Santa Clara University vs. Cal Poly SLO?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Santa Clara University
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<p>i was accepted to both cal poly and santa clara and i can't decide which one to pick. neither of them were my top choices when i applied to a bunch of schools, but i got waitlisted to all my favorites so i'm stuck choosing between these two. i like them both, but they both have a lot of negatives and i can't decide which negatives are less bad if that makes sense haha.</p>

<p>cal poly:
-LOVE the location and the downtown
-everyone that goes there seems very happy
-bio program doesn't seem good enough to get me into medical school
-it's really hard to get the classes you want
-changing your major can be difficult
santa clara:
-it has the nicest campus of any college i've seen
-small classes and it's easy to get the classes you want
-ridiculously nice facilities and students
-really close to home (about an hour, i'm from the east bay)
-it seems like there's not a lot to do there
-i strongly dislike san jose, which is the big city next to it
-not enough of a change of scenery, their weather is the same, their radio stations are the same, etc</p>

<p>basically it's coming down to whether i should pick based on school or location. i think i prefer santa clara's programs and campus to cal poly, but i prefer cal poly's students and location to santa clara. another important thing is that i'm not 100% sure i want to do biology. i'm pretty sure, but there's still a chance that i'll end up switching, and i know that cal poly isn't a good school for someone who isn't positive about their major. however, if i switched my major there's a good chance that i'd do animal science, which cal poly IS good for (better for than biology at least) and santa clara doesn't even offer it. i'm not sure if that should affect my decision though since it's just a possible back up major.</p>

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<p>I would choose Santa Clara. I have a lot of friends that go to Cal Poly and its a mess. TONS of people and crowds which lead to horrible food, packed classes, dirty places, and a overall bad teaching environment. Even if you hate San Jose, it is an amazing place to get a job out of high school. Santa Clara is also close to Palo Alto and Mountain View which have amazing downtowns. San Francisco is only about an hour drive down high way 101 too. The weather is the same but its always amazing, another 60 to 70 degrees. I can give you different radio stations if you’d like! :)</p>

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<p>^I’ve hardly heard any of that about Cal Poly. There’s not really “tons” of people and it seems the general consensus is just that the food is decent. I can’t speak about the packed classes (although I have heard it is sometimes difficult to get into classes) or dirty places, but I don’t agree that there is a bad teaching environment there – in fact, Cal Poly is renowned for its quality education and learn-by-doing philosophy, and I’ve hardly heard anybody complain about the teaching environment. </p>

<p>I’m actually in the same dilemma as OP, though for a major in computer science, so I’m not exactly biased but I am leaning more towards Cal Poly. I won’t be able to make a decision until I go to look at both colleges, so most of my information is mostly just what I’ve learned by reading/talking to students online, but I don’t know that your view of Cal Poly is fair.</p>

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<p>Tell us which one you pick!</p>

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<p>i think i’m leaning towards cal poly just because i think that i’m gonna end up changing my major to animal science for pre-vet instead of being biology for pre-med, and santa clara doesn’t even offer animal science. i’m still not sure though, just because i love santa clara SO much</p>

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<p>I go to Santa Clara. My girlfriend goes to Cal Poly. With regard to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo is a great place to go to college. Cal Poly is the only show in town, so the whole city and even region rallies around it. The downtown area is great with many shops and restaurants and bars that really cater to students (cheap food, fun environment). Some of what bwwinthehouse says is certainly true: the food at Cal Poly is truly awful. The students are pretty unanimous in that sentiment. There is a Jamba Juice, Starbucks, Subway, and pretzel place on campus, but one can survive for only so long on the food chains. Then again, bad college food is often considered a right of passage, but most students are eager to achieve culinary independence at Cal Poly. The classes are crowded, but that depends a lot on the type and level of the classes. Intro to Biology will have three students to a seat, but an upper division engineering class will have a more intimate environment. Classes are very hard to get and changing your major is VERY hard to do. Cal Poly is definitely dirtier than Santa Clara, but it is only noticeable on the edges of campus and really not all that severe. Cal Poly has a gorgeous new gym. My girlfriend or any of her friends have never once suggested to me that they think they’re receiving a mediocre education. The culture at Cal Poly is very prideful and a lot of fun. It is huge though, and can be a bit overwhelming. It is much less cohesive and united than Santa Clara as a school(due mostly to size), so you have to seek out smaller communities within. If you are aspiring to join Greek life, it is alive and well at Cal Poly. If not, it can be harder to get along as an independent there than it is at Santa Clara. Cal Poly is much better at anything agricultural and many engineering disciplines. Santa Clara is more respected than CP in business and anything humanities.
Santa Clara has just as happy students as Cal Poly, in my opinion. We have better dorm life (and better dorms). Our campus is neater and cleaner (attractiveness is a bit more subjective; I really like Cal Poly’s acres and acres of land that you can explore). There are lots of things to do on campus, particularly through the dorm (RLC) system, though there is no downtown area like that of SLO. However, Santana Row is a popular destination and fun to go to with friends. I promise you, you will almost never listen to the radio in college, so don’t worry about having the same stations. If you intend to change your major to animal science, then CP is a great choice.<br>
I love Santa Clara. My girlfriend loves Cal Poly. There are things we would love to trade between our schools. You’ll be happy with either choice.</p>

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<p>Have you decided yet? My son (computer engineering major) had narrowed it down to Santa Clara (originally his first choice) and Cal Poly SLO. After visiting downtown San Luis Obispo, the farmers market (!), and taking a thorough tour of the campus, he felt that SLO had a much more inviting college-town feel than Santa Clara. And when we took the two-hour SLO engineering tour, that was the clincher. Cal Poly’s program (as the national rankings point to) is superior, and that mattered the most. Also, even with Santa Clara’s scholarship, SLO was still $10,000 less per year. I personally thought the campus was clean, much nicer than any other public university, and in every direction you walk you see the surrounding hills. With classes in session and an extra thousand people on campus for spring break visits, it did not seem overly crowded to me, but instead, lively and welcoming. So I guess you have to decide what is most important to you. I agree with Toast, you should be happy with either, it’s just what matters to you most. Let us know!</p>

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<p>^I’m in pretty much the same situation as your son. I visited both Cal Poly and Santa Clara last weekend. Loved Cal Poly, although it was a Saturday so I didn’t really get to see/do much. Then Santa Clara was awesome; I went for the preview day and had a lot of fun. It only made my decision harder, but I think I’m still going to choose Cal Poly for it’s better program (Computer Science for me) and great town (even though I love Santa Clara’s location, and it’s actually where I always wanted to go, I’m for some reason leaning towards SLO). The main drawbacks for me are that Santa Clara has better dorms and food (way better from what I’ve heard), is in the Silicon Valley, and it’s smaller so it’s easier to get into classes (although it’s size can also be problematic in that after a while there won’t be anyone new to meet).</p>

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<p>@bwwinthehouse

Please refrain from posting statements like this that are blatantly untrue and irresponsible. Cal Poly is one of California’s flagship public schools and should be given that respect.</p>

<p>@OP – You are in an enviable position with two excellent choices. Santa Clara is an excellent private school with a great reputation as well and I wish you the best of luck.</p>

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<p>If you are down to the wire, consider these comments. My teen was accepted to both schools as a business major. Here are my ‘admitted students day’ observations for both places. </p>

<p>Santa Clara:
Positives–
Beautiful campus
Great teacher presentations
Great access to Silicon Valley internships/jobs, SCU students are loved
Clearly bright students
Hour train ride to SF and the attractions
Very diverse student group</p>

<p>Negatives
Slightly aloof faculty and students, mostly the students
Very expensive school
Push ‘social justice’ stuff too much
Area around school is suburban</p>

<p>Cal Poly SLO
Positives-
Beautiful area
Beautiful campus (clean and organized, unlike previous ‘hater’ comments)
Business school facilities on par with ANY of the private schools
Faculty seemed fine, maybe half a notch down on their pitches from SCU profs
Great access to internships and jobs both north and south
Great on campus workout facilities
Clearly outdoor oriented, and students all seem in good physical shape
Companies in Silicon Valley love Cal Poly grads</p>

<p>Negatives-
Three hours to San Jose or LA, 90 minutes to Santa Barbara
It may be uncomfortable if you do not consider staying in shape important
If you need six color spot varnished brochures and announcements of every important event, you will be disappointed. Everything is via email. </p>

<p>What sold us was one important observation-- </p>

<p>All the presentations (except for welcomes and overviews), all the tours, and all the functions were arraigned, designed, and executed by students. In the marketing major presentation, a Prof talked for about 5 minutes. The rest was the students. SCU profs did most of the talking. Lots of adults around.</p>

<p>In the end, Cal Poly came off as a bit less ‘polished’. But, when you consider that the events were run by students and not expensive hired help, that is very impressive. </p>

<p>Both are excellent schools. I would be happy if my son attended either place. But, in the end, he picked Cal Poly. The motto is ‘learn by doing’ and you can see it in action.</p>

<p>Good luck to all.</p>

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<p>@oldindie – Your observations regarding Cal Poly were exactly like ours. The students ran everything and gave the majority of the presentations for our son’s major too. The kids were front and center and we saw learn by doing in action wherever we went. This weekend is the Cal poly Open House for 2013. I am proud to say that my kid is promoting his club today to all the prospective students interested in Mechanical Engineering. They are showing off the supermileage prototype vehicle that just won the Design Award in the Shell Echo-Marathon in Houston a couple of weeks ago.</p>

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<p>I didn’t get to go to Cal Poly Open House, and as much as I loved SCU’s Preview Day, Cal Poly won out (even though all I did was walk around for a few hours last week). I just committed to Cal Poly.</p>

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<p>^^^Congrats!!</p>

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<p>Congrats AKShockwave! It probably feels good to have committed.</p>

<p>^You know, oldindie, you pointed to something important that likely contributed to my son’s decision. The learn-by-doing philosophy did play out in the overall impression of SLO and does differ from Santa Clara’s presentation in that respect. The students that gave us the general campus and engineering school tours are not paid (like many are at other campuses), which spoke to their passion for the school. </p>

<p>Santa Clara is a private school and there are some perks to that (my other son goes to a private university very similar in the academic caliber, groomed environment and high cost of Santa Clara). It is a very difficult choice, especially for an 18-year-old. Keep in mind if you think you may be pursuing a grad degree, that you might want to have some money left over for that. I just recommend that anyone making this decision really visit both campuses, try not to be swayed by personal tastes or negative comments spewed here, and decide for yourself.</p>

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<p>How do you compare SCU with Cal Poly’s learn by doing teaching methodology? What is the difference between the curriculum of Computer Engineering Degree of these two universities? Also degree from which University looks better on resume or more attractive to the companies in Bay Area?</p>

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<p>Both are fine in the Bay Area. Computer Engineering is about equal with slight advantage to Santa Clara due to access to Silicon Valley. </p>

<p>Also, the difference between the two universities insofar as “learn by doing” is that Cal Poly makes it a motto. The difference in what you are learning by doing is what is different. At Cal Poly you will be encouraged to participate in projects, research, etc. that will be directly relevant toward a trade or career in your area of study. This comes out of Cal Poly’s pedagogy of preparing students for the workforce. My girlfriend (a kinesiology major), for instance, helped with the nation’s largest study on college student health and fitness. The name escapes me, but the study is easily found with a simple web search. At Santa Clara, the projects, research, etc. will be focused on advancing social justice causes related to your discipline. The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics gives grants to students for studying ethics in any number of fields. Engineering students compete regularly to build energy-efficient and attractive houses. A few of my peers are working on a research project into how countries reestablish stability after genocide (i.e. Rwanda or Sudan). “Learn by doing” is easily compared to the motto of Santa Clara “Ad Majorum Dei Gloriam” (For the Greater Glory of God - Motto of all Jesuit institutions). Cal Poly’s pedagogy is hands on for vocational preparation. Santa Clara’s is hands on for preparation to have a positive, tangible effect in the world through your future career. Both are worthy causes, but I think the comment in a previous post that Santa Clara “pushes the social justice stuff to much” is dismissive and uninformed. Santa Clara’s academic mission is to create conscientious, competent, and compassionate human beings. If that is an uncomfortable proposition, SCU will be an uncomfortable place to receive a higher education.</p>

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<p>I am in agreement, though, that Cal Poly does a great, and even superior job in their Preview Day.</p>

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<p>Regarding ‘social justice’ comments. Let me clarify.</p>

<p>The purpose of going to a university is an education NOT an indoctrination. Calling my comments ‘dismissive and uninformed’ is just another ‘nose in the air’ reaction to someone you disagree with. Such elitist attitudes show a disregard for opinions other than your own; assuming someone who disagrees with you is ‘uninformed’. </p>

<p>You can drop in for a week in Rwanda, take pictures, post them on Facebook to show how ‘compassionate’ you are, or you can actually do something. The best way to live your life and really make a difference is to get a good education, make a decent living, and raise a good family. The University idea is to be a part of the ‘veneer’ world of a ‘social justice’, have a sit-in and get stoned with your Gender Studies Professor.</p>

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<p>Any comments on the physics program at Santa Clara?</p>