<p>Why do people even compare Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with UC's? Isn't it just a state school? Or is it some kind of special state school? What is the "poly" in reference to? Is picking it over a UC Davis or UC Santa Barbara common? And finally do people think its as prestigious as UC's? I know that the ideas behind the two schools are different, but when people think of Cal Poly students are they considered as respected and smart as UC Students? Will employers think Cal Poly students are as prestigious as UC's?</p>
<p>I got accepted to Cal Poly, UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara. I got no financial aid. My parents are middle class and barely missed the financial aid bracket. My dad wants me to go to Cal Poly because it will save my family close to $15,000 and he said its pretty much the same as a UC. However my friends say UC's are always better than state schools. </p>
<p>Oh yea im either majoring in engineering, economics, or business.</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO is in a class of its own...and alot of kids are preferring it over UCSB and UCSC. Its above the usual Cal State and I'd do your family a favor a save them the money- you won't regret your decision!</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO is gaining recognition and i believe in a few more years it will be on par with UCSB if not better. i would save the 15k and go to Cal Poly.</p>
<p>Is the difference $15,000 per year or over four years? If it's the former, I would go with Cal Poly, but otherwise go for UCD or UCSB. As Zagat says, Cal Poly is known only for engineering and architecture, and even then it's about on par with the middle UCs (UCSB, UCD, UCI).</p>
<p>first let me say that money shouldn't be the deciding factor when picking colleges. Go to the school that you really want to go to, get a loan and if you prospered in college by the time you get out in the real world and find a job you can pay back the loans and you'll be thankful that you chose the college of your choice. </p>
<p>in terms of prestige, people are always going to think that UC's are better than state schools. the truth is the education offered at Cal Poly SLO is a lot different than what you will get at a UC, but nontheless the education is still top notch and in a league of its on. At Cal Poly you will have hands on experience with your field of study, if you think you learn better this way, then Cal Poly is definately the place to go.</p>
<p>However, if you are more concerned with theory, and if you plan on going to grad school, i would definately go with UCSB or UC Davis. Those schools will get you up and running for grad school.</p>
<p>If you want a straight answer with Cal Poly vs. UC's here it goes: UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD are of course better than Cal Poly. UC Irvine, UCSB, and UC Davis are all around equal to Cal Poly. </p>
<p>Cal Poly is better academically than UC Santa Cruz and Riverside. </p>
<p>I know 15k sounds like a lot, and Cal Poly is a bargain for paying state tuition for UC like prestige, but don't let money be the deciding factor. Visit both schools and decide what feels better.</p>
<p>As for the 15k, I'm saving in total 15k for the 4 years im at college. Ill be saving roughly $3500 to $4000 a year, thats the difference between state tuition and UC tuition. </p>
<p>15k is a lot for my parents. I have 3 younger brothers and sisters, all of which are college bound. Both my parents work at the post office, and make middle class salaries. My dad is working overtime in order to pay my tuition and housing and getting ready to pay my younger brothers college career, one of which is on his way to Berkeley if everything goes right. </p>
<p>We weren't eligable for financial aid at all so my family is really tight with $$$, no more vacations, no new car, so 15k is a huge deal. </p>
<p>I'm either majoring in Electrical Engineering or Business/Economics. I heard Cal Poly was good in engineering and architecture but what about Business? My councelor told me that Cal Poly is really strong in Business and within a few years it will be as highly regarded as their engineering and arch programs. Since its a polytechnic school, Business, Engineering, and Arch are its strong points?</p>
<p>And yes i went to all the schools. UC Davis i hated the most. It was in the middle of nowhere and the weather seems really dry. Cal Poly was kinda nice, but it too is kinda in the middle of nowhere. UCSB was really really nice, had enough 'urban' appeal for me, but was maybe a little to crazy for me socially. I dunno its still a toss up in terms of social life between the schools. </p>
<p>People tell me different things. My brothers girlfriend works in San Francisco for some sort of material processing company and said that they hire Cal Poly undergrads all the time. She went to UC Irvine, but she told me her boss said Cal Poly undergrads were the most favored to him because the engineers were the most well prepared to work.
However my cousins always tell me UC's are always better.</p>
<p>Definately no grad school! Can't afford it, and i want to be done with school by the time I'm 23. I want to be a working engineer or a accountant by the time im that age. Thats another reason my dad is pushing for Cal Poly, but i think hes really motivated by the money savings, which is okay. </p>
<p>My parents never really bought us nice things when we were kids, they just told us to do well in school and that they'll take care of all college expenses. I'm really thankful for that because i see so many of my cousins struggling paying back loans in their mid 20's after graduating. so no grad school for me.</p>
<p>Poly is considered as prestigious as the middle UC's because the selectivity rates are so similar. 3.9/1250 for pretty much all 4 schools. I picked CP over Davis a few years ago because it was less expensive, in a better area, and undergrad-oriented.</p>
<p>While I disagree that money shouldn't be a factor, I do think that $15K is really marginal. As your siblings go to college, your EFC will not change, so if your EFC is $15K, your parents will pay that yearly as the full amount for all of you in college.</p>
<p>It's hard to be succesful without a grad degreee today, so you may well change your mind. Many BS engineering and accounting jobs are being outsourced to other countries. Given that, the best possisble school you can go to undergrad is a good idea. Your counselor can predict what will be all he wants, but outside of engineering and architecture, UCs are way more respected.</p>
<p>zagat what about business/economics/accounting undergrad at cal poly vs. economics at UCSB or UC Davis? UC davis and SB don't offer a "business" major, only economics. so what you are saying is cal poly is a unique school in that its prestige is only in engineering and arch? everthing else is just "blah"? and UC's are all around excellent? i don't know i heard cal poly was weak in humanities but business was relatively strong for undergrad? </p>
<p>about grad school, in 4 years i have no idea what kind of person i'll be or what i'll want to do. honestly right now grad school is not in the picture. 4- 5 years undergrad seems more than enough school for me.</p>
<p>KillaCam, people outside of California heard of Cal Poly SLO. Some told me they never heard of Cal Poly Pomona. But you could get lucky like me and people think Cal Polytechic of Pomona as Cal Tech. I had design job while other MIT students had to do support jobs. Sometimes, luck play a lot in life! So don't worry, go to Cal Poly if money is a problem. You can always apply to graduate school later. I never heard of UC Davis in economics? Don't know about UCSB. However, I heard UCSB school of engineering is pretty good, despite the school reputation as a party school.</p>
<p>It's about time i registered here at cc, I've been reading for awhile. I am a current senior and I am facing a similiar situation. My stats 4.33 weighted, 1340 cum, 1370 best, led me to believe I had a shot at Berkeley or la, and indeed I am appealing berkeley. However all the other schools I applied to were higher than those (eg stanford mit georgtown etc.) Cal Poly and UCSB were my safeties. If I had to do it over I'd apply to more different places. However I am choosing Poly over sb for a couple reasons. First my sister goes to poly and loves it, I have visited her a few times there and it seems like a great place, the people are down to earth. I actually live in Santa Barbara, and I can tell you that the perception of UCSB is that its a decent school however I don't know if you've heard of Isla Vista or IV or as the locals call it HIV. Named for obvious reasons, it might be the biggest turnoff for UCSB. When compared with the beautiful Santa Barbara which UCSB is not actually in, IV is one of the sleaziest places within 50 miles. It is one of the biggest reasons I decided against UCSB because that is where you would be living were you to attend. Cal Poly has a great rep for hires especially in the area, and was dubbed somewhere on the US News site, as being the best school which offers only undergrad. Davis is simply a joke. I think that taggin poly as having only a good architecture and engineering program is not entirely correct but to each his own. Poly has smaller classes, so if you want a 500 person lecture go to ucsb, if you want a class of 30 with personal attention go to poly.</p>
<p>ive been to ucsb, and partied in isla vista and D.P (Del Playa.) And yes there was a lot of stuff going on, a lot of sex, a lot of drugs, but at the same time, there were some pretty chill mellow people around. i don't know, i guess its true isla vista has a lot of things that may be a bad influence on a person but personally i think that i am mature enough to know my limits. </p>
<p>uc davis isnt a joke, really good school. im just not too fond of the area. davis as a town is just boring. </p>
<p>cal poly is a good school, good area, good price. i just hate it when people say, "you picked a state school over a UC!!!" i just wanted some assurance that picking cal poly over a UC is a good choice.</p>
<p>dubyacheney Davis is not a joke, you need to educate your self before you spew ******** like that. </p>
<p>UCD is an excellent school, and has a great Managerial Economics program. If you do econ, I would pick Davis Managerial Econ program over Cal Poly econ program. </p>
<p>Don't listen to dubyacheney. He has no idea what he is talking about.</p>
<p>both are great schools but i think davis and poly are about equal in terms of location....both small college towns. true, davis is in the middle of nowhere but both have an excellent and equal social life.</p>
<p>However I would pick UCSB over Davis for Econ, if you plan to do Econ, I suggest you go to UCSB. They also have an excellent accounting program at UCSB.</p>