<p>probably majoring economics, looking to go into business/start my own business.</p>
<p>im having trouble choosing between the two, any input?</p>
<p>I thought this would be a no-brainer in favor of UCSB, so to prove this point I looked at the average SAT's at College Board. To my amazement, they are quite similar, perhaps a tick in favor of UCSB.</p>
<p>Cal Poly:</p>
<p>Critical Reading:
520 - 620
Math:
560 - 670
ACT Composite Scores 23 - 28</p>
<p>UCSB:</p>
<p>Critical Reading:
530 - 650
Math:
540 - 660
Writing:
530 - 650</p>
<p>ACT Composite Scores 23 - 29</p>
<p>College</a> Search - compare colleges and universities side-by-side</p>
<p>I think it comes down to the UC in UCSB. It is part of the mighty University of California system, whereas Cal Poly, as popular as it is, is a Cal State school. If this were UC Merced or Riverside, you could discuss the merits of Cal Poly's favorable coastal location, or with UC Irvine that it is too much a commuter school, but UCSB's beach front location, residential atmosphere, and Nobel-laureate laden faculty all argue in favor of becoming a Gaucho rather than a Mustang.</p>
<p>i've been told that SLO is a very good Engineering school. ranked 4(?) in engineering in CA. ranked 1 as a public engineering school in all of the US but i cant confirm...</p>
<p>^uh... the number one public engineering school is called uc berkeley...</p>
<p>that's what i was told... i just didnt look into it, i'm not interested in engineering</p>
<p>well either way the question isnt regarding engineering</p>
<p>go to cal poly </p>
<p>Reasons
1."learn by doing"
2. smaller class sizes (average 35)
3. cheaper
4. that is were I am going</p>
<p>in my book, outside of maybe engineering.. UCSB >> CalPolySLO. You get UC name brand as well alumni connections. "Learning by doing" is called internships... it happens all the time at UCs.</p>
<p>I have relatives in Illinois, Washington, Utah, and Colorado and they have all heard of UCSB, and not one of them have ever heard of Cal Poly. Just a small example of what might happen if you ever leave CA (why?) and go job searching with a Cal Poly undergraduate degree. The lack of graduate and professional programs keeps Cal Poly out of the Nation's Top Colleges US News rankings which diminishes chances to gain popularity on a national level. It's a great school and great location and some of the smartest people I know go there, but it just doesn't carry the prestige of the UC name like JW Muller pointed out.</p>
<p>I agree that in this instance the OP should go to SB however, CPSLO is in fact ranked very highly but with schools where the highest degree is a master's.</p>
<p>its the 10th best overall in the west (nondoctoral unvi.)
best public in the west (nondoctoral unvi.)
1. Trinity University
2. Santa Clara University
3. Gonzaga University
4. Loyola Marymount University
5. University of Portland
6. Mills College
6. University of Redlands
6. Seattle University
9. Whitworth College
10. Cal PolySan Luis Obispo*</p>
<p>*public</p>
<p>cal poly is best known for its engineering, but if you are interested in business, it probably is a little bit more solid than ucsb
cal poly is well known for its agribusiness, so i wouldnt be surprised if it also has decent business programs in general</p>
<p>good luck making a decision though, neither is a bad choice</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO over SB for Business or engineering/comp sci...SB over SLO for everything else</p>
<p>You will get a great education at either school. Cal Poly has better engineering, CS, and business programs. The major advantage is that it is smaller and class sizes are much smaller. It is a hands on school and offers a lot of internships. Teachers will know you by name and you will get a lot of one on one attention. There are many businesses that hire solely from Cal Poly.</p>
<p>Like I said you will get a good program from either school. I would say that after comparing cost, the deciding factor might be location and atmosphere. SLO is definitely more small town and the entire town revolves around the school. It has a decided "aggie" atmosphere. SB is definitely more trendy, bigger town, faster paced, more of a party atmosphere. A lot of it is personal preference.</p>
<p>i had a weird experience yesterday... everyone who goes to SLO or has been to SLO has told me that its amazing - really chill surfer town, beautiful campus/area, pismo beach. just overall really fun and pretty.</p>
<p>however, i visited the campus yesterday for open house, and i wasnt very impressed. the campus looks like a community college, just with alot more trees. we drove around the town and it was ok, just really small and kinda cozy. there was nothing pretty about it, minus the ocean, which is a 15-20 minute drive anyway.</p>
<p>did i miss something or do others agree? i was just really confused cuz many many people told me that they would never want to leave, even if they were just visiting.</p>
<p>Its always amusing reading posts by people who it is obvious have never actually been to the place they claim to be able to give advice about. Take for example
[quote]
... the deciding factor might be location and atmosphere. SB is definitely more trendy, bigger town, faster paced, more of a party atmosphere.
[/quote]
Bigger town? Clearly this person has never set foot on or near the UCSB campus. While the city of SB might be bigger than SLO, UCSB is not actually in Santa Barbara. It's about 6 miles north, set in the isolated town of Isla Vista. Oops!!</p>
<p>Makes you wonder what other parts of his post are pure invention ...</p>
<p>Hi Mikemac</p>
<p>This person has actually lived in SB (3 years), graduated from Cal Poly, and lived in both SLO and Pismo (5 years) and currently lives in Ventura County and is in SB and on the UCSB campus frequently. While you are correct that IV is north of SB, there is good transportation between there and the campus and there is absolutely no question that there is much more of a variety of things to do and a faster pace in SB than in SLO. SB is also a much more liberal area. </p>
<p>SLO is a town built around the Cal Poly campus and is a more isolated area. To the north it is quite rural and to the south there is still quite a ways between towns. There is a strong tie to agriculture. My husband is from Santa Maria and so we are quite familiar with both areas. </p>
<p>I prefer SLO and had a hard time leaving the area when I graduated. However, many people find the pace of that area too slow.</p>
<p>I am not saying IV is like living in LA (where I also travel at least weekly) but in comparison to SLO it is big city, even out in the boondocks of IV. The UCSB campus is also substantially larger than Cal Poly.</p>
<p>Maybe you haven't been to Cal Poly much so can't compare the two!</p>
<p>BTW Mikemac, if you are going to be such a jerk, be sure you know what you are talking about!</p>
<p>Ohnomiss- I'm not sure where you are from??? I was from a very small town and high school in Ventura County and so felt more at home at Cal Poly. I was also accepted at UCSB but felt the engineering program was better at Cal Poly- but you are not looking at engineering. You are right that it is a small town atmosphere. I think the town is beautiful but it is very small and there isn't as much to do there as in SB. The campus is very slow paced and fairly conservative, compared to UCSB. The surrounding small towns often view the college students as "outsiders".</p>
<p>I truly think you will get a good education at either school and they both have very good reputations, although once you get out of California, Cal Poly is not as well known outside of their engineering departments. </p>
<p>Wherever you go you need to feel like you fit in, so that may end up being your deciding factor.</p>
<p>Good Luck!!!!</p>
<p>o hey well i juss visted both the places (AGAIN like 5th time) and this time i stayed ON CAMPUS at both places, well I discovered that IT IS MUCH EASIER to concentrate on what you need to do at Cal Poly because it is so much more mellow...UCSB is fun and its a good school but the thing is its SO distracting!!!! (because the weather is always 60-75 year round and there's beach) so u always wanna blow ur studying off and just go hang out at the beach...i stayed in one of teh dorms with a friend and his friends (in the other dorm rooms) and they could barely study for this huge test they had becuase it wa just so nice in the day, and then at night, even though the partiesa re secluded in a certain, EVERYONE all around the campus just keeps talking about them, and you end up going even tho you try as hard as possible not to....i think that effect wears down once your a junior becuz you get so used to it, but those first 2 years might hurt you. I was sitting in class with the friend that i was staying with and everyone was just talkin about some crazy party that was gonna be at Isla Vista, and when he said he wasnt going people kept buggin him about it, and in teh end we ended up going, and he ended up failing his chem test....</p>
<p>Cal Poly has a really nice campus town, and it has teh beach just liek SLO but its alot more calm...there are parties (but then agian NO college campus doesnt have parties)...but at SLO you actually have the choice of not going (everyone says its your choice when they talk about UCSB, but its really not, becuz if you dont go ur friends and their friends keep calling you, texting you, knocking on your door until you come, theyll even drag you out if you still say no) and SLO is a lot better than SB for engineering, comp sci, and business...where as UCSB would be more focused around the sciences</p>
<p>but in the end it comes down to what you like...a more ecstatic environment vs a more mellow environment...both have beaches...both are sunny all day long...then you have to consider your major and the schools' strength in your major....and couple other things like dorms, both have VERY nice dorms, but some of the dorms you wanna stay away from at UCSB liek TM (unless your for the party scene)...hope that helps...</p>
<p>cktsing, I find it hard to believe you know much about life in Isla Vista. It is a small area of about 6 blocks by 6 blocks. Students spend most of their time in IV, although of course they go down to SB. IV is isolated and self contained. To call it a "bigger city" </p>