I just got accepted to Cal Poly SLO and I was interested to hear the opinions of anyone that has gone there, or parents whose children have gone there.
Students are generally very happy at SLO. It’s palpable when you walk on campus. Lots of smiles. The college is good and class sizes are small. The surroundings are beautiful and the weather is great. The proximity to good, underpopulated beaches is nice. There are parties if you’re looking for them. There are lots of very active campus clubs, both academic and non-academic.
Like nearly every state school, administrative stuff can be a hassle, the circuitous way of getting classes for example, but it isn’t something a little proactive effort can’t mitigate. The campus food isn’t great either. If you are organized and stay on top of it, you should get through without a problem.
Of those who complain about SLO, they dislike what most really like about, it’s isolated and underdeveloped. It’s usually kids from Orange County that have those concerns. The rest really like it.
I think that the academic experience depends a lot on what your major is. If you’re in engineering or business, you will have tons of opportunities for internships and there will likely be many recruiting opportunities on campus for you. However, I was a liberal arts major, and we definitely did not have very many of the same opportunities. Socially, it is a fun school. People generally find it fairly easy to make friends in the dorms. If you live elsewhere, you may have to put in a bit more effort to get to know people, but it is definitely possible. The town itself is a hidden gem. People are friendly, and the pace of life is a bit slower. Plus, compared to the Bay Area, people are really good drivers 
Thanks guys!
SLO is beautiful town. Definitely not a urban cultural mecca like San Fran, NYC, Boston or Philly. More like upscale suburban and easily navigable. SLO campus is large and has amazing athletic facilities. Most students are pretty much from better preforming public California high schools, aka suburban california kids. Sort of like high school 2.0. The dorms for first years aren’t spectacular. Fist years without cars seem to find more friends and things to do on campus. First years with cars go off campus (beaches, city trips) or home on the weekends.
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What does that mean?
My son’s a 3rd year student at Cal Poly. He’s very happy with the education he’s received at Cal Poly, the professors in his major who have become mentors, and the internship opportunities. He likes living in San Luis Obispo (on campus one year, off campus the following two years), the weather is real nice, and the location is ideal for his interests (camping, biking, running, beach). It’s midway between LA and SF and easy to go in either direction for long weekend special events if you have a car. There’s a lot to do in town, a large number of clubs to join, and fellow students who seem happy to be there.
@NTKS17 May I ask what your major is within liberal arts? My son is thinking of political science at Cal Poly, and I’m wondering if there are enough internships available in that major to justify picking CP over other schools that might have a curriculum more to his interests (east asian foreign policy).
@MelloG - have you looked at the Cal Poly Political Science internship page online? http://politicalscience.calpoly.edu/students/internships/internship-opportunities
@MLM Yes, I have looked there, but thanks. I’m just trying to reconcile that with NTKS17’s comment about there not being much internship love for CLA
I just got accepted as well and was wondering what the college is like socially. I’m not interested in joining a sorority, but is the social scene very quiet? Are parties easy to find as well as avoid when you want to?
@mash97 From what I’ve been told by my bf, parties are easy to find (especially so in certain areas) but it is completely possible to avoid them.