I just got off the waitlist for SLO and I don’t know which to pick. My major is chemistry and cost is about the same because I got a scholarship from Chapman. I really like the LA area a lot but I like San Luis Obispo too. Everyone says SLO is the better school, but it technically doesn’t rank higher and if I go to SLO now I don’t get priority housing.
Which is better?
Chapman has some advantages, but it isn’t known as a school for STEM. According to College Navigator, Chapman issued 1,657 bachelor’s degrees in 2016-17. About two-thirds were in the general fields of business, communications, or arts. But the numbers for STEM degrees were tiny – for example, 4 bachelor’s degrees in chemistry, 3 in physics, and 4 in engineering, with zero graduate degrees. It doesn’t get too much smaller than that. It’s possible that you got the scholarship because they would like to recruit more science majors.
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=chapman&s=all&id=111948#programs
In contrast, I think it’s safe to say that Cal Poly does have a reputation for STEM. For me, Cal Poly would be the no-brainer pick here for a field like chemistry, physics, or engineering.
Chapman doesn’t appear to be on the list of undergraduate chemistry programs approved by the American Chemical Society. This accreditation is is technically optional, but in practice it’s something that most well-known universities (and even small liberal arts colleges, like Occidental or Whittier) have.
https://webapplications.acs.org/Applications/CPTASL/app_list_results.cfm?STATE_CODE=CA
Since Chapman’s chemistry program apparently lacks the ACS “seal of approval”, you might want to do your own research to make sure that it has sufficient size and resources for your needs.