<p>My son needs to decide whether to take Aerospace Engineering at University of Colorado Boulder or Cal Poly. He is out of state for both so the price difference isn't that great. Welcome any thoughts.</p>
<p>My D is trying to decide same thing for same major - also considering UCSD (we are in CA). We haven’t seen CU yet (she plans to attend admit day), but my S goes to Cal Poly, so we’re familiar with that. SLO is a very hands on program - kids come out with a lot of practical experience. Great weather most the year. Good mountain biking, easy beach access. My son’s largest class had 80 students (psychology), most have about 30. All taught by professors. Has great stats for recruiting in aerospace, starting salaries, etc. For us it is VERY cost effective. They do offer a 4+1 to get Masters. but, my D is not sure she wants to go where her brother goes and also wonders what she’ll do if she decides she doesn’t like aerospace. We have to see what scholarships she gets too…</p>
<p>Thanks LaLew5, very helpful. We will attend the admitted student day as well. Although my son wants a very practical education, the issue of alternatives, if for some reason Aero Engineering doesn’t work out is a consideration in favor of CU. </p>
<p>I assume your son is happy at SLO? If my son goes there, any tips on best housing for example?</p>
<p>BTW, we found out this afternoon that UCSD is not an option :(</p>
<p>At CU they also offer a masters in 5 years in aerospace engineering. You can apply in your junior year and take classes for your masters concurrently in your senior year. That was one thing that appealed to him about CU, that you could get a masters in five years while at UCLA it would take him four and a half years to just earn a bachelors, due to all the budget cuts.</p>
<p>sorry to hear about UCSD - always nice to have lots of choices, but at least the choices your S has are very solid 
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<p>My S loves Cal Poly - couldn’t imagine a better fit for him. Small classes and starting in your major first quarter freshmen year makes it easy to get to know, and get known by, your professors. He loves the setting - temperate climate, would be THE perfect school if he could be as close to the slopes as he is to the beach.</p>
<p>He got placed in a triple last year (3 boys in a dorm room built for 2). Was very “cozy” but they made it work, and in fact are living together this year (Poly Canyon on campus apartments) and plan to live together next year. There are two main options for dorms - living by college (e.g., with other students from your college) or across college. My S live by college in the “red brick” dorms, and they were very centrally located (but other dorms are only a block or so away).</p>
<p>His only complaint was food - not so much quality but quantity. Unlike many colleges were its all you can eat once you “swipe” in, Cal Poly dining is meal based and for my son, it wasn’t enough. He’s tall, thin and very active so had to keep food in the dorm for breakfast, etc.</p>
<p>We’ll wait to see what my D decides (a lot will depend on scholarships from CU). I’m confident you can’t go wrong with either school.</p>
<p>A post to let interested readers know that our son choose CU Boulder and it has worked out very, very well. He has just learned that he has been accepted to the BS/MS program which allows him to get his masters in five years (requires a 3.25 gpa). He does complain that it seems the engineering school. at least for aerospace, is always in ‘weeding’ mode. Despite the challenging academics, he has and will participate in a range of great extra c. activities. </p>