of the schools on his list. Look at CPP’s own website describing that degree and compare what they view as starting positions for graduates in Engineering Tech vs graduates in engineering. The engineering graduates have the ability to solve much more complex problems than the tech graduates:</p>
<p>[Cal</a> Poly Pomona Enginering Technology](<a href=“http://www.csupomona.edu/~et/]Cal”>http://www.csupomona.edu/~et/)</p>
<p>Here are the jobs that Cal Poly SLO graduates have found:</p>
<p>[Graduate</a> Status Report 08-09 - Career Services - Cal Poly](<a href=“http://www.careerservices.calpoly.edu/students/career_planning/gsr.htm]Graduate”>http://www.careerservices.calpoly.edu/students/career_planning/gsr.htm)</p>
<p>Double check the availability for seats in Engineering School at Cal Poly Pomona. I believe that all the engineering programs have received the ‘impacted’ designation.</p>
<p>If acceptances have been coming in and the student has applied as an engineering tech student, it’s probably too late to change that to EE or CPE at CPP. I don’t think CP-SLO has an engineering tech program.</p>
<p>I think you should let your son decide which school he goes to. Make sure that he visits each one he is admitted to, however, as his mind may change. He is obviously a bright and hard working student, so he will do well wherever he enrolls.</p>
<p>I think the issues raised by various replies have expanded beyond mere school choice selections. Rather, it also raised the concern of whether it is wise for the OP’s high achieving son to choose Engineering technology major over a BS Engineering degree. </p>
<p>I would agree that if the OP’s son foremost ambition is to become a practicing engineer and to secure a bright engineering employment future, then the most prudent and direct path to your twin goals is pursue a BS engineering degree. The choice of school is debatable, but I think the type of degree he should consider is much more obvious.</p>
<p>Upon graduation, the OP’s son will be competing for jobs with numerous engineering school graduates with BS engineering degrees from all over the US. I just don’t see how graduating with an engineering tech degree would be a point of distinction and advantage (in fact a disadvantage) when compared to another job applicant who graduated from UC Berkeley/UCLA/UCSD/Cal Poly SLO/CP Pomona/SJSU etc. in BS EE/CS. Ironically, the biggest source of job competition will be coming from CP Pomona BS Engineering degree graduates. </p>
<p>Regardless, since OP’s son has also applied to CAL, UCLA, Cal Poly, UCSD, all of these engineering schools only have engineering programs. Therefore, if he gains acceptance to any of these programs, he will be getting a proper engineering degree. </p>
<p>So I think your final decision is really CPP Engr. Tech vs. Engineering degree from any of the previously mentioned Engineering Schools.</p>
<p>Personally, I would choose the latter given the extreme competitiveness of the high tech engineering job market. I would want to compete with other engineering graduates with an equal degree footing.</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona’s engineering is fantastic. Impacted like the other colleges OP mentioned. If your son wants to be smart and save money by living at home, his strong academic record will grant him a spot at Kellogg’s Honors College at Cal Poly Pomona and he should sign a 4-year pledge.</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona is also in close proximity and has alumni and staff connections at JPL and Disney’s Imagineering.</p>
<p>your son will miss a great opportunity if he will pass up his engineering acceptance at Cal. It is head and shoulders superior to all the schools in your list for engineering, and a solid top 3 in the nation.</p>
<p>… and he should choose an engineering degree.</p>
<p>Theres a difference, as you referenced, between Cal State and UC engineering schools, and this is fairly well known. UCs are more theory-based and Cal States are more practical(ly), hands on based. </p>
<p>Therefore its generally believed that UC grads are better suited for the higher concepts within the engineering field, more of your masters and PHD candidates, though not an exclusive statement; whereas if he wants a more industry-ready e degree (sorry for the incorrect abbreviation), a Cal State degree might be more desirable.</p>
<p>Id think SLOs and (Cal Poly) Pomonas would are definitely more of the practically based programs. </p>
<p>Among the UCs of course Cals is the highest ranking e program. But that doesnt mean that he cant get a great e degree from ANY of the UC schools, whether its UCLA, SB, Davis, Riverside, wherever. Besides a BSEE degree, though highly accomplished, is rapidly becoming the current times high-school degree with a tech emphasis. </p>
<p>UC e grads tend to seek more education within a wide set of choices and are very successful in their chosen fields. I knew a couple BSEEs from UCLA who went to med school. The founders of Broadcom both have BSEEs, MSEEs and PHDs in EE from the same. </p>
<p>In other words, I dont think its a big deal if your son chooses Cal Poly Pomona or Cal or any of the ones deemed in between, but he should choose engineering instead of a tech degree. </p>
<p>If he does well hell have a wide array of choices available for grad school and job prospects. His choice of grad school would probably be a more critical choice however, and this should be considered more deliberately. </p>
<p>Flip a coin for undergrad; all of them offer EEs, or better yet, just go on where hes happiest, which sounds like CP Pomona. And I’d stay away from a tech degree because it could limit his possiblilities.</p>
<p>As far as hiring, Cal Poly SLO is easily on par with mid-rank UCs. I would be concerned about getting an engineering tech degree. I’m not sure what path there is for advanced degrees since schools that enroll students for MS and PhD will probably not consider that the equivalent of a BS in engineering. </p>
<p>As for rank and the people that say “can’t say no to Cal” – sure you can! Fit is much more important here, and if he isn’t going to like Cal for whatever reason(s) such as location, competitive nature of the students, whatever, then it isn’t the right school for him. On the other hand it deserves serious consideration.</p>
<p>Wow! This was the first posting I have ever made on this forum and I never expected so many thoughtful and helpful responses. This is a real community - I am impressed. My kid has already been accepted to Cal Poly Pomona, more than a month before we expected any response. I checked with CPP and the Electronic & Computer Engineering Technology degree is a BS requiring at least 4 years to complete. It focuses on development, manufacturing, and even distribution and marketing. I spoke to the dean of the ECET program at CPP and he said that it is a true Engineering BS degree. His ECET graduates end up at places like JPL, SoCal Edison, Northrop, Raytheon, etc. generally with salaries for the best students starting at $60K to $65K or so. We met one really bright CPP ECET senior on a campus tour who was offered $70K by SolCal Edison starting after graduation in the summer. This kid was a carbon copy of my kid in grades and attitude and gave up spots at UCLA, SLO, UCSB and UCSD for CPP. He interned for SoCal Edison for two years while at CPP and $70K is not bad for a 21 year old starting fresh out of an undergrad program. Harvey Mudd at $55K annual tuition boasts about the same salaries – maybe a couple of bucks more. Who needs close to $250K of debt for a BS? Crazy… CsuChopeful mentioned that my son would be offered a spot at the Kellogg Honors College at CPP and indeed he was invited to apply. We are waiting for their response right now. He also intends to sign a 4-year pledge if he goes. In my son’s opinion, he has already spent 12 years in school working his tail off and really wants to get his hands dirty in the real world as soon as possible. He’s been building serious video gaming computers since he was 14 (I am not joking, these things scream) and he did a networking engineer internship last summer at a Japanese IT firm. Believe it or not we got our first UC response already. Weeks before we expected it. He was admitted to UCI. They also want him to apply to their honors program. This was one of the “safe schools” that we applied to. Anyway, we won’t know more until March for the rest of the UC’s and SLO. Good point about Cal being just one short flight home. Agreed, we need to look at all of them. My kid seems really stuck on Cal Poly Pomona though.</p>
<p>Your son sounds like a very smart young man, OsakaDad 
</p>
<p>My son was building computers from parts when he was around your son’s age as well. We briefly looked at engineering tech programs but my son very quickly abandoned that because, among other reasons, he didn’t want to stop at calculus when there was so much more he could do with linear algebra. He was accepted at both CPP and CP-SLO. He didn’t apply to any UCs because he’s more interested in applications than theory. He’s now a sophomore at Cal Poly SLO. He started out as an EE major, changed to CPE. The hands-on philosophy at Cal Poly is a great fit for him, and he’s very happy there. His high school friends who preferred to dive deep into theory rather than spend hours in labs tended to gravitate towards the UCs.</p>
<p>One suggestion for your son is to have him look very carefully at the curriculum for both EE/CPE and Engineering Technology. Have him compare the courses he’d be taking for all 4 years. He may be totally excited about one curriculum over the other. </p>
<p>Enjoy the journey :)</p>
<p>Thank you very much vballmom. I’d love it if my kid would go to SLO. Fantastic school. However, my kid feels that the inability to change majors is a deal breaker. He also was afraid of not being able to graduate in 4 years due to the school being so impacted. How did your son change majors from EE to CPE? I was told by the counselors at SLO that changing majors was prohibited. Was this just posturing on their part? Because of this policy my son applied there under the general engineering major because he did not want to get stuck in something that he chose at 18 years old prior to getting a feel for the profession. I’d love to learn more about your experience and if what I am being told by the counselors at SLO regarding changing majors and being able to graduate on time is true or not.</p>
<p>It’s notoriously difficult to change majors at Cal Poly, but not 100% impossible. </p>
<p>My son changed from EE to CPE in the 3rd quarter of his freshman year. I think there were a number of reasons he was able to do this. He’d taken Calc BC and AP Physics in high school, and so could start college at a higher level in each. He’d also done a fair amount of programming at home and in summer camps, so the first 2 CPE courses (C and java) were relatively easy for him. His friends who had to start with the first math/physics course sequence and/or had to retake one of the CPE courses are now struggling a bit to keep on track. Also, the EE and CPE curricula overlap quite a bit in the first 2 years. The main thing (I think) was that he could show that he could still graduate in 4 years if he changed majors. His grades were good, which is a factor in the decision. Maybe the CPE dept decided they needed more students? It’s a relatively small major. Anyway, my son handled all that and it seemed a relatively smooth change.</p>
<p>As far as graduating on time, Cal Poly seems very serious about making this happen for its incoming students. I think the best guarantee of this is how well prepared the student starts out in math and physics (and chemistry for biomedical engineering). Being able to take the required courses in the quarter indicated on the flowchart means that the student will have an easier time scheduling everything in.</p>
<p>[College</a> of Engineering Advising Center - Majors](<a href=“http://eadvise.calpoly.edu/dept/]College”>http://eadvise.calpoly.edu/dept/)</p>
<p>*is Cal Poly Pomona respected enough in So Cal to put him on par with grads from those other schools? Comments will be most welcome! *</p>
<p>Absolutely. Not a problem.</p>
<p>And…the Cal Polys work together every year on a Rose Parade float. SLO does one half and P does the other…very cool.</p>
<p>My cousin and her H (both CPP engineering grads) still talk lovingly of their years doing the floats. They later paid OOS costs so their eng’g sons could do the same.</p>
<p>As for respect by regional employers…absolutely. Calif high tech companies respect the programs at both Cal Polys.</p>