<p>Hi, I'm planning on going into the engineering field, most likely mechanical engineering as it has interested me most so far in my high school's engineering course. I'm wondering what your opinions are on Cal Poly SLO vs UCSB vs SDSU for (mechanical?) engineering. By the way, I live about 20 minutes from SDSU haha.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>As a Computer Engineering major at UCSB, I would highly recommend the state schools, particularly slo, if you plan on staying an engineer. UCs look better on a resume for other professions like business or for getting a graduate degree. My friends at SLO are getting much more personal attention on more interesting and practical projects; and based off what my parents and family friends in the industry say, slo graduates are more prepared for work out of school compared to UCSD grads, but the ucsd grads catch up fairly quickly. </p>
<p>Overall, if your goal is to be an engineer I would highly suggest SLO. I came to ucsb due to the social scene, and because I don’t have aspirations of staying an engineer. Perhaps Hi-tech sales but that would probably be the only way id stay. Anyway, figure out what you want and what fits you best.</p>
<ol>
<li>Cal Poly</li>
<li>UCSB</li>
<li>SDSU</li>
</ol>
<p>If you’re looking at the quality of education alone, Cal Poly is your best bet followed by UCSB. I applied to Cal Poly for aerospace and got denied. If other factors like location, party scene, and campus are important to you, then it’s obviously up to you to decide. I’m at UCSB as an ME major now.</p>
<p>If you want to be a “vanilla” engineer, get a good job, live the American Dream, etc. SLO is best bet.</p>
<p>But if you are looking at graduate school, academia, etc. UCSB</p>
<p>I would say Hitman is right. If you want to pursue an engineering career, Cal Poly SLO is great. </p>
<p>If you want to get Phd right after undergrad, I think UCSB is a good choice. But to share my personal experience as a data point, I went to Cal Poly SLO for my undergrad engineering and went on to Harvard for my grad school.</p>
<p>I like to dispel the idea that you can’t get into a good grad school after Cal Poly.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the responses everybody!</p>
<p>So I talked to my counselor and she says to also look into UC Santa Cruz. Opinions? And if your description of SLO fits my desires the most, would you still recommend UCSB over SDSU?</p>
<p>I think UCSB is a better program than SDSU. I would look at San Jose State, instead of UC Santa Cruz.</p>
<p>San Jose State? The highest percentage of people there have lower than a 3.0 GPA… That’s a pretty big difference from the other schools mentioned, isn’t it?</p>
<p>^You have to also take into consideration the USNWR rankings. It is ranked 19th for undergrad schools (SLO ranked 6th). You are also in the Silicon Valley, which affords you many intern opportunities.</p>
<p>Cal Poly>UCSB>UCSC>SDSU for engineering</p>
<p>UC santa cruz doesnt have mechanical engineering. But if it did, there’s is a good chance I’d be there, I love that campus and city. Yeah SJSU has a better engineering program than SDSU, but the location and campus are obviously not as good.</p>
<p>Well I guess UCSC is out of the picture since they don’t offer ME haha. I am really surprised SJSU is better than SDSU? The requirements to get in are far lower than SDSU. Any other colleges in California to consider for ME? Thanks! :D</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona is probably not better than Cal Poly SLO, but it has stronger reputation in engineering than SDSU and SJSU. Heck, probably even more than the bottom three UCs (M, R, SC). You should apply there as well.</p>
<p>Here’s a list of public schools ranked best to worst, which is obviously debatable, and all are at least decent. Acceptance rates are in similar order too.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
Cal Poly
UCSB
UC Davis
UC Irvine
Cal Poly Pomona
SJSU
SDSU
All other UC’s and CSU’s</p>
<p>Thanks, that helps a lot. So what kind of GPA and SAT scores should I be looking at for SLO’s engineering school?</p>
<p>Average admitted SAT score (CR + M) 1287
Average UC GPA 3.97
Average ACT 29</p>
<p>It’s getting really hard to get in to SLO. Honestly, I think they do some fishy things with their admissions haha. I’ve seen some pretty weird things happen. I heard they admit a certain number of people for a given area or something. But for stats, I’d say 4.0/1300.</p>
<p>Is it also even harder to get into their engineering program?</p>
<p>Post number 16 seems to be the SLO engineering admission averages, and yes, they are more competitive.</p>
<p><a href=“Cal Poly Admissions”>Cal Poly Admissions;
<p>I think post #16 has the averages for enrolled students, not admitted. The admitted stats are slightly higher.</p>