<p>Im thinking of going there. Tuition is affordable and it seems to have a good rep. But, it is also pretty isolated from what i hear. Can someone tell me more about this place?</p>
<p>Cal Poly is the most selective and prestigious school in the Cal State system. It is particularly respected for its programs in technical fields like engineering, architecture, and agriculture; a Cal Poly degree in these areas is roughly comparable, in terms of prestige, to a degree from most University of California campuses. Their programs in other areas, such as liberal arts, are generally less prestigious, but still respectable. </p>
<p>The town of San Luis Obispo is relatively small, and is distant from the the major urban centers of California. It is nonetheless a fairly cosmopolitan place, because it is a regional center for business, shopping, education, and government. It is commonly regarded as a fun college town, with a nice climate and convenient access to beaches.</p>
<p>what about pomona? I heard its pretty decent with engineering and architecture (I know its pretty high on this list I saw of the best landscape architecture schools), but besides that its pretty bad, and its in a bad location.. correct?</p>
<p>In general, Cal Poly Pomona (the "other" Cal Poly) has the same strengths as Cal Poly SLO (the "original" Cal Poly). It is somewhat less selective and prestigious than Cal Poly SLO, but it is still one of the top-ranked schools in the Cal State System.</p>
<p>The Cal Poly Pomona campus is located in the sprawling suburbs to the east of LA. There is nothing wrong with the location of the campus: it's on a former Arabian horse ranch tucked between the hills and the freeway (in fact, they still have the horses). The school has a Pomona mailing address, but it is actually at the edge of the City limits, and is not near the grungy urban parts of Pomona. </p>
<p>My impression is that there are big differences in the social atmosphere between the two Cal Polys. Basically, the Pomona campus seems like much more of a "commuter school": students drive there for classes, and then they leave. Unlike SLO, it doesn't have things like a football team or a funky college town scene.</p>
<p>do you think someone from the east coast would feel out of place at one of these schools? I think pomona is like 98% in state people..</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona is largely a commuter school, as noted above. The students there are largely LA-area residents who already know the territory and who go home at night. Any non-LA person might feel out of place.</p>
<p>It's completely different at Cal</a> Poly SLO. Only a small fraction (8%) of Cal Poly students are "locals" (i.e. from the 200-mile stretch of coastline between Monterey and Santa Barbara). The vast majority of SLO students come from larger California metro areas (e.g. SF, LA, SD, Sac, San Joaquin Valley), which are all 150-250 miles away. SLO also has a significant percentage of out-of-staters (8.5%). </p>
<p>The key point with SLO is that the vast majority of the students -- even those from California -- are going to be hundreds of miles from home. SLO may be new and unfamiliar to a student from the east coast, but since it's so far away from the major urban areas, it will be new and unfamiliar to most of the in-state students too.</p>
<p>I agree with Corbett -- Cal Poly Pomona is widely known as a commuter school and Cal Poly SLO will probably provide a much better college atmosphere. While many of my high school friends applied to and are attending Cal Poly SLO, I don't know anyone who applied to Pomona. On the other hand, I think Pomona would be a great match if you are interested in some of the specialized majors they offer there. </p>
<p>There are several other schools in the UC system which are on par with SLO. These include UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, and UC Davis. Also, Cal States like San Diego will provide you with a fun college experience but are considered less prestigious than SLO and Pomona.</p>
<p>most of what is posted above is true but a couple of additional items:</p>
<ol>
<li> while SLO is the most selective in the cal state system it is not very diverse if that is an issue.</li>
<li> while pomona is mostly a commuter school it should be noted that 3,000 students live on campus. that's hardly a small number.</li>
<li> while it is true that many SLO students are from elsewhere that only makes since given the city and area's lack of urban density. the vast majority however are from in state.</li>
<li> while it is true that many of pomona's residents are from its larger metro area many of its students are from other urban centers such as san diego, the bay area, and sacramento.</li>
<li> yes, the southern campus is nowhere near what most people know as pomona. it's really more like walnut or diamond bar. the difference is that the campus has a full working farm with all the livestock.</li>
</ol>
<p>thanks for the input.. I kind of took over this thread lol.. one more thing.. do people at pomona go to claremont a lot and idk I guess like hang out with people from all those college.. and also do people go to LA a lot??</p>
<p>claremont = elite
cal poly = uc reject</p>
<p>maybe they hang out together, i don't know...</p>
<p>As usual, Drj has posted a great response. Actually, almost all the posts above are right on the money. I graduated from poly last june and had can say I had a great experience. The town is a lot fun, the classes are stimulating, and the tuition is low(for in-staters). Almost all the students at SLO got into UC's, btw.</p>
<p>cal poly equals UC rejects????</p>
<p>the vast majority of cal poly students on both campuses rejected UC admit letters to go to one of the poly campuses, including giants8307.</p>
<p>get a clue.</p>
<p>I would doubt that there is much social interaction between the students at Cal Poly Pomona and those at the Claremont Colleges, which are several miles away. There isn't much of a college town scene in Claremont either, and even if there was, I suspect that Cal Poly Pomona students wouldn't be particularly welcomed. The Claremont schools are significantly more selective and prestigious than Cal Poly Pomona, and Pomona College students generally resent the fact that the two schools are routinely confused. </p>
<p>If Cal Poly Pomona students want to hang out in a funky, student-oriented atmosphere, then my guess is that they get on the freeway and drive to Pasadena. You could probably drive there, or to most other cool parts of LA, in 30-60 minutes, depending on location and traffic. </p>
<p>But I don't know whether the students actually do this. You go to Cal Poly Pomona for the classes, not the social life. If you want both, you go to Cal Poly SLO.</p>
<p>One interesting point about Cal Poly Pomona, as mentioned above, is that it is one of the most ethnically diverse schools anywhere, much more so than Cal Poly SLO. According to collegeboard.com, the Pomona campus is almost evenly split between Asian, Hispanic, and white students, while the SLO campus is predominantly white.</p>
<p>very close to true, corbett. to be more precise asians form a plurality on the pomona campus of about 31-32 per cent. next come whites and then hispanics in the high twenties. in all, the so called diverse elements are about 70 per cent, similar to san jose state.</p>
<p>as for claremont you are correct. my wife was a grad student there and taught at cal poly pomona. both groups of students go to funky clubs in pasadena and even in pomona if they don't want to trekk to LA.</p>
<p>"There are several other schools in the UC system which are on par with SLO. These include UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, and UC Davis."</p>
<p>I believe u meen UCSB, UC Davis and UCI. UCSD is leaps and bounds ahead of Cal Poly SLO, as are other first tier UC's UC Berkeley and UCLA. Im not sure why u left UCI off your list of schools equivalent with Cal Poly but put on UCSD. That is very confusing. </p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO equivalents include: UCI, UCSB, UC Davis. </p>
<p>UC's usually considered more prestigious than Cal Poly SLO include UCSD, UCLA, UC Berkeley.</p>
<p>The unspoken pecking-order of California's public university system:
[list=0]
[<em>]UCB, UCLA
[</em>]UCSD
[<em>]UCI, UCD, UCSB, Cal Poly SLO
[</em>]UCSC, UCR, SDSU, SJSU, Cal Poly Pomona
[<em>]UCM, all other CSUs
[</em>]California community colleges
[/list]</p>
<p>agreed, other than SJSU and Cal Poly Pomona should not be there and CSULB should be there. CSULB is ranked significantly higher than san jose state.</p>
<p>UCB, UCLA
UCSD
UCI, UCSB, UCD, Cal Poly SLO
UCSC, UCR, UCM, SDSU, CSULB
Other CSU's and California Community Colleges</p>
<p>ucchris, I didn't intentionally leave UC Irvine off my list, I'm just not as familiar with it as I am with UC SB, Davis, and San Diego. Maybe it's because I'm from norcal, but no one in my high school class (of about 250) chose to attend UC Irvine. Cal Poly was considered much more prestigious, so much so that our valedictorian chose to go there.</p>
<p>to call SLo cosmpolitan is a stretch of the imagination...there is nothing wrong with SLO but it is NOT a major city and is not cosmopolitan. It is a good four hour drive to LA...so, no, students at SLO do not go to LA..... agree that SLO is equivalent to UCI, UC Davis, maybe UCSB....other UCs listed in above post more prestigious if that is what you are after. I live fairly close to SLO and would agree with OP's idea of fairly isolated...</p>
<p>I think i will attend SLO for at least one year to gain residency and because its a lot cheaper than the other Univs.</p>