<p>What could be more stressful than waiting to hear back from colleges?
Choosing which one to go to, that's what. At least for me. </p>
<p>So I got into Syracuse, USC, Cal Poly SLO, and U of Oregon... all for architecture. Though I'd LOVE to go to 'Cuse or USC, it's just not an option for me since the tuition at these school are hella expensive. </p>
<p>Basically, I'm choosing between CAL POLY SLO and OREGON. </p>
<p>Help me people!!! I'm in desperate need of help!!! If you so graciously decide to input your opinion on this matter, please keep the atmosphere of the college in mind as well as the academics. After all, I do want to have fun in college.</p>
<p>Both Cal Poly-SLO and UO have well-regarded architecture programs, and you will get an excellent education at either school. Other than UO putting perhaps more emphasis on environmental design and sustainability, I’d say they are very similar in terms of academics and training.</p>
<p>So the real differences are non-academic factors, like:</p>
<p>– Cost. What is the bottom line cost for you and your family at each school (factoring in travel to/from school as well)?
– Residency. Are you in-state for Cal Poly? If not, you may want to consider the possible ramifications of being OOS when CA is undergoing such a painful budget crisis. (If they need more money, they are likely to sock the non-residents first.)
– Climate. SoCal vs. Pacific NW. 'Nuf said!
– Sports Scene/School Spirit. UO has Pac10 sports which forms the basis of many of its school traditions and rivalries, creating lots of school spirit. I have not seen anywhere near as much school spirit at Cal Poly.
– Student Body. Have you visited both schools? Where do you feel more “comfortable” and think you could find many like-minded friends?</p>
<p>Some of these issues may not be at all important to you, but you should think about the ones that are. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decision making. You have two very fine choices and really can’t go wrong with either.</p>
<p>Cost: I’m an OOS resident regardless of either school, but my parents can afford both. So it’s only a difference of 2000 or so. For break I’ll be going to Japan probably. My family lives there. </p>
<p>Residency: I’m an international student.</p>
<p>Climate: LOVE warm weather! I’ve been living in the tropics for pretty much my entire life. That said, snow/cold weather could be a welcoming change (:</p>
<p>Soprts Scene/School Spirit: school spirit would be nice. I’d enjoy a little school-bonding. </p>
<p>Student Body: I know a few kids from my school going to UO (I go to an international school overseas so it’ll be nice having some people relate to me…) I know one kid going to Cal Poly that’s going to do architecture as well. Unfortunately, I don’t have time nor the money to visit since I live halfway across the globe from America. </p>
<p>Since I can’t go to see the atmosphere/ambiance/what the student body is like for both of these schools, I’d appreciate if someone could elaborate on that. </p>
<p>I don’t know about the student body, but I know that SLO is really hard to get in so congratulations! And if you care about rankings. SLO is ranked as #3.</p>
<p>I was about to say that there isn’t much to do in SLO, but then again there isn’t much to do in Eugene either (which may actually be a good thing; no distractions from studio). Being in SLO gives you somewhat immediate access to LA and SF architecture (about 4 hrs away from either), while being in Eugene gives you access to Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. Two rather different vernaculars to consider.
Not sure when you have to give a response by, but you can see if either schools can give you the contact info of a current arch student. Bet you’ll get more out of them.</p>
<p>Somewhat immediate access to LA or San Fran, huh. What’s the best way for getting to SLO from LAX? Connecting flight? I’ll be flying in to the states from overseas, meaning that I need to land in an international airport first.</p>
<p>There’s an Amtrak line that goes from LAX to SLO (travel time ~5 hrs). Not sure how much flights would be from LAX to SLO (I’d imagine much more expensive than by train). Could always drive from LAX to SLO and back (guess you’d need your parents to rent a car?), just watch out for LA traffic (which is as horrendous as be portray it to be).</p>
<p>So I accepted my offer of admission at U of O. But somehow, I feel like I’m making a terrible mistake. Am I?</p>
<p>This is terribly confusing; the day before yesterday, I was so sure I wanted to go to Oregon… yesterday, I had a complete change of mind and decided I wanted to go to cal poly. Today, I accepted my offer at U of O and was feeling pretty good about it, until I started having doubts. Ugh.</p>
<p>@mo, no one can answer that question. Honestly, both programs are top notch, so what you get out of either school really depends on how much effort you put into your work.</p>
<p>True. Admission rate for Uof O is something like 80%. For Cal Poly it’s more like 30-something %.</p>
<p>You won’t see so much snow up in Eugene as you will RAIN. My daughter has two friends who will be attending. I’ll be curious how they acclimate since both girls are into swimming and the beach. Warm weather. :)</p>