<p>I am currently a rising senior in HS and want to study engineering in college. I am interested in studying EE or possibly ME/ChemE and am looking at my college options. I have a few quick questions. Please advise.</p>
<p>1 Is Cal Poly Pomona better or UC Riverside in engineering?
2 How hard is it to get into Cal Poly SLO as an in state applicant?
3 Is there a significant difference between Cal Poly SLO and Pomona, or is it just that SLO is more selective? Are the programs equivalent in terms of quality of education/research opportunities?
4. How hard is it to transfer into engineering at Cal Poly SLO or UCLA/UCB/other UC campuses from a California Community College? What GPA do you need to be a competitive applicant?
5. How hard is it to get into Purdue/RPI/WPI/Rice? Will a 3.3 UW GPA/2100/32 from an OOS applicant be competitive?</p>
<p>Thank you all for the help. Your advice is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Getting into Purdue should be relatively easy despite its high engineering ranking. it accepts something like 80% of its applicants.</p>
<p>and if i were you, i'd just give up on applying to Rice with 3.3 UW unless you did something out of ordinary for your ECs. Your 3.3 UW is nowhere near competitive for Rice.</p>
<p>actually if you are URM and female applying for engineering, .....................................hmm... who knows what might happen? just try anyway.</p>
<p>yes but not much. engineering is a little harder. one you get in, it becomes a war of attrition. a lot of people switch to easier majors. don't let the acceptance rate fool you.</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO is much much better than Pomona. You are better off trying to get into a college and staying there rather than planning to transfer. You have a shot at Purdue and WPI, long shot at Rice and RPI.</p>
<p>If you are a CA resident, go to one of the UCs for engineering and save your money. Riverside is fine.</p>
<p>
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1 Is Cal Poly Pomona better or UC Riverside in engineering?
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I say Cal Poly Pomona engineering = UC Riverside engineering. Cal Poly Pomona has more historical strength/renown for their engineering programs than UC Riverside does...the CSU engineering curriculum is more practical application based while UC engineering curriculum tends to be more theoretical in nature.</p>
<p>
[quote]
2 How hard is it to get into Cal Poly SLO as an in state applicant?
[/quote]
Cal Poly SLO engineering and architecture programs are very competitive for admission.</p>
<p>
[quote]
3 Is there a significant difference between Cal Poly SLO and Pomona, or is it just that SLO is more selective? Are the programs equivalent in terms of quality of education/research opportunities?
[/quote]
SLO is just more selective...more historical renown for engineering than Pomona...better location/campus too...Cal Poly Pomona is more of a commuter campus. Graduating from either will provide similar engineering opportunities. Cal Poly Pomona engineering is heavily recruited by Socal firms.</p>
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4. How hard is it to transfer into engineering at Cal Poly SLO or UCLA/UCB/other UC campuses from a California Community College? What GPA do you need to be a competitive applicant?
[/quote]
Transfer from a CCC is the way to go if you don't get into your first choice UCs or Cal Polys. You'll save some money too. Work hard, get as high of a GPA as possible, write kick ass essays and you're likely good...no guarantees though since admission seems to get tougher every year.</p>
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5. How hard is it to get into Purdue/RPI/WPI/Rice? Will a 3.3 UW GPA/2100/32 from an OOS applicant be competitive?
[/quote]
No real idea. Maybe Purdue, but likely a reach like Cal Poly SLO. Rice and RPI will be the toughest. If you want to go away, Purdue is a fantastic school...it will be much more expensive than your CA options.</p>
<p>Excellent responses. Thanks so much.
So is Cal Poly Pomona considered a good engineering program? Will I learn the same stuff in CP Pomona as in UC school, such as SB?
Is the main difference between engineering schools their selectivity?</p>
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So is Cal Poly Pomona considered a good engineering program?
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Yes, it will get you a job in industry as an engineer. My company hires many grads from Cal Poly Pomona.</p>
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Will I learn the same stuff in CP Pomona as in UC school, such as SB?
[/quote]
Generally, yes. I have taken engineering courses at both UC and CSU...the CSU approach seems more practical (i.e. use tables, sources of published info, etc...like you would during your career). The UC approach is slightly more theoretical in nature (i.e. derive equations/formulas, etc. for deeper understanding).</p>
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Is the main difference between engineering schools their selectivity?
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Pretty much. But more prestigious engineering programs have more attention from companies recruiting nationally.</p>
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Will a 3.3 UW GPA/2100/32 from an OOS applicant be competitive?
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</p>
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Do you only want western or midwest colleges? If not, Cornell and CMU are good reaches with your stats.
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</p>
<p>no, sir. he's nowhere near competitive for either of those schools.</p>
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and if i were you, i'd just give up on applying to Rice with 3.3 UW unless you did something out of ordinary for your ECs. Your 3.3 UW is nowhere near competitive for Rice.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>samething applies here. even if he pulled 100 points higher in SAT, i'd still say tough luck. cuz 2100 SAT isn't great and definitely won't be helping his low GPA. engineering college at Cornell has the highest SAT avg within the whole university.</p>