<p>Be carefull about comparing how hard or easy it was to get into Cal Poly even a few years ago. </p>
<p>With the economy the way it is, and as good a school as it is, Cal Poly has had a significant increase in the number of applications the last year or two. Couple that with the CA budget issues effectively reducing the Cal Poly budget and therefore the number of students they can admit. It is much harder to get into than previously.</p>
<p>Hey man, I understand that going to community college is not the most enticing or glamorous option, but just read what I have to say. There’s a whole side to the argument that is hard to see when you’re still in high school. I went to junior college (am in my last semester right now) and will be transferring to a 4-year in the Fall (got accepted to Cal Poly for Electrical Engineering). I was once in your exact situation. Here’s my story, abbreviated:</p>
<p>Senior year of high school, I realized that I had underachieved in my past three years, and had thus limited my options for higher education (3.3 gpa). I applied to Cal Poly for aerospace engineering, but got rejected. I was devastated. I got in to Chico State for ME, so I was planning to go there. Then, I realized that I had no good options, so I took classes at junior college. I was so unhappy. I missed out on social interactions, was exposed to a decent number of people who were indifferent about their educations, and lived with my parents. Not fun. In hindsight, these have probably been the hardest 2 years of my life.</p>
<p>Now, I’m at the end of the tunnel, and I can see all of the benefits. I saved dozens of thousands of dollars. I got a personalized, quality education. I was able to tutor for several classes. I honed my study skills, and became a FAR more disciplined and focused student. I developed relationships with lots of professors, whom I will be able to use for letters of recommendation or just general advice for years. I was more easily able to work while taking a ton of classes. I realized that, if you learn to stay motivated while you’re in junior college, then you will be motivated anywhere. I have a friend at UCLA, and we have taken many of the same classes, but my class sizes were WAY smaller. I actually tutored HER in Diff eq when she came up here to visit. I fully believe that you will receive a better lower-division education at ju co than at a UC or CSU, primarily for three reasons: your professors are there only to teach (not to do research), the class sizes are way, way smaller, and you will not have to take the “weed-out” courses at the ridiculously competitive university.</p>
<p>If you are a forward-thinking person who can look to the future and stay motivated in a sometimes depressing environment, then I would seriously urge you to consider ju co. I’ll be honest. I hated it. But I’m so glad that I did it. Colleges won’t even look at your high school gpa, so you can start over with a clean slate. You will be given priority for in-state transfers. Imagine where you could be 2 ½ years from now. You could be anywhere. In the end, you can probably go further with junior college than you could with Fresno State. If you think about the future rather than the present, then junior college is your only option.</p>
<p>Also, PolyGirl is absolutely correct. All of the state school are required to give HUGE priority to in-state junior college transfers, because these students need to transfer in order to get a degree, as opposed to other applicants who are already in 4-year institutions and will earn their degree regardless. As a student at community college, you are first in line. You save insane amounts of money. There are so many benefits, even if it isn’t fun (which it isn’t).</p>
<p>I do like what wacker said about JC. I was kind of leaning that way anyway but was waiting on my final decions to make the choice for me. Thank you for writing that for me. It made me feel slightly better about going to COS. I knew that no matter what road I took it would end with me having a PH. D in Engineering so I am not very concerned about me dropping out from some place or another. My Sophmore year in High School I partied and smoked a little too much marijuana and got mostly C’s. My Junior year I cleaned myself up and brought my GPA back up to the 3.6 area. I know all about self-motivation and staying motivated in a bad environment. I hope I can handle this next challenge.</p>
<p>You might look into going to Cuesta - it has the benefit of proximity to SLO, plus a lot of students are there for the express purpose of ultimately transferring to Cal Poly.</p>
<p>[Cuesta</a> College - San Luis Obispo](<a href=“http://www.cuesta.edu/]Cuesta”>http://www.cuesta.edu/)</p>
<p>congrats on getting in, wacker1990 
you’ll love it!!!</p>
<p>and what hpuck said about this year being harder to get it…he’s right. last year was the first year they ever waitlisted students. and fall 2009 (when i came to slo) they over-enrolled the freshman class, and i knew kids who had to live in upperclassmen housing because they just didn’t have enough spaces. people are starting to realize that poly is giving students a great education for a fraction of the price.</p>
<p>Cuesta may be an option. I will look into that route and see how things go there. Is it very expensive to live in San Luis Obispo?</p>
<p>It’s not too expensive to share a house or an apartment, but it probably would be very expensive to live on your own. The closer you are to campus, the more expensive the rent is. Plan on $350-$600/month, plus utilities.</p>
<p>[Cuesta</a> College Apartments For Rent - 3592 Broad, San Luis Obispo, California](<a href=“http://san-luis-obispo-california.apartmenthomeliving.com/apartment-guide/3592-broad-san-luis-obispo/colleges-universities/cuesta-college-apartments]Cuesta”>Apartments for Rent in San Luis Obispo, CA | ApartmentHomeLiving.com)</p>
<p>[san</a> luis obispo apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist](<a href=“http://slo.craigslist.org/apa/]san”>http://slo.craigslist.org/apa/)</p>
<p>That $320 room doesn’t look too bad to me. Maybe I can afford to do this after all. :)</p>
<p>It looks like it is official. I have not been selected for admission to Cal Poly.</p>
<p>The statistics for going to a junior college with the intent of continuing on to a four year school are not great. But if you work hard at it and stay focused on the ultimate goal, you will succed as many before have done. Good luck and keep at it.</p>
<p>My uncle graduated COS, Cal Poly, and then the University of Kansas with a PHD in animal science. I am not very concerned with what statistics say, they say nothing of the individual lol. :P</p>
<p>^^^ Keep that attitude, and you’ll be perfectly fine. Like I said, you will run into a lot of unmotivated students, and it can be depressing at times, but keep your eye on the prize, and you’ll be SOOOO glad that you did! I know I am.</p>
<p>Also, I think that getting rejected by Cal Poly after high school is one of the best things that ever happened to me. It forced me to go to community college and save all of that money, and I learned so much through the crappy (yet immeasurably valuable) experience of junior college.</p>
<p>You’ve got nothing to be sad about. Keep your head up. You’ve got this!</p>
<p>I know how bad it is at JC. I am taking an economics class in the concurrent high school program and the first day there was like 40 people in the class. After 5 weeks there is now less then 20. Most people seem to not care about their education at the JC.</p>
<p>Yeah, it is the worst at the beginning; as you continue into the classes which have a lot of pre-reqs, pretty much all of the indifferent or lazy people have been weeded out. Still, though, you need to base your social life somewhere other than school, because there isn’t much social activity at a junior college. Good luck. I’m sure you’ll do great, and it will be SO worth it once you transfer to a great university!</p>
<p>I dropped out of school…went back to a community college…was there for a few years and just got accepted to Cal Poly. </p>
<p>I don’t know if I’ll actually get to go yet because I screwed up big time - I did not take the necessary math.</p>
<p>But still, at least you can see by my example that a community college education CAN and WILL take you to Cal Poly or another university. My grades are not great, either, but I guess for your major they’ve got to be way up there.</p>
<p>Anyway, I met so many wonderful people at my JC. I wouldn’t trade that for Harvard, LOL I really wouldn’t. Some of the professors, staff, and student workers there will be my friends for life. </p>
<p>Um, but yeah…a lot of the students suck. They think they’re still in 6th grade. Seriously, they do! Avoid the “kids” like the plague.</p>
<p>I got rejected from Cal Poly as a Journalism major 2 years ago as a Senior in high school. Like others, I’m grateful. I was able to realize my potential (I’ve maintained a 4.0 GPA), I was able to learn what majors really interest me (English and Communications), and of course save a ton of money. </p>
<p>It’s true, there are tons of students at Community College who are doing their thing very nonchalantly. I’ve never allowed this to slow me down. I’ve taken 5 classes a semester up until the very end (I’m actually taking 6 classes this semester). It’s possible! Good luck.</p>