Engineering Schools Purdue vs. Cal Poly

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have to decide between these two. I know that Purdue is better overall in engineering, however I haven't received any scholarships or grants so I'm gonna end up spending 16K (in-state) on Cal Poly vs. 30K on Purdue (OOS)</p>

<p>Purdue
Pro's: Purdue has a well-known engineering program all around the country and consistently ranks as one of the top engineering schools. Academics aside, Purdue has great D-I sports teams and has a lot of school spirit, which is important to me since the HS. Also </p>

<p>Con's: The OOS tuition is the big one and I heard West Lafayette isn't the best college town. It also seems like it's in the middle of nowhere as Chicago and Indiana are somewhat far. Purdue is also HUGE with 30 thousand undergrads (Although it's not always a bad thing). </p>

<p>Cal Poly
Pro's: Cal Poly has a good engineering program which is up there with some of the UC's. The classes are smaller and SLO is closer to home. San Luis Obispo is beautiful and is half-way between LA and San Francisco. Also Cal Poly is a relatively small for a public school.</p>

<p>Con's: Cal Poly is not well-known outside of California. Athletics and school spirit leave much to be desired.</p>

<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>bump.......</p>

3

<p>If I were you, I'd go with Cal Poly. Purdue, I don't think, is worth it. If you really want name recognition, why not try the UCs?</p>

<p>As an added note, I wasn't aware of Purdue's supposedly well-known engineering program.</p>

4

<p>Cal Poly seems like the better choice since you save so much money. Also, it has one of the best undergrad engineering programs in the country. I've always been under the impression it was better than Purdue (I am a CP grad, however).</p>

<p>If you really want big time athletics, though, Purdue is in the Big 10. </p>

<p>Keep in mind CP just built a new football stadium if it will assuage any concerns.</p>

5

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=308639%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=308639&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>That link has some discussion of CA schools vs Purdue, and its related to engineering as well. I have a headache and essays to write so Ill just post that for now.</p>

6

<p>
[quote]
Con's: Cal Poly is not well-known outside of California.

[/quote]

This is total BS. Cal Poly is very highly regarded, especially in the Southwest and on the East Coast. Cal Poly is an excellent school.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Athletics and school spirit leave much to be desired.

[/quote]

Also not true. Cal Poly's sports teams are division I and are well supported.</p>

7

<p>When an international student goes to Caltech, everybody thinks they are actually going to Cal Poly. Its well known around the world.</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
As an added note, I wasn't aware of Purdue's supposedly well-known engineering program.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's a very well-known and excellent engineering program, what are you talking about?</p>

9

<p>I think he is saying that he had never heard of it before. It seems self explanatory.</p>

10

<p>jjsoa1,</p>

<p>What you said are mostly correct although I wouldn't put Purdue as "prestigious" in case you meant that when you said "well-known all around the country". Not to take anything away from Purdue, but I'd take Cal Poly considering the cost difference; you can always do a 1-yr master at Berkeley or GATech afterwards (still comes out with more cash left).</p>

11

<p>cal poly purely because of cost, Purdue however if cost were not an issue. Put simply, they have a better name and more recruiters</p>

12

<p>"Cal Poly is very highly regarded, especially in the Southwest and on the East Coast."</p>

<p>I wouldn't go that far. Some might know of Cal Poly. I'm guessing the majority wouldn't, on the East Coast.</p>

<p>"I think he is saying that he had never heard of it before. It seems self explanatory."</p>

<p>lol</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
When an international student goes to Caltech, everybody thinks they are actually going to Cal Poly. Its well known around the world.

[/quote]

This is a joke, right? lol</p>

14

<p>engineering schools are ABET acredited. This means that no matter where you go you will be taking the same courses. Harder versions at top-tier schools, but both of the ones you mention are decent schools.</p>

<p>To me, there are 3 big factors to guide the decision. First, since the curriculum is more or less the same, pick the one that has the advising, types of kids attending, size, finances, etc. that you prefer.</p>

<p>Second, be sure to pick one you'd be happy to attend if you were NOT an engineer. 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"&gt;http://tinyurl.com/buzhg

[/quote]
</a> Third, give some attention to where you want to end up after college. If you're thinking of coming back to CA then far more employers make the trip to Cal Poly from CA than to Purdue. If you're thinking midwest or East coast, then Purdue probably gets the nod.</p>

15

<p>Thanks for the help everyone. Poly does seem like a really great choice. BTW a lot of the things I said were told to me by my physics teacher who is an alumni of Poly, but I'm not taking it as the complete "truth".</p>

16

<p>This is a joke, right? lol</p>

<p>Unfortunately no, it happens. caltech is known by college folk and whatnot. but to the layman its still not well known. </p>

<p>Of course the important people know the difference tho</p>

17

<p>I live in Asia now and I have lots of contacts with business people, alumni and college bound students. I have yet to find many people who know anything about Cal Poly. Btw, I have advanced degrees in ChE and Computer Engineering, and I have worked in the industry for years. I can assure you that Caltech is well known in the business and professional circles.</p>

<p>I'd like to hear your experience.</p>

18

<p>I am from Asia; CalPoly isn't known in Asia but CalTech is.</p>

19

<p>"I'd like to hear your experience."</p>

<p>I took a tour of Caltech when looking for schools to apply to. i talked to some international students, (india was one of the countries for sure) and more than one of them said that their friends back home all think they are going to calpoly. these arent engineering executives we are talkin about here, was just saying people outside of the usa HAVE heard of SLO.</p>