All my DS’s decisions are in. He’s narrowed it down to Cal Poly SLO or Berkeley. He was admitted for Mechanical Engineering for both. We are in state for both so really the cost diff is $30K vs $28K. We are near San Diego, so it’s 7 hours to one and 9 to the other… He’s visited both and likes both even though they feel very different. How about the programs? How about name on the diploma? We’d love some input.
As you know, my son is at Cal Poly. One of his acquaintances in ME a year ahead was very involved in robotics competition. He said that CP dominated all the UC teams except one, UCB. They were roughly on par.
He can’t go wrong. It’s really a decision on style and fit. He’ll have to apply himself and be involved at either to have the best opportunities. Both are recruited hard in CA. No school prints job acceptances with their diplomas, not even MIT.
His gut will tell him and it will be right, even though after he sets foot in either, he will discover things he doesn’t like.
Good luck and sorry to be of no help. 
Wow - well in terms of the name on the diploma/resume Berkeley has one of the most respected programs in the world in ME. Berkeley wins hands down if that is his only criteria. But seriously - they are such different schools / locations / experiences it seems like other stuff should matter more. Berkeley is very focused on their grad programs (which are what gives the school its prestige) so undergrads sometimes feel adrift. Your son will need to self-direct and self-advocate if he chooses Berkeley and even then the chances are good it’ll take him more than 4 years to get into and through all the required courses so make sure you put that into the equation. Congrats on two good choices - I hope he ends up very happy at whichever he chooses!
@eyemgh any thoughts on the closure of Kennedy Library? My understanding is it will be closed for 2 years! It is the only library on campus. Do you have any info on how they will still assist students with research? I have to admit it concerns me.
Kennedy isn’t an ideal library in the first place. It’s small for a school that is now as big as it is. That’s why they are remodeling it.
I asked my son and he said that he has never used it for studying or research. The college has licenses for students to access journals and other publications online. His take is that there isn’t much need for concern. That is with a caveat, that your son already knows how to do a literature search and won’t need the assistance of a librarian. My son isn’t sure where they will be in the interim.
It will require your son find places to study if he planned on studying there. It will also eliminate a central meeting place temporarily and have an unsightly building project smack dab in the middle of campus for two years.
It’s really a matter of “if not now, when?” though.
It should be in the mix though of considerations along with other things like class size, access to labs and clubs, location, etc. It’s all a matter of what he seems important to him.