I was recently accepted to most of the colleges I applied to but I have narrowed it down to two colleges, SLO and SCU. I have been accepted for electrical engineering and have visited both. Right now I am leaning towards SLO. I have heard great and awesome things about both. Out of everyone I have met that goes to SLO they have all loved the school. Is there anything I should know when making this decision. As of right now I think I’m going to pick SLO but I’m visiting SCU in a week. TO see if that is the place I want to be at. Is there anything from each of these schools I should know and anyone who is in EE that goes to these schools that can give some at advice.
Thank you.
They are both very good options. My impression is that SCU is attracting some great students, despite its relatively low profile, because admissions have become so difficult at Stanford and Berkeley. For those who want to study engineering or computer science in the Bay Area generally or in Silicon Valley specifically, SCU may be the next best option.
I looked up the SAT scores for the engineering programs at both schools at http://profiles.asee.org:
Cal Poly: 1240 - 1420
SCU: 1280 - 1470. So SCU is clearly competitive.
Obviously very big differences in setting. Cal Poly has a large enrollment, a great social atmosphere, and access to the outdoors, but is relatively isolated. SCU has a much smaller enrollment, but is right there in Silicon Valley.
According to College Navigator, SCU conferred 23 bachelor’s degrees in EE in 2015-16, while Cal Poly issued 134. So the EE program is much larger at Cal Poly. Again, there are tradeoffs; you would probably find smaller classes and more personal attention from profs at SCU, but there would probably be a greater variety of classes and a larger EE community at Cal Poly.
You didn’t mention finances, but Cal Poly would likely be much less expensive for most people, especially for CA residents.