That’s because Wheeler Hall only holds 750. They have to overflow into video feed classes. It’s now just under 2000. But don’t believe the tired stereotype. 
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He got invite to apply for SEED program. I am asking him to apply(2 more essays).
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Sure by all means use a 4 yr old article to evaluate for a cycle for which CS enrollment has been reduced 80% and the major has been made direct admit.
You can harp on the tired tropes or recognize the amazing quality of the classes.
The app has a rapid turnaround but it’s a pretty good program if he is inclined to do research. Keep in mind he will need to spend this summer at Cal if he pursues SEED.
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Go with SLO. why work harder than needed to get the same knowledge and outcome!?
Is it CS in the EECS dept or it involves taking EE courses?
Hey now, no SLO / Cal infighting, friends! 
Both great schools, and so exciting to have the choice! Been following this journey for @smbayguy for a few months and just so happy for you!
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Oh I’m a big fan of SLO but don’t have patience for lazy analysis that’s disconnected from the reality at Cal. I can advocate for Cal without opining on things about SLO that I have no direct or recent knowledge of.
I’m just messing with you. As I said, both schools are very good, place grads in desired, high paying jobs and go about it via a completely different experience.
If it was my family, I’d go back and spend a full day at each, getting the vibe, talking to students and professors.
I wouldn’t count on it being easy. They do a lot of programming!
He’s a direct admit to EECS and his primary major was CS. His acceptance letter didnt indicate major but I am positive that he got in for CS only.
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He wanted to work whole summer as Lifeguard and save money for college. I will ask him to weigh benefits of SEEDS program.
He committed to be a counselor for American Legion Boys State program in summer and need to check dates.
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EECS majors take a set of lower division EE and CS courses, and can choose between EE, CS, or a mix of courses for upper division courses. Based on enrollment numbers of ELENG and COMPSCI classes which can be found at https://classes.berkeley.edu , it looks like CS is much more popular than EE these days.
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Mainly because every engineering major has a programming equirement with the choice of CS 61A or E7 (Matlab). Almost ever engineering major takes CS 61A. Same goes for most non-CS L&S majors (Math, Stats, DS etc.) - they all end up taking the lower division CS classes.
Of the EE classes, the only classes that get attention from the non-EECS kids tend to be 16A, 16B, 126, and 127.
The link posted where you can directly view reserved seats says 61a has 1400 reserved seats. That’s Fall 2023. Do you dispute what UCB published? This is a WELL known and famous class. They have that many seats because that many people want to take it. I said nothing more than it is a giant class. It is. It will be a very different experience than Cal Poly. There’s no way around that fact. It isn’t some stereotype.
Circling back to what I said before, the OP and their son should visit again. We can opine all we want about which is better. By any objective measure though they’re both very good and very different.
I was mainly referring to the differences in enrollment between upper division ELENG and COMPSCI courses, not the lower division ones that all EECS majors and students in some other majors take.
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Since you want to be very technical about this, let me just say that on a lecture by lecture basis you will get <500 students attending both in person and online. You can walk into the lecture hall and pick your seat. My son was in the top quartile of that class and he has never went to a single lecture for any of his CS classes so far. Most kids simply review recorded videos and review slides.
As I mentioned in my initial response, the real action and learning happens in <35 discussion and lab sections + 1:1 interactions with the large course staff during office hours. I’m not even arguing that Cal is better than X.
All I’m saying is that the students at Cal who are in these classes know and can vouch for the excellent administration of the classes, and the value they add, and a simple “large class so you are just a number” characterization is just not representative of the actual student experience.
OPs son has been admitted to the #1 CS program that punches even with schools with vastly more resources such as Stanford and MIT, and I would hate the unrepresentative stereotyping to scare them off. Perhaps a different program is the best fit for their student but again I generally think folks should provide insight about the programs they know best rather than repeating a perception about other schools without having first hand experience.
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For most students, I don’t think that class size matters as long as they are managed well. Some of our son’s favorite CS classes at Stanford were both huge and well run. He loved them.
Cal and SLO are very different but you have the luxury of being able to do a side by side comparison.
Son is running an Instagram poll on where he should attend 
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Even though you know I’m a big Cal Poly fan, that’s what I keep advocating for. The class size remark was really a tongue in cheek response to the “not intending to start a firestorm…I think he should come to Cal” post. CS is different than engineering. It lends itself better to larger classes, even MOOCs.
I’m advocating not for CP, but to go see. Spend a full day at each. They are both very good, and so different. The top three employers are the same, Apple, Google and Amazon. The money will be similar.
It seems like it would revolve around how the OPs son wants to spend his 4 years. Not only are the teaching styles going to be different, neither predicting better outcomes than the other, but the settings and intangible opportunities are different.
The Bay has vibrant city life, but worse traffic and homelessness. SLO is in an idyllic beach town, but for some can feel isolated. Cal has big time athletics. Cal Poly doesn’t, unless you love soccer, and even then, only the UCSB game will rival the experience of a FCS football game.
In the end, the OP’s so should go with his gut and it will be the right call.
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That’s a great way to make life decisions 
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We are visiting Cal Poly for admitted students day and will visit UCB also. He cannot attend Cal Day on April 22nd but will schedule something. He has seniors from his HS at UCB.
Main concern would be finances. If he’s at Cal, he can commute from home for years 2-4 if needed.
I have DS24 who will start applying this August and he’s also in Engineering pathway.
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