<p>I am an out of stater (live in Illinois) who is looking to do aerospace or mechanical engineering. I have been accepted to aerospace eng majors at Cal Poly, UIUC, GA Tech, as well as several other less-prestigious universities. My dilemma comes from cost, location, and how well respected the school is. While I realize UIllinois is a little more respected than Cal Poly, I simply cannot live in Urbana/Champaign for four years. It is one of the trashiest, run down, ghetto college towns in the nation IMO, and there is nowhere to go and nothing to do there. I also live an hour away, which I feel is too close to home. Cal poly is my first choice, even though it will be roughly $10k more a year. (I already get half tution at UIUC…) I feel that is definitely worth the location and experience I will gain in SLO. </p>
<p>Am I making a huge mistake here? How does Cal Poly rank with UIUC?</p>
<p>Well, if you want to work in California, Cal Poly has an excellent reputation. My brother in law is a computer engineer who majored in EE at MIT and has worked in Northern California for almost 30 years. I asked him about a number of schools. He said he has worked with many, many Cal Poly grads and thinks they are very well prepared. I have heard this over and over again. Nationally, I think Cal Poly is gaining recognition as well, but I can’t say for sure. But as far as California employers, I bet you’d get an interview faster with a Cal Poly degree than most schools.</p>
<p>Well its good to know that it is a respectable school in California, and is still gaining recognition. Ideally I would be working for an aerospace firm, or even Boeing or Lockheed, etc. I don’t know where their major locations are but I assume there are plenty in Cali. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience with how employers would view a Cal Poly grad vs a UIUC or GA tech grad?</p>
<p>Also, my main disgust for UIUC comes from the sheer size of it and the town that it is in. I realize Cal Poly is also in a fairly small, college town, but I feel like there is so much more to do there than in urbana/champaign. I’ve lived in Illinois all my life, and besides Chicago, you’re not going to find anything to do here, much less in the middle of nowhere in Urbana. I assume there is always something to do in SLO? Mountains to hike? Horses to ride? Beeches to visit? How often do students get to LA or SanFran? Do they mostly just stay on campus?</p>
<p>People go home (LA or Bay Area) on the weekends and breaks. There is always something to do in EVERY single campus. It just depends on what you like to do…</p>
<p>Cal Poly has a great location if you want internships and such… a lot of companies are based in calfornia. Also, the teaching style might be different as well…
I know at SLO, they focus more on making sure you will be able to enter the work force and KNOW what you’re doing, rather than teach you stuff more geared towards research/development/masters degree/etc. I’m not too sure about UIUC… maybe you should sit in on a couple classes there since you’re so close. It depends I guess on what you want to do afterwards, but know that after graduating from SLO, you will not have such a hard time transitioning to your job. the classes are very career-oriented. really prepares you well.
SLO has a great reputation for preparing their kids for jobs, so companies love to hire SLO grads that are right out of college. You should call the offices and see what the job placement rates are for their grad students. At SLO, for electircal engineering at least, the placement rate is VERYY high. It makes a big difference. Compare that to a lot of UC schools- even though some UC schools have better reputations, at the end of the day, it all depends on whether they can find a job or not, and some UCs dont have very high job placement rates at all… and then after you find a job, nobody cares about where you went to college anymore. Its all about where you worked, how many years, what you did, etc. </p>
<p>Then again, since I live in cali, I am not too familiar with UIUC. I know that is a great college as well. Cant go wrong with either of them. </p>
<p>I’m also from Illinois and I go to Cal Poly now. For the last few years, I really wanted to get out of Illinois. But now that I go to school 2000 miles away, I always wish I could go home more often than once a quarter and I’m seriously beginning to consider transferring schools. But anyway, if you really hate Il. Champaign-Urbana, and you don’t think you’ll be happy there, then Cal Poly would probably be a better choice. San Luis Obispo is also kind of isolated. It’s a small town, and honestly people usually only go to L.A. or San Francisco over long weekends and breaks. It’s a lot easier to go places if you have a car though. Most of the people are very nice and friendly, but I grew up in a different type of area and closer to a big city so I don’t really feel like I completely fit in.</p>
<p>There’s a big difference between being “isolated” at Cal Poly compared to the middle of a midwestern cornfield, as an example. Just the immediate area surrounding SLO is beautiful and offers everything from mountain hiking to hanging out on the beach. For those of drinking age there are the numerous wineries. And the downtown is vibrant with several stores that appeal to college kids. UC Santa Barbara is just up the highway and you can hop on AMTRAK if you want to go down to LA or up to San Francisco.</p>
<p>"do you think I would regret passing up a UIUC education to go to Cal Poly? Is it a stupid decision? "</p>
<p>Yes, very stupid. Georgia Tech and Illini are world-ranked and extremely prestigious research-intensive universities with huge financial endowments, hence, light years ahead of Cal Poly SLO. Since you are asking this question maybe you should go to SLO.</p>
<p>As someone who lives in California and previously lived in Illinois. It really depends on where you want your career to be. You know U of I is huge in Illinois. According to US News and World Report it’s ranked pretty high. If you’re seeking a job after college in CA. SLO may be for you. Unfortunately SLO is not ranked. I’m surpised you’re not considering Purdue. My father-in-law was an aerospace engineer for 30 years and has always spoke highly of Purdue engineers. I also understand what you say about Illinois campus. I’ve been to alot of colleges and have never seen anything so huge. Even driving in a car takes awhile to go around the whole campus. My daughter was accepted there last year but, decided to stay in CA. I wish you well, either school will be fine for you.</p>
<p>Lorilc: Cal poly is indeed ranked, but not in the National University category. It is consistently at the top of the Regional University lists and stacks up extremely well in undergrad engineering categories.</p>
It depends I guess on what you want to do afterwards, but know that after graduating from SLO, you will not have such a hard time transitioning to your job. the classes are very career-oriented. really prepares you well.