<p>I was accepted to both with a Civil Engineering major. I know that Cal Poly has a reputation as being a great engineering school, but I didnt care too much for the campus when I visited it. I am visiting Davis tommorrow. What do you think?</p>
<p>They are both good engineering schools with comparable selectivity and prestige. UCD has a PhD program and is more oriented towards theoretical research. Cal Poly is more focused on undergraduate-level instruction and professional practice. </p>
<p>This is obviously a subjective impression, but to me, the UCD campus feels like it has a more "serious" atmosphere, probably because of all the graduate and professional students. Cal Poly is almost entirely for undergraduates (with a few Master's degree candidates) and feels more "relaxed". Note that the undergraduate orientation of the SLO area is boosted even more by the presence of nearby Cuesta College (a JC that sends many students to Cal Poly). </p>
<p>You say you didn't care for the Cal Poly campus, but didn't specify why. Most people would probably regard Cal Poly's location as more attractive. SLO is surrounded by mountains, and is only 10-15 miles from the beaches (Morro Bay to the west and Pismo Beach to the south). Davis is completely flat and surrounded by farmland (good for bicycling though).</p>
<p>Most people would probably regard SLO as a more entertaining college town than Davis. Davis is a bit larger, but there is relatively little going on in town other than the university. SLO is a regional commercial and government center, as well as a college town, so it also has malls, larger bustling downtown, commercial airport, etc. Davis feels more like a big town, whereas SLO feels more like a small city. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if you do want to visit the Big City, Davis is close to Sacramento and not far from the Bay Area. SLO is a long way from LA or SF.</p>
<p>I was in a similar situation a few years ago in that I was deciding between Davis and Cal Poly. However, I was going in as a biology major as opposed to your engineering major. Davis has supposedly the more "prestigious" biology department, but I really liked the CP program and the university as whole. I decided to go to cal poly, where I felt more comfortable.</p>
<p>In your case, CP probably has the more prestigious department, but it seems you didn't like it as much. If you do end up liking davis more, I would suggest you attend. However, I wouldn't make a decision before you at least visit their campus. </p>
<p>One other thing. Cal Poly has an Admitted Student Day and Open House coming up. If you're still undecided after your Davis visit, maybe you should give SLO a second look.</p>
<p>Engineering undergrad programs are acredited by ABET. That means you'll take courses covering the same material no matter where you go. So my advice is pick the school that's a best match in terms of location, type of students, where people live, etc. Since you didn't like Cal Poly then if Davis is ok with you after you visit then you should go there, no question.</p>
<p>And I'd doubly echo the advice about going to the one you like (as opposed to engineering rankings) because the dropout rate in engineering is so high. I have no prediction about what will happen to you, of course, but if we were to look at 100 people who are planning on being engineers then research shows most of them won't make it! According to a trade publication
[quote]
the majority of engineering undergrads drop out or flunk out of the curriculum within the first two years. With a few notable exceptions, U.S. engineering schools typically have attrition rates hovering between one-half and two-thirds.
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/buzhg%5B/url%5D%5B/quote%5D">http://tinyurl.com/buzhg
[/quote]
</a></p>
<p>I am a fairly liberal, open-minded guy and Cal Poly just seemed too conservative. Berkeley was my first choice by a mile, but I was rejected(I am appealing the decision). I am not going to hold my breath on getting into Cal because I know that appeals rarely work, but its worth a shot.</p>
<p>Fair enough, although I'm a pretty progressive person and was very happy at SLO.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Cal Poly just seemed too conservative. Berkeley was my first choice by a mile
[/quote]
You do realize that ANY university on the planet will seem conservative relative to Berkeley, right?</p>
<p>It is true that Cal Poly SLO is one of the least ethnically diverse public universities in the state. According to collegeboard.com, the entering class was 65% White, and the true figure may be even higher, since race was "unreported" for another 10%. Other numbers: 12% Asian, 10% Hispanic, 1% Black.</p>
<p>Davis, for comparison, was 33% White, 43% Asian, 13% Hispanic, 3% Black, 6% unreported.</p>
<p>Another factor of possible interest: Cal Poly students were predominantly male (57%); Davis students were predominantly female (57%).</p>
<p>I am in the exact same situation, except I prefered the SLO campus to the Davis campus. I know both schools have almost equal engineering departments but UC Davis does have that UC title to go along with it and, seems to me like its more geared to going on and doing graduate work. These days it seems like going on to graduate work is becoming more and more needed to get ahead. I'm sure its not too hard to graduate from SLO and go to another school for graduate work.
I live in the Bay Area near Walnut Creek and I always wanted to go to SoCal for my college education (for something different). My first choice would have proably been UCSB (didn't get in though). I've always lived on a hill and near the ocean so I think it'll be hard to live in the town of Davis.</p>
<p><em>bump?</em><em>bump</em></p>
<p>Cal Poly’s predominantly male? Damnit, that almost makes me not want to go there now, haha.</p>
<p>Cal Poly conservative??? </p>
<p>The Cal Polys have a rep for being more “hands on” in engineering. :)</p>
<p>Yes, it tips a little heavier male-wise, but not anything really noticeable. </p>
<p>My niece is at SLO and loves it.</p>
<p>Actually, the Calif state schools aren’t well diverse in general. URMs have a harder time with admittance.</p>
<p>You’d have to handcuff me to go to Davis, location wise, over Cal Poly. What didn’t you like? Did you explore the area?</p>
<p>I would say they are equals in terms of engineering programs and recruitment, so you can jst choose the one you like.</p>
<p>Check the date of the OP…</p>
<p>Why was this thread bumped? </p>
<p>Does Arcadefire need the info?</p>
<p>This is a really old thread from 2007. </p>
<p>Arcadefire: The male/female ratio at Cal Poly is 55/45. That’s not bad at all. Most tech schools are like 70/30.</p>