<p>I've been accepted to both schools but can't seem to be able to make up my mind.I'm also really unsure on which will better prepare me to get a good job afterwards. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Here's my take:</p>
<p>Chapman
-Expensive( but received 22k grant)
-Close to home(good and bad)
-Nice campus/cool surrounding area( but live 10 minutes away so its nothing really new to me)
-Not sure how it is ranked/thought of for business
-Small classes
-They have a 4+1 MBA program</p>
<p>Cal Poly Slo
-Cheaper
-Nice campus/cool surrounding area
-Hands on learning
-Good job placement
-Lots of outdoorsy stuff to do</p>
<p>I’d go with Cal Poly SLO. I believe it’ll open more doors for you as its “brand” is very, very strong (some may say as strong as the UC’s), but ymmv and the Californian parents here will chime in.
My primary reason though is cost: Chapman is an excellent school but if it’s more expensive, it’s not worth paying more for it than for SLO. Caveat: you may need 5 years to graduate from Cal Poly SLO.</p>
<p>We are in state; my son was accepted into UC Santa Barbara and San Diego State (honors college), as well as Chapman. Well guess what – with the merit award, Chapman cost LESS than either of those schools. My son chose Chapman, and he’ll graduate easily in 4 years. Plus, students are welcome to take classes over the winter break at no additional cost, and they can stay in their student housing and eat on campus using their meal plan…no extra cost. </p>
<p>The business school at Chapman is quite good (and hard to get in to), so congratulations on your acceptance. Now if you were majoring in architecture, as one of my son’s friends is at SLO, I would say yes, hands down, pick SLO. But business? Compare the cost including your merit award and factoring in the difficulty you may have getting out in 4 years at each school. </p>
<p>Can you give us exact costs (not amount of scholarship, but cost out of pocket, AFTER scholarships/grants but before any loan)?</p>
<p>Multiply by 5 for SLO to get total cost since it doesn’t seem to have the 4-year pledge guarantee.</p>
<p>Longrangeplan: it’s cool Chapman costs less than UCSB and SDSU for your son, and congratulations on the merit award. However, in this case, the student got $22,000 (which is average for Chapman,) and since COA is above $65,000, OP would still have over $40,000 to pay each year. We don’t know for sure until OP gives us numbers, but it looks like Chapman would cost about double SLO and it’s not worth that much more money, especially with how strong SLO’s quality and reputation is.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice! With the scholarship I would end up paying about $35,469/year for chapman and the estimated cost for cal poly would be $24,360/year? As far as education goes, what would be the better school for business. I could always live at home and go to chapman if it was really worth it.</p>
<p>Cal POly’s business school is highly respected and very hard to get into.
Chapman is good too, especially the small classes, but not worth the cost difference.
How about you go spend an overnight at each - attend a class, eat in the cafeteria, read the campus paper, talk with students…</p>
<p>Okay thanks I’ll be taking a tour next week at Chapman. I’m still a little confused though because I’ve talked to a lot of people about it and each person has a different answer on which school is better. If money was of no concern which school would better prepare me/ look better to future employers?</p>
<p>Spend a day on each campus. Find out where you will be happy. Don’t think about staying at home. You will miss out on your college experience. This is not a business equation. It should be the best four years of your life. </p>
<p>There is not going to be a huge difference for your career. Cal Poly is very focused on projects and internships. Just try hard to land them to enhance your program. Don’t live at home. Get the away experience.</p>