Got all my decisions: it's down to the University of Minnesota vs Cal Poly

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
1

University of Minnesota
Pros:
Got accepted into the college of science and engineering. Only need a 3.2 GPA to get guaranteed my major (I will work really hard so this won’t be an issue)
New location (also applies to cal poly, I’m from Washington)
Very good engineering program
Employers like NASA, Lockheed Martin, JPL, John Hopkins applied physics lab
Cons:
Super cold

Cal Poly:
Pros: California, beach, good school, highest starting salaries of any school (although this might be skewed because living in California is expensive so salaries are higher), more focused on work
Cons:
I strategically applied for manufacturing engineering which has a high acceptance rate so I can easily get into the school and the college of engineering. Getting my major isn’t guaranteed and I would hate to study manufacturing engineering. Only need a 2.0 to switch and it’s relatively easy (for most engineering majors)

Costs are very similar. I want to study aerospace engineering. What school would you suggest?

2

Congratulations, you got into two schools with very good engineering programs. I think the biggest difference between the two are their cultures. UM has undergraduate population of 30K, vs. 19K for SLO, so UM is a bigger school. UM has Div I athletic program so if you like watching B1G football games, UM has it while SLO has a much smaller sports program. The kids that we know who have gone to SLO have all been very well balanced kids. They also enjoy SLO very much. If you’re from Washington, weather may play a factor in where you go also. SLO is located half the distance from Los Angeles and San Francisco, where you can take a road trip on a long weekend.

Strictly from the quality of education, I don’t think you can go wrong. However, if UM is like other research schools, teachings will tend to be more theoretical, while SLO will be more practical, their motto being ‘learn by doing’. That’s why companies love engineering students from SLO. You may also want to confirm that you can change discipline within the engineering school at SLO. Congratulations and best of luck with your choice. Let us know when you decide.

3

How sure are you about this? I doubt it is that easy or it would be a well known strategy with manufacturing having the same MCA as CS.

4

Well my GPA was a 3.97 unweighted with a 33 on my ACT so I don’t think it would be a problem @FarWestCoast
I spoke to Cal Poly engineering advising and they said a lot of people do it. He said that he hasn’t anyone have problems getting the 2.0 nor switching into their desired field

5

It’s not nearly as hard to change majors at SLO as people make it seem. Especially if it is in the same college (ie college of engineering) just keep your GPA up when you get here. You get accepted into the college more than your specific major, from what I’ve heard.

6

@cadave are their rankings similar or is one more well known among employers? Does it even matter?

7

I’m not sure about how they’re ranked by employees, but for engineering programs, ranking isn’t quite as important, especially considering both of your schools are very reputable. Also, UM and SLO are viewed in a different light, with UM offering PhD programs while SLO does not, so US News ranks them in a different category (if you can believe US News ranking in the first place). SLO is compared to programs that offers undergraduate programs (7th in the nation) while UM is ranked for their graduate program (28th). Since both are excellent schools, I would focus on which school you like more based on the intangibles rather than on rankings. Good luck.

8

The thing that will weigh over you at both schools is that your desired path is not guaranteed at either.

Maintaining a 3.2 in engineering is not as easy as it may sound and intangibles like sickness, depression, and lack of focus can easily derail that. The competition will be much more fierce. I’m not in any way saying you can’t do it. The engineering curriculum is hard everywhere. So, there’s some risk at MN.

Changing majors at Poly is absolutely not as easy as simply having a 2.0. There are lots of hoops you have to jump through and the curriculum for admission varies from department to department. Some of it is your pre-admission statistics which involve more than just GPA and test scores. It’s also based on availability within the major you want. With that said, switching probably isn’t as hard as it is made out to be. Again, not guaranteed.

So, it really gets down to what program you like better.

As @cadave has said, they both have good reputations, but are very different.

First Minnesota. On weather alone, MN will be drastically colder than anything you’ve ever experienced in your life. It’s in a good city with lots of city things to do (restaurants, concerts, clubs, etc), but that comes with more traffic, congestion, etc. It has a big time athletic program with tailgating, etc. The class sizes will be much larger at MN with many/most of the labs and discussions taught by graduate assistants. The engineering curriculum doesn’t really start until second year, much like UDub.

SLO is very isolated. Most love that because it’s like being in say Santa Barbara 50 years ago. It isn’t overrun with people, pollution, etc. For a few though, it can feel small. The ones who usually voice this are typically from Orange County. It’s all relative. For me personally, it’s one of the most idyllic places in CA. The weather is always nice, 70s and sunny is the typical report back to us. Class sizes are small to medium all taught by professors including the labs. You start “getting your hands dirty” as a freshman. It’s on the quarter system. You don’t really give up any theory in exchange for the “hands on.” It’s very rigorous, not known for grade inflation. All in all very undergraduate oriented with engineering the jewel in its crown.

With both there will be administrative hassles. You get that with almost all schools now days, but especially state schools. Scheduling classes is an art that is best learned early on. The campus food won’t be great at either. Again, state school. Job placement will be good at both as long as you keep your grades up. A 3.8 from Podunk U has an edge over a 2.2 from MIT in most job searches. You will see more regional recruiters at each respective school. Both will get national recruiters, but if you know you want to work in the Midwest, you will have more opportunities fall into your lap an MN than at CP. The same holds true in reverse if you want to come back west. You’ll see more Tesla, Apple and Boeing recruiters at CP than MN.

In the final analysis, they are both good opportunities. Congratulations. You will do fine at either. Good luck!

9

Academics aside–however, check four year graduation rates as this may make a big difference financially for you.

They are both great places to live, but different. You are from Washington…would you feel more at home at UW or Gonzaga?

Mpls is a beautiful city, if you like Seattle I think you will like Mpls. The University is a sprawling campus in the heart of the city, w/major airport for going home (you will acclimate to the weather, snow beats rain in my opinion).

San Luis Obispo is very different. CA beach/college town where tourists mix w/students (great small town and can’t beat the weather).

What do you prefer?

10

I missed the very last sentence of your post. If you want to do AE (or ME for that matter), that is not a slam dunk major change at Poly. They are the hardest CENG majors to switch into. There are a bunch of things you must do (linked below) including having a 2.75 GPA to be eligible for consideration. Then there’s no guarantee. It’s a mechanism specifically designed to thwart “back dooring” into a very desirable major. You should speak to an aerospace advisor before you commit to CP if Aero is the only degree you’ll be satisfied with. You need to know, that particular switch is uncommon and that you’ll really need to have a bunch of ducks in a row to pull it off. Good luck.

BTW, whoever advised you to choose manufacturing when you wanted aero, did you a disservice.

http://eadvise.calpoly.edu/majors/changing-majors-within-ceng/

11

Take my advice with a grain of salt. I am a bio kid so I don’t know very much about engineering. Personally, I think SLO is the way to go. They have a super good and competitive engineering program so first of all, cheers that you got in. Many of my friends last year who applied to engineering didn’t even get in and they were all pretty competitive, one even having a 36 on their ACT and was in robotics and many other things. You should be excited, happy, and thankful. Second, I know a family friend’s son who is currently a senior at SLO and already got hired at Cisco?, I believe before he is even graduating. SLO graduates I believe has a really good reputation and many companies in California like hiring new graduates from there. Also, California is a more busy and developed state than Minnesota and it is probably easier to find a job here (I’m Californian). So especially if you’re not seeking a graduate education, I recommend going to SLO. To me, I think it is really important that you are clear with what you want to do in the future. In long terms, I feel that SLO is better as it’s probably easier to find a job after graduating. I could be wrong, as this is only what I hear from many people and I only have one case supporting this idea. And as for changing majors, it’s most likely not as easy as you think. Engineering is an extremely popular major, anywhere, including SLO so it really mostly depends on the spots available for you to change majors. Be sure to maintain an above average or high GPA if possible because it will definitely help you outcompete with others when fighting for a spot. I believe if you work hard, don’t slack off, and keep being motivated, anyone can reach their goals! Good luck and let us know what you end up doing!

12

Even if students do want to go to graduate school, they won’t be hindered by going to SLO. If you look at least where engineers end up, they go to top knotch programs including Stanford. Don’t write off graduate school because you choose SLO. It’s a myth.

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What about electrical engineering? @eyemgh and I had a high MCA to begin with. 4800

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@TomS31415, EE is 2.0 and having a 4800 MCA will really help. Just jump through the hoops and keep your grades up. You’ll do fine.

Why didn’t you apply to AE in the first place? That MCA would have almost certainly gotten you directly admitted from OOS.

It’s a long shot but maybe you can call admissions and send of you can switch before you start matriculating. That way you won’t need to do the extra stuff.

Good luck!

15

@eyemgh I looked at aerospace and although I want to preferably work in the aerospace industry, mechanical and electrical engineers can get those jobs too and in other industries as well. So I won’t do aerospace. I was thinking to commit to CPSLO and switch to either EE, GE, or ME

16

@TomS31415, call now and see if you can switch before you start. They likely won’t let you switch to ME, but they might let you switch to GE. As a GE it’s expected you’ll switch, so the barriers are lower, 2.0 for ME for example. Otherwise it’s 2.75. Good luck and congrats! BTW, my son is an ME and he really enjoys it.

17

They didn’t let me switch, although the guy on the phone said it’s very possible since I already know I will be changing my major and as long as I keep my grades up (<2.0, 2.5, or 2.75 depending on the major) I shouldn’t have a problem switching my preferred major. They can’t guarantee it of course, but he said it’s done all the time. I guess I’m committing to Cal Poly! Go Mustangs!

18

@eyemgh thank you so much anyways!

19

Do you like cold, below freezing weather and snow, or do you like sunny, above 60 degree days for 90+% of the year? I grew up around Chicago, and by the time I was 13 I knew I wanted to go to school far, far away because I hated the winter weather. To some people, it is not a big deal, maybe they even like it. But other people, like myself, are effected very negatively by cold. I would suffer from seasonal depression, constant bloody noses due to the dryness, wind burn, and dry skin. All of these things significantly disappeared or nearly disappeared when I moved to California. I realize that it can get fairly cold in Washington, but midwest weather is a different beast. Just a warning.

20

Where did you get your information that SLO has the highest starting salaries of any school? The Department of Education’s CollegeScoreCard website doesn’t even have SLO in the top 100 for salary after graduation.