<p>So I have a rough choice from out of state (hehe)....my major is Civil Engineering</p>
<p>Santa Clara, Cal Poly SLO, or UCSD?? (all accepted)</p>
<p>I'm leaning towards Cal Poly!</p>
<p>Unless you're planning to stay in CA for life, go to UCSD, at least some have heard of it in other States. SLO and Santa Clara are really only known in the region.</p>
<p>well i'll have to disagree with zagat. i'm not sure which schools among those that you have listed are good for civil engineering, but it will probably be the one that has the best opportunities for jobs that will matter, not it's overall name recognition. all three campuses look nice and have a relaxed atmosphere. i suggest trying to find out which one is best for your major in addition to "fit".</p>
<p>I would choose UCSD.</p>
<p>The view expressed above that Cal Poly is known only regionally is incorrect; of the ones you list, it is actually the one with a national rep for engineering among those who employ engineers.</p>
<p>For academics in general I'd say UCSD. But for civil engineering I'd go with Cal Poly SLO. In that field it's ranked about as high as Berkeley.</p>
<p>Isn't the whole cost of college for out of staters close to $40,000?!</p>
<p>SLO has a better rep for engineering than SD, but coureur is wrong, nothing in california compares with berkeley. Berkeley's admit rate is like, 10% or less, for the engineering school. SLO is much easier. With that said, their are great reasons to go to any of them. I would recommend SD or Santa Clara, SD because its a great school overall, in the country's greatest college town (such a party, everyones always going to TJ, be careful with that) and santa clara because its beautiful, has great access to bay area, and you have a more dedicated, personal faculty. SLO is a pretty campus in an ugly area, with little to offer other than the "reputation" it garnishes as the best CSU.</p>
<p>Just cause it's harder to get into doesn't make it necessarily better. You seem to have the two equated.</p>
<p>Well UCSD is something like $8000 to $10000 more than Cal Poly out of state. I've been reading that UCSD is better for grad school, and Cal Poly is better for immediate jobs. Right now if I went to college tomorrow, I would plan to go to Cal Poly and grad school. So the contemplation continues for the right answer. Then I have to throw in Santa Clara.</p>
<p>I'm skeptical of TheCity's remarks. La Jolla is a far cry from the country's greatest college town and the Central Coast is anything but ugly. I'm also not sure why SC's faculty would be any less "dedicated" than SD's or SLO's. I'd venture a guess that TheCity has never been to either SLO or UCSD.</p>