<p>So right now I'm not sure what I want to major in, although I'm mostly considering something like economics, business, or engineering.</p>
<p>I love playing sports like Ultimate Frisbee, and just working out in general. I care a lot about academics, but I still want to be at a school with awesome parties/dances etc. to go to. </p>
<p>I really like the beach/ocean too. </p>
<p>So I've been to UCSD but I haven't visited Cal Poly yet. I'd hate to ask my parents to fly me there if there it's unlikely I'll want to go there.</p>
<p>So it would be great if you could help me out. Thanks.</p>
<p>what’s your financial aid like? The main advantage of SLO is that it’s much cheaper than UCSD (although this probably comes at the expense of a small drop in quality by attending SLO as opposed to UCSD)</p>
<p>No aid from UCSD. Cal Poly has offered like 2k a year. In the grand sceme of things, paying out of state tuition though, it’s a small chip in a large bill (although my parents may move to California soon so I’d get in-state at some point)</p>
<p>But for the purposes of this let’s ignore cost because my #1 priority is to choose a university that I’ll be happy with academically and socially for 4 years.</p>
<p>ok ill tell it to you like this. I live in SD and been to UCSD, actually I just got accepted there. But, im going to deny it and most likely go to UCSC. UCSD is a SOCIALLY DEAD campus, even with its 22k undergrads. This means that on weekends, no one is outside on the campus. No campus parties. 40 percent are asian, so if your not asian you might have a hard to fitting in. Its very competitive, mean that lets say your in a class and you ask a classmate for notes they might not give it to you, cuz of the competition enviornment at the school. That being said, campus is beautiful, city is beautiful, beach right next to it. Go to UCSD if you value education more than social enviornment (for me I picked social enviornment). </p>
<p>Cal Poly. Ive also been to cal poly. Campus was alright but nothing special, UCSD has the advantage there. EVERYONE, and i say everyone is like super nice. Moslty whites though. Its a party school, so like social scene is awesome, everyone parties on the weekend. City is VERY VERY nice though, kind of a college town feel to it. UCSD is no college town. This was kinda weird for me, idk if it will for you. Like in the city it might seem kind of… idk southern? like youll see people with overalls and youll see farms and stuff. But like 5 minutes away its a total SOCAL feel as you get towards the beach, if that makes sense. If i were you id pick to live in SLO. UCSD is just too big to have a social life, and the people there just stick to themselves you know? I say ask your parents to fly down there because its worth it to know what it will be like to spend the next 4 years at. My friend DJS up there and he parties hard.</p>
<p>Final Analysis:
UCSD: Has NO social life but a GREAT education system
Cal Poly: Raging social life, alright education system.</p>
<p>Good luck bro just analyze what type of person you are.</p>
<p>oh but i must add that UCSD is about 15 mins from downtown SD where you can get a great social experience. Also, SDSU is like 20-25 minutes away and thats a HUGH party school. they call it STDSU, the girls there are pretty easy if thats what your worried about(girls arent everything though) So you could subsitute social life by being outside the campus. Kinda sucks you gotta pay outta state thats a fat number, cal poly will be cheaper (tuition at UCSD about 30k)</p>
<p>^^ UCSD: Has NO social life but a GREAT education system
Cal Poly: Raging social life, alright education system.</p>
<p>I agree with much of what Dremaniac says but I am in complete and total disagreement with this assessment about Cal Poly having an “alright education system”. Cal Poly is very rigorous academically and has an amazing “Learn by Doing” teaching methodology. My kid chose Cal Poly over UCSD for Mechanical Engineering. We absolutely love the school and feel it is a perfect match for our son.</p>
<p>Having said that, in your specific case, I would choose UCSD. The reason is that you are unsure of your major. You say that you would like to major in economics, business, or engineering. At Cal Poly, they hit you with your major in the very first week of your freshman year. It is fairly easy to change majors within your department (for example, ME to GENE or EE), but very challenging to change majors between colleges (for example from Business to Engineering).</p>
<p>At UCSD, you will be required to go through a couple of years of general requirements and it may be easier to float between majors until you decide what you want.</p>
<p>Cal Poly is for folks that have at clear direction for their major. You don’t have to be completely sure of it. But you should have narrowed down, at the very least, to a strong departmental focus i.e. Engineering or Business not both. You need to do more research.</p>
<p>(By the way, I am a HUGE Cal Poly fan – but, if you are unsure of your major it will be a problem at the school.)</p>
<p>If you are undecided between several majors, check each school to see how difficult it is administratively to change major (e.g. at some schools, majors may be close to “full”, so you may have to apply into a competitive admission process to change major).</p>
<p>But be aware that engineering requires starting on the major from the beginning (math and physics at least), so if you go through freshman year without taking the needed courses, you may not be able to switch into engineering without delaying graduation, if they even let you into the major.</p>
<p>And be aware that Cal Poly has an abysmal 4-year graduation rate, so you are likely to spend at least 5-years on campus. (And factor in the costs, accordingly.)</p>
<p>Moreover, ucb raises an excellent point. One cannot just ‘transfer’ into engineering from arts & sciences. At some California public campuses, it is darn near impossible. So, if you have not been accepted by the Eng program at SD or SLO, you might inquire if it is even a realistic possibility. Otherwise, econ could be looking good.</p>
<p>fwiw: IMO paying OOS rates to attend either for biz or econ is foolish. What about your instate public? (Or are you an international? If the latter, you’ll need the UC prestige.)</p>
<p>Total agreement with post #7 & #8. However, I will add that graduation from UCSD in 4 years without a specific idea of major is also going to be a challenge too. At Cal Poly give yourself 4.5 to 5 years depending on your course load and how many classes you can handle at once. A lot of kids do graduate in 4 years, but especially in engineering it can be a challenge. The issue is not impacted classes as much as people think. My kid has gotten everything that he needs. Maybe not the specific teacher he wants – but he has always gotten the class. It has more to do with the coursework just being challenging and doing 16 to 18 credits a quarter is really hard to sustain for 4 years straight. Especially if you are doing internships and co-ops at the same time. I think that is one of the primary reasons why kids take longer to graduate. Some co-ops, which can be very well paid and often end up in a job offer, can take a whole summer or an entire quarter. I know some kids that actually took the equivalent of a sabbatical to work in industry while at Cal Poly. It is a different kind of school.</p>
<p>Again, for you UCSD may be the better choice. But, I agree that you should look closer to home if money is a concern as bluebayou suggested.</p>
<p>I just attended Open House for Cal Poly and they say that many students (for obvious reasons) are trying to get out in 4 years nowadays with tuition hikes, etc. You essentially have to average about 16 units/quarter but the main reason why many dont graduate on time is because of internships, clubs, etc. Summer school is always an option too so it is doable. </p>
<p>Personally, I feel undergrad at Cal Poly cant be beat for certain majors in cali.</p>
<p>You mind telling us what’s your intended major?
Are you choosing UCSC over UCSD solely for social reasons? </p>
<p>@OP</p>
<p>My school research indicates that engineering, architecture, biz, and agriculture, Cal Poly is most definitely either match or superior to the mid-tier UCs (UCSB/D/I) and perhaps UCSD too. School name wise, Cal Poly is seen equal to the mid-tier UCs and for sure way better than the lower tier UCs (UCR/M/SC).</p>
<p>Environment wise it totally rocks. As mentioned earlier it is Socal meets Southern-ish feel with the Pacific coast as a backdrop. It sort of eclectic but in a good way and with very nice natural surrounding. </p>
<p>Plus, I actually like the CP campus. I think it is nice, its not very East coast Ivy-ish campus but still very nice. I loved the open air expansive feel, with a large campus but not packed with 40k+ students like Cal.</p>
<p>63% of Cal Poly SLO undergraduates are white in the latest common data set.</p>
<p>Yes, how weird is that, a school in California with a lot of engineering majors where Asian Americans are actually underrepresented (relative to California’s population) among undergraduates?</p>
<p>actually I take back my last statement. It isn’t so weird when you see that slo (the region) is 85% white. And given that CSU’s, I believe, take many locals, it makes sense.</p>
<p>So after going to UCSD for their open house/admitted students day I was feeling pretty good about it. But as I read more, UCSD seems to be consistently described as “socially dead.” </p>
<p>Now, don’t get me wrong, I care a lot about academics, but I still want to have the opportunities to go to wild parties on Friday nights/weekends. Also, as I think about it, when I was visiting UCSD there were a lot of people walking around because of the open house, and it may have been an exaggeration of the social scene there.</p>
<p>There are a lot of parties at UCSD, you just have to look for them. The social life at SD isn’t just handed out like at other schools, you have to look for it. That being said, San Diego and its numerous party colleges are within driving distance, so it’s relatively easy to party. It has a social life, you just have to find it.</p>
<p>Don’t count on in state tuition if your parents move AFTER you turn 18. It seems UCSD might be a better choice if you are not fairly certain about an engineering major.</p>