<p>Anybody else trying to decide between these two for engineering?</p>
<p>No, because UCLA is the obvious choice ;)</p>
<p>Pomona or SLO?</p>
<p>I'm thinking SLO.....</p>
<p>San Luis Obispo</p>
<p>LOL, nobody in their right mind would choose SLO over UCLA...I don't care how far SLO engineering program has come along</p>
<p>Actually quite a few people choose SLO over UCLA for engineering. </p>
<p>Btw, I recently spoke with the owner of an engineering firm who told me he'd just hired two new engineers--one from Cal Poly and one from Cal. He said the cal poly grad was "up and running" and the Cal grad was "coming around and getting up to speed."</p>
<p>So, I'll ask again: UCLA or Cal Poly?</p>
<p>Maybe visit both campuses? Talk to faculty/students?</p>
<p>The best way to decide is to go there and see if one school "fits" you more since that's where you'll be for 4-5 years.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Yes, also have that choice. From what I've heard, CalPoly is much more practical and hands on. That's probably why that employer noted the CalPoly grad was so quick to be "up and running." UCLA (and other UCs) are more theoretical. My guess is, if you want grad school, the UCLA model would probably give a better base. Is that fair, UCLA-ers?</p>
<p>wow, r u kidding me, ucla dudh, ucla is such a better place to be</p>
<p>ucla is a better place to be based on what terms? SLO has a beautiful campus and their engineering program is top notch. I guess its more hands on as well and its theres also a better teacher-student ratio. you should tour both campuses - don't rely on reputation.</p>
<p>it's up to what you want to do AFTER college. i have friends in engineering at CP, and their aim is to get a good-paying job right out of school. a hands-on approach (they're already fully immersed in their majors) is good for that. one of my friends in materials engineering did a project first quarter where he had to build a water heater from scratch. you're not going to find that at UCLA. but if you want grad school after college, then like hiker said, UCLA is the better place to be.
i am in no way an engineer, but from what i can tell, CP starts you right off the bat in engineering classes, while UCLA gives you math and (bio, chem, physics, depending on major) first, then the upper division courses have to do with engineering. but please correct me if i'm mistaken xD</p>
<p>My S was also told it's a very hard to change majors at CP-SLO, since you jump right into your major. If you're SURE you'll like your major, that wouldn't bother you. If you just THINK you'll like your engineering major but want some flexibility, we're told UCLA would be better.</p>
<p>Definitely sticking with engineering at either school, so no problem there.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone (well almost everyone--you know who you are) for your thoughtful and intelligent input.</p>
<p>well since there's more than one engineering major (unless you're doing something like general engineering) i think hiker just wanted to make sure you were informed as to the difficulty of changing majors, even from one engineering major to another engineering major. say, bioE to chemE or materialsE, just to name a few.</p>
<p>Yes, I see what you mean. I have only four data points on the subject.</p>
<p>Know a student at ucla who entered as a life sciences major, realized immediately that he'd made a mistake, took lower division courses for engineering, petitioned in his freshman year, and got into engineering without missing a beat.</p>
<p>Another at UCLA, who transferred there after two years at UCSD, says that as engineering students typically spend the first year (at least, I think) taking math, physics, and calculus, there is no problem with switching from that one engineering discipline you opted for on the application when the time comes to commit.</p>
<p>An engineering student at Cal Poly has decided after his freshman year to transfer to Bus Ad. He was advised that except for taking a few courses at the local JC over the summer, it shouldn't be a problem.</p>
<p>I've also been advised by what I consider to be a very trustworthy source on this forum that the switch from Materials to Mechanical at Cal Poly is not hard to accomplish; he also provided a link on the subject.</p>
<p>always good to know that your bases are covered, should you decide to switch majors ;)
i'm glad you've looked into this! can't hurt. and i always had this (fairly inaccurate) impression that switching majors at cal poly was like... impossible... xD</p>
<p>Maybe within the school of engineering, it's not hard. And maybe from engineering to business isn't hard. (It might just depend on the kind of switch one is looking for.)</p>
<p>I also know a student who wanted psychology, but knew she'd never get in because the major was impacted, so she applied to ornamental horticulture (I don't even know if they offer this anymore--this was some years ago). She was accepted, spent four years trying to transfer to psychology, ended up working on a farm, hated it, quit, went to a very expensive private school and finally ended up with her BS in psychology. She's still paying off the loans...</p>
<p>ouch...
x.x</p>
<p>I'm a freshman engineering student at CP and I wish I had the choice between UCLA and CP. It is true that CP employs a more hands on approach than UCLA, however even if you get a job straight out of UCLA i'm sure it wouldn't be too tough to get up and running as a working engineer. What I believe your choice should come down to is which area you like better. I don't want to sound too negative, but the entire CP campus smells like cow **** at least a few days a week haha. There's a lot of construction going on right now around the school, but even so the campus itself doesn't hold a candle to UCLA. And truth be told, there really isn't much to do around here like there is in LA. I would strongly advise you to check out both campuses, but I definitely favor UCLA overall. </p>
<p>Also, if you are considering going to CP I would register for housing now because it fill up VERY quickly.</p>