<p>I’m definitely going to apply to both, under business at Cal Poly, and Managerial economics at UCD. Cal Poly has incredibly strong statistics for students getting jobs right out of school, but i feel like UCD is a better college atmosphere. Just wondering what I should do if I get admitted into both?</p>
<p>My daughter got admitted to both and chose Cal Poly in 2010. While she enjoyed visiting the downtown in Davis, she just didn’t like the “vibe” on campus for some reason. We went during their Homecoming weekend and I dropped her and her friend off at the football game. I was hoping they might meet up with some students who could show them around a bit. Didn’t happen. 
Anyway, she had a wonderful freshman year at Cal Poly and is very happy with her decision. By the way, I’m not sure what you mean by UCD having a “better college atmosphere”. You couldn’t ask for a nicer atmosphere than CPSLO and the surrounding area. And, the weather is milder. 
But, I’m sure either university will be just fine for you. I have a friend with two sons. One recently graduated from UCD and the other will be a senior at Cal Poly.</p>
<p>Well I think UCD has a better college atmosphere because downtown is so close to the campus, and at Cal Poly you have to go all the way down grand and turn right and go a lot further. Also, UCD is much more diverse, whereas Cal Poly is like 65% white, and I feel that college should be a place where you experience new things, meet people that are different from you, and see new ways of life. At Cal Poly everyone seems the same; White, Republican, and Christian.</p>
<p>I am a sophomore at Cal Poly right now, and I have to partially disagree with your perspective.</p>
<p>It is true that the campus is very white, we are a sort “Wonderbread” university. But no, not everyone is republican, there are diverse political and social views on campus and amongst the student body. Remember, majority of the students are from San Francisco area or LA, neither area are super conservative or right wing. As for Christian, partially true, there are a vocal minority of Christians that like to get people to join bible studies. But they are a minority, but they are quite vocal. So their number is much smaller than their volume. I am not Christian, nor republican, nor white, and I never felt suffocated/oppressed/isolated at Cal Poly in terms of social, political, or religious values. There are plenty of non-WASPs/abercrombie beautiful people on campus who are very active and outgoing and friendly. If you want to be socially welcomed/connected/bonded with the student community, you have countless opportunities and venues. </p>
<p>As for general social scene, I have to say Cal Poly or SLO is anything BUT boring. There is not a single day which I felt isolated or bored yet. I love it at SLO. Since the school is a residential campus, with something like 5k or 6k students living on campus and another 10k living within walking distance of campus (virtually NO ONE commutes here), there are ALWAYS something going on at school. Whether it is sports activities (intramural), movie night, concerts, lectures, club meetings, student projects (concrete canoe, electric car competition), there is always something going on. The type of student that are bored or isolated are the ones who are either super introverted,anti-social, or super apathetic, or just lazy. You have to really work hard to be bored at Cal Poly. And in general people are very friendly, I had so many great nights just hanging out with my dorm friends’ rooms.</p>
<p>Downtown SLO is really not that far from campus. It is actually a perfect distance, because you can escape from the noise and crowd of the downtown bar, coffee shop, and cinemas scene just by going back to campus. And yet, you are close enough if you really want to party hard until 1am. The downtown area does not shutdown by 9pm. There are plenty of bars and coffee shops that stay open late if you are so inclined. Let’s put it this way, there is an Apple store in downtown SLO, Apple put their stores in places that tends have a minimum critical mass of activities, foot traffic, and relative high income. You won’t find a Apple store in some crap little isolated town simply because it is the wrong clientele. So generally, SLO downtown is happening, especially on Thursday night where they have a giant farmers market, and everyone is out people watching and hanging out.</p>
<p>Finally, what I really loved about SLO and Cal Poly, besides the people, are the beaches. Pismo beach is breath taking beautiful. Avila beach is very calming. I just love sitting by the seemingly endless beach front of Pismo and just relax with my girlfriend. Plus, I surf, so I can’t find a better place for both school and surf, besides San Diego or something. </p>
<p>I visited Davis before I came to Poly, it is funny that I found the place to be dull. I supposed I hate being landlocked. And I always had a special hatred for Sacramento for some strange reason. So for me, I pick SLO over Davis any day.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I will definitely think about this and will have to visit both campuses again. And it’s very possible that I don’t get into both, or either one.</p>
<p>Hey you are welcome. Remember to visit when school is in session. Cal Poly can be very quite during summer or quarter break. </p>
<p>I neglected to mention that Cal Poly’s campus is a working ranch. We have one of the largest campus in the US. So if you are an outdoor person, then the environment would really fit you. Given the really perfect weather here, you can bike, run, hike almost year round. I love hiking and walking long distances, I end up roaming all round the campus to check out Poly’s variety of animals and large vineyard.</p>
<p>I actually had to go through the SAME EXACT situation!! I’m entering cal poly this year as a business admin major, and was contemplating taking managerial economics at Davis. Ultimately, it came down to this:</p>
<p>Cal polys business program is actually accredited. This was big for me as far as job placement after college. Also, the m.e. Program at Davis is not a “business” program like I had wanted, and the major is within the college of agriculture. If you take a look at the course catalog for Davis you will see that many courses are about business within agriculture. </p>
<p>My dad went to Davis, so he was really wanting me to go to that school. The town of Davis seemed rather boring to me, friends who have gone there say they got bored of the town after a year and ended up going to San Francisco to get away. It’s a nice, quaint town, but I loved how cal poly was like a less crowded, nicer Santa Barbara (that’s where I live). There’s the beach, great shopping, and students are happy with the activities that go around school. </p>
<p>I wanted smaller class sizes, and a more specific major for what I wanted in a job. Ultimately, that’s what you’re going to college for and I have met so many business majors saying that they have had plenty of internship opportunities and seniors get multiple job offers. Remember, at poly the “big 4” accounting firms recruit there specifically for business majors because of their reputation. </p>
<p>I’m so so so excited for this year and I’m so happy I made this decision!! Goodluck with your decision, many people like myself turned down UCLA, UCSB, UCD and UCSD for cal polys business program!</p>
<p>I’m from davis and i applied to both cal poly and ucd and visited both campuses. Honestly, i loved slo so much more. everyone is super friendly, especially on campus, and everyone is willing to help you whether you have questions or are just lost. davis is quiet but quaint. i’m not a fan of ucd because it’s really not that exciting, and there isn’t much of a social life. cal poly is definitely better for business and the social life is there if you want it. for me, it’s all the people i’ve met and gotten to know that will be in my freshman class and upperclassmen, that have made me love cal poly.</p>