<p>I’m very interested in possibly attending Cal Poly for Computer Science. It seems like a great school for what I’m interested in and I would love to go to school on the other coast. One thing that worries me is the graduation rate. I’ve looked up a couple old threads from a few years back discussing how only approx. 8% of engineering majors graduated in 4 years, with most graduating in 5 or 6.</p>
<p>Has this improved at all? Does anyone know the updated numbers, or how I can get them? Without this issue, I think Cal Poly would be my top choice of the schools I’ve been accepted to thus far. By the end of the school year I should have AP credits for Statistics, European History, US History, Computer Science, Calculus AB, and Microeconomics.</p>
<p>Well a decent amount of engineering majors do the 4 + 1 program at Cal Poly (the combined bachelors/masters degree) so this helps explain the five year graduation rate to an extent. However, it’s true that there are quite a few engineers who take five years to complete an undergrad degree. This is sometimes due to difficulty getting necessary classes (not being able to get into one class that’s a prerequisite for many others can put you back an entire year). They’re working a lot on offering more sections of classes though, so this is slightly less of a problem than it was even a couple years ago. Also, engineering classes aren’t easy, so sometimes people will take fewer units so that they can focus more time on difficult classes and not have to worry as much, even if it puts them behind schedule.</p>
<p>That being said, if you’re not picky about classes (willing to take any teacher at any time of day), and work hard, it is definitely possible to get out of here in four years as an engineer. I know people who have. Having AP credit will be beneficial, since you might be able to take fewer units during quarters when you’re taking more time consuming classes.</p>
<p>My son will be graduating in 4 years this spring, in computer engineering. Several of his friends will be staying for their Master’s, and others will take an extra quarter or two to graduate. A big reason for the extra time is due to having to retake a core class, especially one of the early programming ones. I was surprised at how many students seem to fail the first java and C++ courses. As NTKS17 says, once you miss a pre-req, you get out of the cycle of when the classes are offered for your major and it’s more difficult register for these courses. </p>
<p>If you already have programming experience and/or you’re doing well in Calculus and physics, and if you work hard in all of your courses, it’s possible to graduate in 4 years.</p>
<p>California state schools as a “sector” have crappy four year grad rates. All state schools (CSU & UC) function under a “herd mentality” paradigm. The trade off is the cost. 5 years a any CSU is still MUCH less expensive than a private education. When you factor in travel costs and cal grants and winter gear, the price tag for 5 years at a CSU is about equal to 2 year at an east coast private.</p>
<p>The only AP credits you can get for credit is AP Calculus AB. The rest goes under elective credit which is something you will not need. It is definitely possible to graduate in four years. There is a four year flowchart for that. As stated earlier, most people take less units since the courses can be challenging. For example, I heard that CPE 101 (one of the beginning classes you have to take for computer science) is quite difficult and most people dedicate their time to studying just for that. Taking AP credits and classes at community colleges (see what courses transfer over on <a href=“http://www.assist.org)/%5B/url%5D”>www.assist.org)/</a> Cal Poly classes over the summer will help you graduate in four years as well.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the helpful info, I’m definitely feeling a little bit more comfortable. I’d have to go into it with the idea that I would try to graduate in four years, but would be prepared to graduate in 4 1/2 to 5</p>
<p>Hi frznpixel, I’m not an engineering student, but my oldest graduated from Materials Engineering in 2011. It took him 13 quarters at Cal Poly (4 years + 1 summer). He entered as a freshman with AP credit for Calc 1 and the first class of the engineering Chem series. He also had passed the AP US Gov exam which (back then in 2007) meant he only need 1 unit of California government to meet one of his D area GE classes. (Now CP requires passing scores on BOTH AP US Gov and AP US History in order to receive credit for one of the D area GE’s). He took a full load of 15-18 units every quarter and there were 3 or 4 (?) classes that he had to repeat because of low grades. He did not always get his first choice of professor or time of day, but being flexible allowed him to get everything he needed in 4 years. If he hadn’t needed to repeat any classes he would have graduated in just the 4 years. He went through the June '11 graduation ceremony, then stayed in SLO that summer to finish out 3 GE’s, 2 of which he took at Cuesta (much cheaper!). </p>
<p>One thing I will point out is that my son had to learn to WORK HARD. He was a bright kid who pretty much coasted through high school (SAT 1420/1600). He took AP CHEM in high school and scored a 5 on the AP CHEM exam, then ended up making a D in his first Chem class at CP. He made a 4 on the AP CALC AB exam then made grades of B, D, C (repeat), F, (C repeat), D in the rest of his Cal Poly math classes (he didn’t like math, but loved his MatE classes.) He was put on academic probation twice in his first 2 years, but he rose to the challenge. He had to continually increase his level of effort to levels he never thought would be required for school. Junior year he spent many nights and weekends in the labs working on projects, which was a far cry from his high school experience. He loved his department and feels like he got an excellent education at Cal Poly and is now happily working as a Materials Engineer being paid nicely for all his hard work.</p>
<p>In regards to your original question about graduation rate for Engineering, here’s one of my posts from last year that is now a year older. I think it was in 2010 that I called the office of Institutional Planning and Analysis to get these numbers.</p>
<p>"This may not be the exact info you are looking for, but you may find it helpful.
The 4,5, and 6 year graduation rates for Cal Poly Engineering are 8.2%, 48.5%, and 64.7% respectively according to the Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis at Cal Poly. That means more that one third of the students that begin in Engineering don’t finish Engineering at CP. It is a tough program and I think ME is one of the most demanding.</p>
<p>(These numbers are from a couple of years ago, but more recent numbers are probably similar.)"</p>
<p>Please remember that one of the reasons why students take more than 4 years to graduate is that many Cal Poly students do extended internships and co-ops. Some of these actually pay good money and end up in great job offers. These earnings can offset tuition costs if the student is prudent. These In addition to the 4+1 program and all the excellent reasons above it can take more than 4 years but almost never 6 unless there are extenuating circumstances.</p>
<p>I have also learned from following the UC Berkeley forum that UC considers any summer college courses during college as adding to the 4 years to graduate. If a student at UCB takes a summer class, even though it is not needed to graduate, they are considered to have taken more than 4 years to graduate.</p>
<p>You’d think that all those accepted egineering students, with the impossibly high GPAs, would be excused from most lower level GE classes through AP credits. Does Cal poly not count AP?</p>
<p>cc transfers usually get out quicker than when u start as freshmen. i took 3 years at a cc and i could have gotten done in a year and half at poly but i am taking 2 years. I got 4 quarters to go.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough my kid took a boatload of AP classes and even got 5’s on most of them, but when it came to math and physics, he decided not to use those scores and just take the class anyway. He wanted the refresher. He did use his history and other AP scores. But when it came to anything that affected his major, he did not want to trust what he learned in HS.</p>
<p>I just don’t want to end up worrying more about how I’m going to graduate in four years than actually enjoying what I’m learning and my time there. And as an OOS of state student, I can’t ignore the extra cost of a 5th year.</p>
<p>I’ll try and call the school to find out the four year grad rates for comp. sci specifically.</p>
<p>If you focus early on knocking out your pre-reqs then you put yourself in the best position. Each quarter registration priority is shuffled so that some quarters you will get high priority and others you will get low. Think of the high priority quarters as “silver bullets” and use them wisely. If you have pre-reqs out of the way (which are lower division classes that are usually easier to get) then your silver bullets go a lot farther. Stay on top of things and you will get out on time. A great many of those 60% are folks who didn’t plan ahead.</p>