Choosing Cal Poly over UCSB for Electrical Engineering

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
1

My son’s top two choices are electrical engineering at Cal Poly or UCSB. He was accepted to Cal Poly, and I expect he’ll make it into UCSB and maybe UCLA? Even so, he has committed to Cal Poly and we are all very happy.

UCSB is a great school. I graduated from there myself as a mechanical engineer. And UCSB definitely has some things over Cal Poly. To make our final decision I compiled information from USNews, College Factual, Niche, and Naviance. We have visited Cal Poly three times now, and we go to UCSB all the time because we live nearby. I also took a detailed look at the electrical engineering curriculum for each school.

Data is data, but judging the data is mostly subjective. Other people looking at this same information will make the opposite choice. I’m just sharing this because I it took me time to gather it all -so why not.

ECE PROGRAM
CP is larger, 134 grads to 64 grads.
CP classes look more interesting/practical, and more labs.
CP hall posters are related to undergrads, not research.
CP Engineering buildings are filled with working students, not UCSB.

ATMOSPHERE

Engineering most popular major at CP (27%), not on the list at UCSB.
CP students are relaxed and friendly, majority seem approachable.
- not as much for UCSB, but that’s just my opinion.
UCSB is ranked as a very liberal college, offering more liberal majors.

COST

CP=$26k, UCSB=$35k (could save by living at home).

HOUSING
UCSB housing looks better, CP is probably fine.
CP doesn’t like freshman cars while insisting freshman live on campus.
CP dining halls not as good -maybe, probably fine.
CP makes no effort to match up roommates beyond choice of community.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

CP is 1:20m away, UCSB is 5m away.
Isla Vista is awesome!
Much more crime and drinking at UCSB.
Slightly less girls than boys at CP.
UCSB campus is prettier, Niche: UCSB = A, CP = B-.

RANKINGS & EARNINGS
CP and UCSB ranked similarly, but often in different categories.
Earnings a little higher at CP, at least initially.

So these were generally listed in the order of importance to us - and the choice is pretty clear. Cal Poly here we come!

2

The thing that I find fascinating, that is never found in any of the rankings, is class size and utilization of grad students as TAs. Cal Poly is a rare blend of small school class sizes and no graduate student instruction with big school labs, toys and curriculum. Congrats!

3

Something else to consider, UCs may be facing a shortage of TAs in the foreseeable future 2017/18 grad school rates dropped 20% (crackdown on visas, etc…).

4

@babygroot

Your. son’s reasons for choosing CP over UCSB are sound. I say this as a parent of two UCSB grads and two current students in the CENG (including one EE) at Cal Poly.

Outside of engineering I think UCSB has a lot to offer over CP- particularly for majors in the College of Creative Studies. But, for the engineering student the emphasis on hands on training with early and extensive lab experience is a key advantage of CP. As are the small class sizes taught by professors and not TAs. UCSB is a much more grad student centered university compared to CP. (And UCLA, UCSD, and Cal are even more grad student centered than UCSB.)

The campus buildings are pretty ugly at CP. But, after a week no one cares because the surrounding natural beauty of the area overwhelms the Soviet inspired architecture. The food is pretty nasty, but I am not a fan of the 5 star gourmet offerings at many schools.The fancy food sends the wrong message to what are already a very privileged group of 18 year olds: namely- “you are so special”. Thats right, bad food is good for moral development and serves as an antidote to our epidemic of narcissism! Same for cramped and utilitarian dorm rooms that lack A/C.

Most important: the surf is vastly superior on the central coast though the water is a bit colder.

Good luck!

5

Thank you @eyemgh, @1andonly, and @choroidal for your comments. We are more and more excited about it. @choroidal, I agree with your idea that living through some challenges is good for moral development. And I’m happy to hear that you see some benefits of cal poly engineering after having students at both schools.

6

Hey @babygroot! Thanks for the in-depth analysis of UCSB vs Cal Poly; I’m also a SB local who is also debating on which one I should go to. I was wondering if you knew how good their computer engineering or computer science programs are. I was admitted into software engineering which is one of the only majors that can switch into CS (along with CPE). Also, how are you comparing cal poly’s programs to other schools? I’ve found that many rankings online don’t have cal poly on the same scale because they don’t offer doctorates.

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@brandontat5, You’re welcome. I don’t know much about either school’s CE programs. I do know a friend of mine’s son graduated from CP in CE and got a job right out of school making $110k/yr. So that’s pretty awesome. College Factual says CP CE’s average $71k starting salary compared to UCSB’s $68k.

To compare CP’s and UCSB’s electrical engineering program I looked at the curriculum and the number of labs. You can look at the actual classes you’d take at each school. Not being an electrical engineering, there was only so much I could gleam from looking at the classes. But I did like that there were two EE classes freshman year for CP compared to one for UCSB. I counted 14 EE lab classes at CP compared to 4 at UCSB. These numbers may not be exactly correct, but they are probably close. I also liked the AC power lab they had at CP.

I think the biggest and most important difference between CP and the UC’s is that the UC’s are more about teaching theory and doing research. Where as CP is about teaching theory and teaching practical skills. (We talked to the head of the EE department and he explained that CP spends the same amount of time on theory as the UC’s, but then spends additional time on labs and practical skills.) The professors at CP go to work each day to teach students, whereas many of the professors at UCSB go to work to do research. All that said, I feel that I received a great education for mechanical engineering at UCSB. But I do think I would have benefited from more practical knowledge. So if your goal is to do research, then the UC’s have that advantage. If you want to build things, then CP has that advantage.

Next most important for us, after the educational program, was the atmosphere. We liked that there were plenty of kids working in the engineering buildings. We though people were relaxed and happy - kind of more country like than city like. All of this is subjective, so you just have to visit each school during school hours. We did think UCSB was generally nicer and a more exciting place to be. But the first two trumped the third -for us.

I do agree with @eyemgh who has said many times that you can be happy and successful at any school you choose. It sounds like you have some good choices, so I’m happy for you.

8

A little more about research versus application.

You don’t have to become a researcher if you graduate from a UC. I didn’t and most people probably don’t. The UC philosophy, as I’ve come to understand it, is to prepare students in the theory of the discipline and then they can go on to do research or go into industry where they learn the more practical side. How much of the theory you understand can have a big effect on how far you can go in engineering.

Here is a link to research in computer science at UCSB. It’s about the theory of algorithms, developing new computer architectures, etc. http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/research

The application of computer engineering is closer to the final product. Wikipedia says, “Usual tasks involving computer engineers include writing software and firmware for embedded microcontrollers, designing VLSI chips, designing analog sensors, designing mixed signal circuit boards, and designing operating systems. Computer engineers are also suited for robotics research, which relies heavily on using digital systems to control and monitor electrical systems like motors, communications, and sensors.”

All that may have been obvious, but I just wanted you to understand what research versus application means.

9

I think the biggest thing a student has to decide is how much they value small classes, labs and discussions, ALL taught by instructors with terminal degrees. cal Poly does not use TAs to teach labs and discussion sections. This, along with the practical aspect previously explained by @babygroot, is what sets Cal Poly apart from ALL of the UCs.

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What’s your thoughts on people who think Cal Poly is a second rate school because it’s not a UC?

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@brandontat5 do they hire? If not, who cares? Are you choosing a school to get a good education and employed, or to impress people on /r/ApplyingtoCollege? Check the average salary data on the gov’t college report card https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/search/?degree=b&state=CA&control=public&sort=salary:desc

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@brandontat5, that they don’t have a clue.

The fact that they drool over schools like Berkeley with its giant classes and over reliance on TAs is what truly amazes me.

13

@brandontat5, Honestly I struggle with this myself. But I do agree with @MelloG and @eyemgh.

First I think Cal Poly is in a different league that the other Cal State schools. Maybe I don’t know enough about the other schools, but I think this is true.

Second, it’s not about the school you go to. After your first day on the job, it will be about how well you know your stuff, how well you can apply it, how well you work with others, how well you communicate, etc. No one you work with will consider the school you went to more important than any of these qualities. What ever school you go to should maximize these results.

Third, if you want prestige and respect for your education then a masters degree is more valuable than what school you went to - in my opinion. A masters degree in engineering from any college is more impressive to me than a bachelors from Berkeley or UCLA - my opinion.

UCSB and UCLA do have a certain appeal. You can get a good education from all three.

14

In summary, I think it comes down to four things:

  1. How well will you be taught your field of study,
  2. What will your experience be like,
  3. The prestige of attending the school,
  4. How likely you are to continue on to grad school.

In my view: #1 goes to Cal Poly, #2 probably Cal Poly, #3 goes to UCLA/UCSB, #4 Cal Poly.
Thank you all for putting up with me while I waffled. I’m at ease. => Cal Poly.

15

Funny story, someone was giving me a hard time about going to Calpoly because “it’s a cal state and UC’s are better” according to their UCSB professor parent. It irks me that people have a stigma against going to Calpoly.

16

@brandontat5 my daughter got the same from one of her favorite teachers who is a UCB alumna. It ticked me off too, but it had no impact on my daughter’s wanting to go to SLO. You just have to tune those voices out and pick the school you feel the most comfortable at. That kid and his prof parent aren’t going to be there for you next year if you pick a school for prestige rather than fit and find yourself miserable (like a friend of my son who chose UCLA over cal poly and regretted it).

17

After attending Open houses at Cal Poly and UCSB last weekend (not in Engineering) ~ I can say that the snob appeal at UCSB was a turn off. Cal Poly was able to share the benefits of their programs without putting the UC’s down, which i cannot say regarding the UCSB and their attitude towards the CSU’s.

18

We also attended the Cal Poly open house. It was great. Thanks for sharing your experience at UCSB.

19

Hey there, former Cal Poly Engineer. Now in grad school at an Ivy League university and used to intern at Apple/going to Microsoft soon so I think I can clear up some things from someone who’s had the perspective of being involved in positions of prestige.

  1. The prestige of attending the school,
  • no one cares about what school you went to unless it was Ivy League/MIT/Stanford/Top10. All schools "underneath" just blend in. As in from my experience at tech companies, if I'm hiring, being from UCLA or Cal Poly won't make much difference if you guys have the same work experience/gpa/etc. I would only do the extra double-take if you are from the previously mentioned schools.
  1. How likely you are to continue on to grad school.

*That just depends on how well you did in undergrad. Find where you like the culture most, but consider what research labs exist/your ability to get into those labs as an undergrad.

@babygroot