Our Junior in Colorado is exploring some CA engineering schools for mechanical engineering. Any feedback on the placement, process, scholarships for the following two and recommendations for others would be greatly appreciated: Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Ibispo.
Additionally our son is exploring DII or DIII soccer. We don’t know any solid CA DIII engineering / soccer programs and would appreciate your comments.
Many thanks!
California public schools (UC’s and Cal states) give little to no financial aid for out of state students and merit aid is rare and extremely competitive. Expect to be full pay at these schools as non-athletic recruit.
Athletic recruits may be different but I cannot comment. If you are looking for merit aid, then California private schools are where you might want to look.
if he really wants to play NCAA Soccer, you probably should reach out to the coaches and see what their program is all about and what it takes to make the team and participate. I wouldn’t expect much of a scholarship nor much of a relaxation of the admissions bar. I’d also caution, it is a really time consuming endeavor and many find it incomparable with a STEM major . Be sure he likes the school first and foremost.
Since you are in CO, (where my son attends Ft Lewis) you should be aware of the WUE program - it offers students from Western states a big discount on tuition at some of their public colleges - CO, NV, OR, ID and CA are among the participants.
https://wuesavingsfinder.wiche.edu/search-results.php
CP Pomona, Chico, Sac and UC Merced are among the participating schools in CA with very credible engineering programs. Nearby are UNR, Boise State and Or Inst of Tech. are also worth a look. Sorry, I don’t have a good sense for their soccer programs.
CP SLO is a great but very selective school - like 4.1 /1450 competitive and no WUE which makes it crazy expensive too.
Depending on your budget and the kids stats and other interests, USD, LMU, Santa Clara could be worth a look.
good luck
Please understand that being a D2 or D3 program does not make the soccer less talented, or the team easier to make. If you look at the rosters of most teams they are full of Academy level players, and a lot of international players.
Have you looked at all the Colorado schools? Mesa, School of Mines, CSU? I think you are going to find the best financial deals instate, and maybe the best club level soccer too.