<p>Originally I had planned on attending Fresno but I recently got accepted to Cal Poly, and now I'm having a hard time making a decision as to what school to go to.</p>
<p>I'm transferring in as a Psych major and I'm thinking of double majoring or at least getting a minor in Art History. Over all, I'd like to know where both of these stand in those areas, as well as how competitive they are.</p>
<p>Also, can anyone advise me as how realistic it is to commute from LA to Pomona?</p>
<p>Cal Poly</p>
<p>Don’t commute. Live as close to campus as you can.</p>
<p>Where in LA? You will be travelling in the opposite direction of traffic. But, if you are living in LA now, you know that the area does not need an excuse to have a traffic jam in any direction. I suggest that you go to Cal Poly Pomona unless Fresno has some special reputation in your major that I am unaware of. Living close to or on campus may enhance your experience significantly for the better. However, CPP does have a reputation as a commuter school so you will not be alone. A majority of the students and most if not all the professors commute from LA or the surrounding areas. They do have fairly decent on campus housing and are encouraging more students to live on campus.</p>
<p>Thanks hesdjjim, would you mind giving me a reason why you say Poly?</p>
<p>Thanks OsakaDad, Yeah, the plan is to move on campus or eventually near campus if I decide to go to CPP. I really don’t plan on commuting all the time, I just wanted to know what I was getting myself into.</p>
<p>Like OsakaDad, I pretty much had reputation in mind when I said Cal Poly. However, if you like Fresno State better as a college campus, go there. Four years is a long time if you don’t like the school you’re going to. Chances are, they both use the same textbooks, and teach pretty much the same things. Personally, I would spring for Cal Poly, though.</p>
<p>I would choose Pomona personally because I would rather live in Pomona than Fresno. Pomona also has better science programs if you wanted to do a cognitive science vein of psychology. I don’t believe either school has a particularly renowned Art History program, but Pomona is closer to LA museums and art opportunities. Also, the fact that the Claremont colleges are nearby means that there is a greater variety of college-age people you can intermingle with, and more of a scene for young people.</p>
<p>I would also argue that though the rankings of the schools are quite similar, Cal Poly is thought of much more highly when it comes to science programs, and particularly fields like Engineering. For Engineering and other hard sciences, Pomona is fairly competitive. I therefore agree that the reputation of that school is higher. </p>
<p>If you go to either school and want to study Art History, I would suggest trying to transfer out in your junior year to a school with better access to arts and humanities programs. Cal States have pretty good programs for fields like psych, accounting, education, etc., but they aren’t known for their humanities departments.</p>
<p>Both have very low four year graduation rates (under 20%), but both have four year graduation guarantees if you fulfill certain conditions:</p>
<p>[Graduation</a> Pledge | Academic Programs | Cal Poly Pomona](<a href=“http://www.csupomona.edu/~academic/programs/grad_pledge/index.shtml]Graduation”>http://www.csupomona.edu/~academic/programs/grad_pledge/index.shtml)
[California</a> State University, Fresno - Catalog](<a href=“http://www.csufresno.edu/catoffice/current/degreereq.html]California”>http://www.csufresno.edu/catoffice/current/degreereq.html)</p>
<p>Perhaps the most important condition as an entering freshman is that you not need any remedial courses in English and math.</p>
<p>Have you visited each school to get a feel for the environment?</p>
<p>I find that is a really good way to make a decision, especially if you are torn between the two.</p>
<p>As a resident of Fresno I would never advise someone to move here unless you’re planning to do something relating to agriculture. However I have two friends who did their psych undergrad stuff at State and didn’t hate it.</p>
<p>I’m from the Central Valley and transferred to Cal Poly Pomona as a civil engineering major. Although I’m a supporter of Fresno State Bulldogs football, it’s sad to say that Fresno State has an abysmal academic reputation. To put it bluntly: I’d recommend Cal State Stanislaus over Fresno State! Thus, unless you are planning to play Division I athletics in the Mountain West, go to Cal Poly.</p>