Need help deciding between Cal Poly SLO and University of Washington, Seattle, for Mechanical Engineering!
Are you in CA or WA?
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Two fine options. Is one more affordable? Does the student prefer the environment at one of the schools?
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I agree with the above and would add that in quite a few respects, they are very
different.
Yes!!!
You win either way - but as others noted, there are differences - cost, environment, weather, etc.
But Yes!!
Congrats!!
I am in CA.
Does money matter and do you have a preference?
There is no wrong answer here.
Seattle is - well big city, crowded etc. and SLO - not.
Really two great choices.
Two great choices but Cal Poly will be much cheaper. If you are confident in your major, I would choose Cal Poly.
I believe Cal Poly SLO is more affordable. The environment is quite different between the two colleges, and is something we are considering.
Yes…this is a case where two reasonable people could prefer two different environments. That is why, assuming both are comfortably affordable (no loans, no hardship), it is is hard to give meaningful guidance.
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I am trying to weigh affordability with quality of education, relative ranking of the two colleges with future job prospects after graduation. Both schools are great choices as several have already noted, thanks.
I think on all those things SLO wins. Depends on how you rate quality of education but if you lay out those three, unless you got merit from UW, there’s a clear winner here on paper.
https://careers.uw.edu/outcomes/#!College%20of%20Engineering
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I have a bias. My son is a Cal Poly Alum (BS/MS ME). He chose Cal Poly from out of state because of the style of education.
Classes are small, and all have labs, so you get practical in addition to theory until you get into the most theoretical graduate classes (Continuum Mechanics as an example) They don’t use TAs, even in labs and discussions. Upper level lab projects are as robust as many capstones at other schools. The location is idyllic. The clubs are well funded and the lab spaces are extensive. There are over 80 in the CENG alone.
His roommate first year chose CP from Seattle over UW.
What will you give up? Big time athletics and big city experiences.
As I said, I have a preference, but you might not value the things we do. If job placement is your priority, if you apply yourself and get good grades, you will have plenty of opportunities.
Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.
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This is an old article from 2017, but hopefully may be still be relevant in that SLO is ranked #14 and UDub is ranked #18, which is essentially the same, in terms of jobs in SIlicon Valley “back in the day.”
My guess is that job prospects will be similar.
My D21 attends SLO. Whenever she calls me during the day, she’ll be sitting on some green area/space on campus and it’s so quiet around her you can hear a pin drop. I don’t know much about UDub, we visited for D18’s admissions cycle, but it’s roughly twice the size when you add graduate students and it’s very, very busy on campus.
SLO is laid back, less stressful IMO, but D21 has gotten an excellent research opportunity and also a great local job in her career field. And while she was interviewing for the job, the HR people said that they love SLO students, because they already know what they’re doing in terms of the job requirements.
ETA: She also can see any professor, let’s say in the Chem department, if she has a question, not just her professor. They all post office hours and she can see any of them.
Thank you all for your insightful comments and the reports. These will help in our decision making process.
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