<p>I wanted to see if any other parents had opinions to share on this. My daughter was accepted as OOS for software engineering at Cal Poly SLO for Fall 2013. Until that acceptance came, she was set on University of Florida (accepted - but for comp sci as they don’t have software engineering), where we have pre-pay and a Bright Futures. UF is huge and not known for their computer science, but Cal Poly is out of state and $30K versus about the $5-7K I would have to pay out for her in-state choice.</p>
<p>My question to all of you much more experienced parents out there is this: would you send your child to a state school (the best one in the state, for as much as that means here in Florida) based primarily on the cost savings, or send her across the US to go to what is probably the best school for her major (and, being close to Palo Alto, offers up the best job opps for her?). Clearly there are short-term benefits to UF (not the least of which is the fact that she’s a 2-hour drive from home, and pretty much already has an entire social circle there) but the long-term rewards of her going to Cal Poly are hard to ignore.</p>
<p>Other points: she doesn’t like UF’s huge campus or the dorms, and we love the West Coast, although I’m sure her love of Cali is based more on visits versus having to “live there,” so I realize the grass may not be as greener over there, especially once she realizes that she doesn’t know a soul on campus. This is probably all TMI but I’m really torn. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Hi Florida- Big dilema for you. We live a couple of hours from CP and both my husband and I graduated from there. Our youngest son is waiting to hear from them right now and it is probably his first choice- the only one of our 4 who was remotely interested. I love the school, but I don’t think I could justify the cost difference that you are talking about. I am not at all familiar with UF, so can’t compare. I do know that CP has a well recognized Software Engineering program, and while it is a couple of hours from the bay area, CP grads are highly recruited there. HOwever, the cost difference is huge. I am thinking that Computer Software Engineers often would continue on for graduate work- what about staying in-state for now, and then spending the extra money on a great grad program? </p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that CP is kind of in the middle of nowhere with no big nearby airports. I would count on some pretty hefty transportation to and from Florida for breaks, etc. Yes, she can travel to a larger area via train or bus, but it does make it more complicated. We are currently dealing with that with our D who is on the east coast away from a big airport. She either has to travel to a big airport 3-4 hours away and coordinate the buses or rides, or she pays astronomical rates to travel from the airport by her school. Just something to look into.</p>
<p>CAl Poly is a wonderful campus in a very nice area and your D would probably love the program there. However, that $20,000+ per year is a bundle, especially if you are looking at taking out loans for it.</p>
<p>Cal Polys Computer Science (CSC) vs Software Engineering (SE): they both start out taking about the same classes. As you get into the upper division classes, then either major can take SE classes. So you could be a CSC major and work as a software engineer.</p>
<p>Dont know UF, but take a look at their computer science degree and see if you dont see several software engineering classes. If so, then a SE degree may not be that necessary.</p>
<p>Anything could happen to your student in the first few years, including a change of heart regarding the major. If there is a change of major, be prepared to be at any university a little longer to play catch-up.</p>
<p>CPs CSC/SE courses are tough but when you finish, you know your stuff because of the hands-on learning experience. This also applies to many CP majors because of the Learn By Doing emphasis.</p>
<p>I am one of Cal Poly’s biggest fans and loads of companies recruit from Cal Poly from Northern Cal including Palo Alto. Our kid is thriving there right now and we love how he is growing as an engineer and a person. HOWEVER, you cannot ignore costs and all the rest of the financial issues. You have a real dilemma. One thing that I would research is finding out what it takes to become a CA resident and therefore get a huge reduction in tuition. This is purely anecdotal, but my best friend from childhood sent his son to the University of Washington and this semester his kid is taking only a handful of classes, working full time and establishing residency in that state. It takes about one year. The cost reduction will be dramatic. I did the same back in the 1980’s when I moved from VA to AZ and attended the University of Arizona. I established residency in my sophomore year. I have no idea what the rules are in CA but it is worth researching. It will delay her graduation by a year, but it could help with the decision. Make sure you call the school to find out if OOS can go part time for a year to get residency.</p>
<p>FloridaBridget: We went through a similar dilemma as you with both of our daughters. Our oldest was admitted to several schools for their architecture programs, including Cal Poly, which is ranked 4th in the nation, as well as the University of CO, Boulder, which is less than an hour away from us (with a very large campus). However, the cost for attending CU would not have been much less for us, even including the travel costs to/from Cal Poly. Our youngest daughter wanted to study biomedical engineering, and was debating between Cal Poly and the Colorado School of Mines, which is 30 minutes away from us. Both schools have strong reputations for Engineering, but she chose Cal Poly, and having her older sister there was probably the deciding factor. Both of our girls were also admitted to some of the UCs in CA, but the oos costs there would have been prohibitive. We are managing, but are also considering a move to CA in the near future. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>California makes it very difficult to obtain residency for purposes of in-state tuition. Unless the student has graduated from a California high school or is supporting himself on his own in California with no help from parents, there’s almost no chance of being considered in state.</p>
<p>As other have noted, it’s difficult to travel to SLO. Flights into Santa Barbara are very expensive. Flights to San Jose with a taxi ride to the Amtrak station, then 3-hour bus ride to San Luis, are expensive and a hassle, especially coming from Florida. There aren’t many non-stops into SJC from Florida. There are ride-sharing boards for students, and active Facebook pages for parents that can help connect riders and drivers from LA and the Bay Area.</p>
<p>On the positive side, summer internships for good students are readily available, and some include a housing allowance or paid housing at a corporate apartment. A student could easily earn $10,000 per summer in Silicon Valley.</p>
<p>What part of the country does your student want to settle in after college? If in Florida or the East Coast, then taking the less expensive in-state option sounds like the wiser choice.</p>
<p>Would you mind sharing your daughters stats? Is she a transfer? I applied as a prospective in-state Software Engineering major to SLO last fall.</p>
<p>I’m an out of state student about to graduate from Cal Poly. Not an engineer, but I know a decent amount of people who are. I know a few people who are either computer science or software engineering. Cal Poly’s program is quite rigorous, but it definitely prepares people (and it’s pretty well known around California). I know people who have interned at Google and Yahoo. And it’s a HUGE plus if you’re a girl. The computer science field is really trying to recruit more women. </p>
<p>If tuition is not a major issue for you, and you’re willing to pay the out of state price, the next biggest concern is probably travel. I usually go home for winter and spring break. I got tickets for both breaks for around $500 roundtrip this year. I fly out of SLO for convenience, and it is significantly cheaper to take a bus/train or get a ride to either LA or San Francisco. Sometimes I hate the travel, but I’m always happy when I get back to SLO.</p>
<p>I was also set on going to school on the West Coast, and I didn’t want to end up at a huge mini-town like university campus. I did not know anyone when I first came here. I also had a lot of expectations about coming here and college in general, that did not all come true. After my freshman year I came extremely close to transferring to a school back near my home town. Thankfully I didn’t because once I finally made good friends, got more involved, and realized that yeah, SLO is in the middle of nowhere, but sometimes that’s kinda nice, I actually started loving California more than I ever could have imagined. I intend to stay in California after I graduate.</p>
<p>Going to school thousands of miles away from home was scary, since I had never even been to sleep away camp, but so, so worth it. I feel like if I had the opportunity and security of going home whenever I wanted, I would not have grown anywhere near as much as I have as a person.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all of the insights - and even the sarcasm (yes folks, I realize that SLO isn’t in Silicon Valley’s backyard. It was meant figuratively, being that here in Fla we are about as far as you can get from a tech hub – physically and mentally!). As a journalist you would think I’d know to triple-edit every word that I post online - oh well, you live and learn. </p>
<p>Anyway, for dynamicstudent asking for the stats, here you go (believe me, we were as surprised as you probably will be):</p>
<p>OOS
Found out she was accepted on portal last week; email turned up later in spam folder
Major: Software Engineering
SAT 1780 (1170 for just Math/Reading)
ACT 28
Weighted GPA 4.2 (not sure about the CP GPA)
Jr/Sr year schedules pretty rigorous - primarily A/P and dual enrollment courses
I know it doesn’t matter for Cal Poly but she has a lot of ECs (sports/nat’l honor soc/academic team) and 100+ volunteer hours (Fla in-state scholarships require it so most seniors here have at least this many by default)</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone and thanks for your help.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that Cal Poly students rarely graduate in 4 years. It is usually 5 years. Check the graduation rates. You may want to consider that in your decision.</p>
<p>Lol Florida - I also was going to point out that it’s like 3.5 hours from Bay Area (and LA for that matter). Californians tend to point this out because a lot of folks from other states have an odd belief that the Bay Area and LA are close enough to sightsee at both in the same day. Ummmmm, no. California is BIG.</p>
<p>Hopefully, your daughter is provided some aid, but it’s limited. We’re facing similar decisions…Good luck.</p>