<p>On the Forbes study, as I recall, that was a value based study. In other words it is based on where you get the most education quality per $. That is why the military acadamies, which are excellent on education and don’t charge tuition, finish on top. What Forbes is saying is that Cal Poly is a better education investment than Cornell or USC. Cornell might offer a better education, but they are saying it is not worth the extra cost.</p>
<p>^ And this is exactly what I’ve been telling my daughter who was accepted to USC. For the money, Cal Poly is a *heck *of a better deal! And, there are other reasons aside from the financial aspect. I think she knows that, though. Her Pros and Cons list have put Cal Poly on top. Not by much–but it still wins. :)</p>
<p>Cal Poly was never placed higher than Cornell and USC. Read carefully. It says country’s top “Public universities.” Cornell and USC are “Private” and are higher than Cal Poly’s 201 ranking if including public and private</p>
<p>the fact is that, you cannot really justify and generalize which school’s education is “better” without actually attend that school and attending other schools for comparison. the experience would be different between everyone. each person would have there own personal experience of how they would define of whats better…but ranking list really is just mainly a generalization.</p>
<p>So in that regard Cal Poly did rank higher than USC. Again, I realize they’re talking about a better education investment. They *didn’t *say CPSLO was ranked higher nationally such as in US News & World Report. However, it’s certainly nice knowing we’re spending our money wisely on a good institution.</p>
<p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**QUOTE:
thaisteak,</p>
<p>Cal Poly was never placed higher than Cornell and USC. Read carefully. It says country’s top “Public universities.” Cornell and USC are “Private” and are higher than Cal Poly’s 201 ranking if including public and private**</p>
<p>D was accepted to the Business Schools of Cal Poly, and two highly ranked private programs</p>
<p>Cal Poly was always her first choice so we did not face a difficult decision. However, it has been interesting to compare FA packages. Looking only at scholarships, grants and work study offerings and assuming graduation in 4 years:</p>
<p>Private 1 would run 100K more than Cal Poly
Private 2 would run 60K more than Cal Poly</p>
<p>This is without loans and associated interest accrual. </p>
<p>Comparative starting salaries showed the privates to be about 5K higher. The math is pretty clear. Not only will D be getting a fantastic education at a school highly valued by employers and recruiters, mom and dad will be able to help with graduate school based on the cost savings.</p>
<p>Some private colleges give a lot of aid. Cal poly and other uc’s do not, they just give loans. At a private college you will get your classes and get out of there in 4 years. That will be pretty tough to do at the public colleges. Private colleges also are EXCELLENT resources for after graduate for job placement and grad school. You get what you put into your college experience, but don’t choose one because it appears cheaper. I got a kid up in cal poly now, its messed up how hard it is to get some classes to graduate. I wish I had looked into private colleges for him instead of assuming they were too expensive. My d got some great scholarship and grant offers from some excellent private schools that make the total cost the same.</p>
<p>As CA residents, Cal Poly will be a total of about $25k/4 years for tuition. Even with great scholarship money, the next college on S’s list would have been $92k/4 years. USC and SCU would have been $160k/4 years.</p>
<p>In this day and age, most kids will go on to graduate school in one form or another. (Masters, PhD, med school, law school) IMO THAT is where one needs to spend the money. Where you go to grad school will have much more of an impact on your future. Both my husband and I have grad degrees .(MD and PhD respectiviely) For him, it was where he completed his internship and residency (UCLA) and then fellowship (UCSD) that was important b/c we wanted to live in socal somewhere between LA and San Diego.</p>
<p>The kids will get a great undergraduate education at CP which will lay the foundation for future plans.</p>
<p>Anne2014, I’m not sure how much your daughter got at the private schools, but if a family is middle income and owns their home (with equity), the CSS Profile takes this into account, hence not making the grant as high as someone with a much lower income or no assets. It’s discouraging to be able to realize the dream of owning a home and making enough money to enjoy a reasonbly comfortable life (but by no means affluent)…only to have it held against you when applying for aid, particularly at an expensive private school. And not everyone gets a merit scholarship. My daughter missed it by a couple of score points.</p>
<p>My daughter got into USC as well as Cal Poly and other publics. Her only other private school is University of the Pacific. She has narrowed it down to USC and CPSLO. However, I think she understands that if she were to choose USC it would mean coming out of undergraduate school with student loans. And this is even before going to grad school which she plans to do. It was also put more of a burden on our family as a whole. One thing about grants is they’re not always renewable at the same rate the next year and beyond. In fact, the loans increase for the next 2 years until senior year, decreasing the grant amount. As does work/study. So even if we were able to swing it her freshman year, there’s always that worry about what’s going to happen in subsequent years. I hate living on the edge like that. Also, we would prefer our daughter doesn’t have to spend her early days as a new freshman hustling around for a job on campus. I hear it can become competitive because so many students are on work/study. At Cal Poly she can take her time and settle in with her class schedule and social life before she begins working.</p>
<p>I believe that an undergraduate education at Cal Poly will be an excellent experience at the fraction of the price we would be paying at USC. My daughter doesn’t need the Trojan family for connections in the career she wishes to pursue. And, even for those who do, they’re probably better off getting a less expensive education elsewhere and then going back to USC for their Master’s or PhD. THAT is what will stand out on a resume. I know some very important people who didn’t even begin their education at a 4 year school and still ended up with an advanced degree from a top rated university in the end.</p>
<p>Bottom line: Cal Poly is an excellent value. Also, I know they’re making a big effort to get kids on track to graduate in 4 years. I realize that some majors (particularly in engineering) will take longer, especially if they choose a minor. CPSLO would still be cheaper than USC even if she took 5 years.</p>
<p>That’s not always true. I know several kids who got grants from the UCs. In fact, we even got over $4,000 freshman year from UC Davis. Yes, the FA package also included some loans. There are students who come from lower income families who have close to a full ride. And there are things like Regent Scholarships, as well. </p>
<p>To add to 2Leashes’s post… UC is pretty generous on grants and scholarships (at least in my situation). I am currently a student at UCD, but I am transferring to Cal Poly this fall. The scholarships and grants that I am receiving at UCD are enough to cover tuition, off campus housing (apartment, sharing room), books, and with change reimbursed to me in cash. At Cal Poly, on the other hand, I am not receiving as much grants and scholarships so I will need to takeout loans in order to get by.</p>
<p>I agree with 2Leashes. While we are not affluent at all, we make a very good living. S has great grades, but not UC Regent Scholarship or USC Presidential Scholarship types of grades. Hence, we are in the middle upper-class that has to pay FULL RIDE for college for our son.</p>
<p>Even with substantail scholarship money at some schools, it was still very expensive. </p>
<p>I grew up on a farm in Indiana and received a full ride to Indiana U which at the time had the no. 3 rated Nursing program in the country. Between academic merit and grants, my dad paid very little. For all the kids out there that get scholarship money, I am very happy for you. I was there once also. :)</p>
<p>BUT the reality is that not all kids receive money. As 2Leashes said, you are penalized for owning your home and/or being able to live a comfortable life. Besides. CP is a fabulous school and I am glad to take advantage of my tax dollars!</p>
<p>Paul Orfalea (Kinko) who is a USC business school grad gave 10 milliom to the CP business school b/c he was so impressed with the program.</p>
<p>As a Cal Poly student, I’ll admit it can be difficult to get classes, sometimes even if you are in an earlier rotation you still will be waitlisted. If I stay at cal poly, I’m pretty sure it will take me more than four years to graduate. However, it’s not entirely the school’s fault. The budget cuts have led to teachers teaching fewer classes and thus fewer classes being offered.</p>
<p>And Alex Spanos, a Stockton self-made billionaire and University of the Pacific alum donated 4 million dollars for Cal Poly SLO’s stadium now called Alex G. Spanos Stadium. He also owns 97% of the San Diego Chargers, for what it’s worth. He must have seen something good in CPSLO to donate that much.</p>
<p>**SDMom56 wrote:</p>
<p>Paul Orfalea (Kinko) who is a USC business school grad gave 10 milliom to the CP business school b/c he was so impressed with the program. **</p>
<p>And my husband went to Stanford and UCLA (MBA) and has *never *made 6 figures in 32 years of teaching. So, it just goes to show you-----> Cal Poly delivers!</p>
<p>**CMcali wrote:</p>
<p>My older brother got his masters in EE at cpslo in 6 years and was making 6 figures within 4 years.**</p>
He must have seen something good in CPSLO to donate that much.</p>