<p>My son and I are analysing the pros and cons to attend Mechanical Engineering in the schools he was admitted: Cal Poly SLO, Rutgers, and UMD-CP. The total annual cost for him to attend each school is 38K, 27K, and 20K respectively. He was admitted directly into Engineering in Cal Poly and Rutgers, but will need to meet 3.0 overall GPA plus at least B- in Calc II and Physics I during freshman year to internally transfer to Engineering at UMD. He is fascinated about the learn by doing approach and location of Cal Poly, he likes UMD and knows it more than the others because my daughter is a happy sophomore there, and he is not so sure about his fit at Rutgers after a few visits. His top choice at the moment is Cal Poly, although he will visit it for the first time in two weeks; everything he knows about Cal Poly is from the Internet and from a friend who is a happy Engineering freshman there. Cost is not his concern, but it is my concern because I will pay for it. I am not sure if he will stay with Engineering, and Computer Science looks to be his Plan B. Our research shows that a change from Engineering to Computer Science is easy at Rutgers and UMD, but very difficult at Cal Poly. I will appreciate if students and graduates with knowledge of these schools can share their advice based on the situation that I have shared. I can provide more details if needed. Many thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Cal Poly is an excellent choice, however you must take into consideration cost. It appears that you are out of state and you should know that most of his internships and job offers will be in California. The recruiters that come to campus are generally from the major cities in CA and Silicon Valley. So, take that into consideration too. If he graduates from Cal Poly he may choose to stay in CA post graduation. With regards to changing of majors at Cal Poly, I would not be concerned. There is a clear pathway to do that and my son changed his major with no delays or any issues. At Cal Poly it is easier to change majors within a college than between colleges and ME and CS are both in the same college at the school (mechanical engineering and computer science & software engineering are both in the college of engineering). The reason why it is “harder” to change majors at Cal Poly is that they start you directly in your major from day one of your freshman year. A distinct advantage. However, the school understands that a 17 year old can make mistakes and has a clear procedures to change majors. Again, your research may be based on what is published to discourage changes in majors, but on the ground where it counts it is really not that hard as long as you are not on academic probation.</p>
<p>Rutgers and UMD are fine schools. I am unaware of their engineering programs. My nephew attends Rutgers NB as a business major and seems to really like it and he is completely satisfied with his experience. But, NB is a bit of a hardscrabble town and the campus is not ideally situated. UMD not sure, but if there is family there to help him get started that is always a help, but your D has her own life to lead as well.</p>
<p>I hope that you will be at the Open House for Cal Poly! What an extraordinary event it will be. Don’t forget to be in downtown SLO for the Farmer’s Market on Thursday evening. It is the best way to start the event.</p>
<p>My kid is a ME major and loves the school. The teaching methodology is as awesome as it gets for engineering. From his freshman year he has also been allowed to participate in national competition with his club. He is off to Houston tomorrow for the Shell Eco Marathon with a supermileage prototype vehicle. In 2012 they took 3rd place nationally. Not too many schools would offer that opportunity to a freshman.</p>