I’d like to major in Mechanical Engineering. SLO is my first choice but the chances of me getting in seem very slim. I’m applying to other schools but they don’t seem to have what I’m looking for.
Id like the school to have…
Hands on project based approaches to engineering (preferably with student accessible machine shops/classes)
A good amount of major/school diversity (not just engineering and sciences).
I’m a senior with a 3.6 unweighted GPA, 6 APs (not counting this year), and tones of extracurriculars. Any schools out there for me? I really don’t feel like I’m prepared to make these big decisions.
How about the other Cal Poly, Pomona? Same “ learn by doing” philosophy.
What is your CSU/UC GPA? Test scores? Do you want California schools? Other states? Private vs Public?
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology are all known as hands-on engineering schools. However, they are all private schools and will probably cost significantly more than in-state tuition at Cal Poly SLO or Cal Poly Pomona.
The schools above are all technically focused. If you want more academic diversity, Lehigh would be an option. Lehigh historically had a similar reputation for engineering, but now has large business and humanities programs as well.
All of these schools are located far from California, but if you are a California resident, that could work to your favor in admissions, because you would represent “geographic diversity”. Lehigh has been making a particular effort to recruit Californians.
For state schools like Cal Poly, I would look at “Mines” schools. Many western and midwestern states have small public universities that were originally established to serve the mining industry, but which now have a broader technical focus. Like Cal Poly, they are known for practical, hands-on education. The best-known is Colorado School of Mines; others include New Mexico Tech, Montana Tech, South Dakota Mines and Tech, Missouri Univ. of Science & Tech, and Michigan Tech.
if you are Californian, you would have to pay high out-of-state tuition rates at some of these schools. However, some of them are the WUE program, which would discount the out-of-state tuition. http://wue.wiche.edu/search_results.jsp?searchType=all
Possible Downsides: these schools are tech focused, and are not noted for academic diversity or gender balance.
Cal Poly is a rare bird. Learn by Doing, in addition to robust clubs, is accomplished by having a lab with nearly every course. In the college of engineering alone, there are more than 80 labs. You just don’t find that infrastructure for undergrads at many schools. That said, what you are looking for is meaningful, hands on engagement, starting in your desired major from freshman year. I agree with all the suggestions above, especially WPI. The off the beaten path recommendation I’d add is Utah. Their ME curriculum is called Spiral. Check it out.
My son is a ME Senior at Cal Poly, and was looking at schools just like you are. He really struggled with his final choice between Poly, WPI and Utah, the others were THAT compelling. Utah is a WUE school with very manageable tuition. Both Utah and WPI are far easier admits than Cal Poly for ME.
I like SCU too, and the location in the heart of Silicon Valley is of obvious interest to engineering students. But if Cal Poly SLO is out of reach, then SCU may be a tough admit as well. There are a lot of people who like the idea of studying engineering or computer science in the Bay Area, but the competition has become insane at Stanford and Berkeley, which means that many highly qualified students now apply to SCU as a backup. According to the ASEE database, the current SAT scores for SCU engineering students (680-760 M, 600-710 CR) are even higher than those for CP-SLO engineering students (650-740 M, 590-680 CR).
Another potential downside to SCU: they are private, not particularly wealthy, and not noted for great financial aid. Would likely cost more than in-state tuition at a CSU or UC.
In California, I would consider UC Merced for engineering as a less competitive alternative to CP-SLO. Growing but still relatively small. No first-hand experience, but I’ve heard good things about the accessibility of professors and the helpfulness of the administration.
The ASEE stats are a bit misleading for SLO, because they admit competitively by major. Within the CENG, there’s extreme variability in selectivity from likely (I say this because CP doesn’t report yield by major) under 10% for CS to close to 100% for IE. Across the board, SCU might be a tougher admit for engineering, but for ME in particular, the bar is very high at Poly. You can’t easily backdoor at Poly because they use original admission stats when considering change of major.
I understand your reasoning. We are in the local service area for CPP and my younger son really liked CPP but also felt it was too close to home. The above posters have given you some good suggestions but unless you have an unlimited college budget, you may need to narrow down choices based on affordability. Since you are a CA resident, you have so many excellent schools from which to choose.
Have you visited any schools yet other than SLO? If you have, did you tour the Engineering facilities?
Not particularly, but for the most part the cheaper the better. My parents will not be able to give much if any so loans are a definite. If I have the choice between Cal Poly Pomona and some 50,000 dollar private then it wouldn’t really be a competition on which to pick.
A few. The UC’s really let me down as far as their depts. I’m not too enthralled by research and besides that there’s little else they offer for engineering.
@goopylamoon: As a student you can only take out a total of $27,000 for the 4 years. $5500 as a Freshman, $6500 as a Sophomore and $7500 as a Junior and Senior. For SLO, you are looking at around $21,000/year just for tuition/fees/room/board. This does not include books and personal expenses.
If your family income qualifies you for a Cal grant, that could cover tuition, but you would still need to come up with money for housing (13K/year).
I think before you get set on any school, find out how much aid you may qualify for and what your parents can contribute. Commuting to Cal Poly Pomona may be your only option depending upon what your family can pay.
Each school has a net price calculator on their website which will give you an estimate of your costs and possible financial aid. CSU’s are not nearly as generous with aid as are UC’s.
You might want to look at UC Riverside for Engineering. My son and I went on an Engineering tour and where pretty impressed with their facilities.
Oh man, I did not know that. I am definitely going to have to look into it. I guess I just assumed loans could cover it. Thank you. How can I find out how much aid I qualify for?
It’s not a secret that UCs put more emphasis on research, while CSUs (including the Cal Polys) put more emphasis on undergraduate teaching.
For example, in 2016 the Cal Polys issued more than 10 undergraduate degrees in ME for every graduate degree in ME. The ratios of undergraduate:graduate ME degrees were as follows:
12:1 Cal Poly SLO
13:1 Cal Poly Pomona
UCs put more emphasis on research, which typically means more graduate students, and so they generally have more even ratios:
1:1 UC Berkeley
1:1 UCLA
2:1 UC San Diego
3:1 UC Irvine
4:1 UC Davis
4:1 UC Santa Barbara
4:1 UC Riverside
Not too surprising. But now look at the following number:
10:1 UC Merced
Looks a lot more like the Cal Polys, doesn’t it? It may be that in 20 years, UC Merced will have the same research focus as other UCs. But they don’t have a strong research reputation yet. For now, Merced is still primarily focused on undergraduates.
There are three CSUs known for hands-on engineering programs. Two of them are the Cal Polys. The third is Cal Maritime. OK, Cal Maritime’s BSME program probably has a nautical slant that may or may not be your thing. But the end result of all three programs is a relatively inexpensive, respected, ABET-accredited BSME degree with strong employment prospects. In fact, according to the US Dept. of Education’s “College Scorecard”, Cal Maritime grads earn higher average salaries after college than either CP-SLO or CPP grads.
There is nothing wrong with getting an engineering degree at a “research” school such as the UCs. “Learn by doing” is a great motto and I like Cal Poly SLO a lot. But the UCs have great undergraduate engineering programs as well. Do you really think that ME students at UC schools (many of which are as competitive or more competitive than Cal Poly SLO) would not have opportunities to “learn by doing”?
There are other Cal State schools with good engineering programs as well–don’t dismiss these. Do some research to find out which programs have the best reputations, fit your interests, are attainable with your stats, and allow you to get away from your home district. These could well be the most affordable options for you.
Another thought is Oregon State University. It has a technical/ag history similar to Cal Poly SLO, and fills something of the same role in Oregon’s higher ed system. They are actively courting California students with merit scholarships. With a merit scholarship, cost would still be somewhat more expensive than a UC–not sure how need based aid works for out of state students there. Beautiful campus, great college town (Corvallis).
For WPI project education philosophy and degree requirements check out https://www.wpi.edu/project-based-learning/wpi-plan. In addition to the “MQP”, the “IQP” and extensive off campus learning experiences are there to develop a personalized awareness of the interface between possible design solutions and the very real barriers between possible solutions and their effective application. The breadth of “HUA” offerings may also surprise you. What are your interests in the Humanities?
Oregon State is an attractive option for engineering, in an fun college town that has similarities to SLO. However, they recently stopped offering WUE discounts. I suspect that that Oregon State may now be an expensive option for out-of-staters, even with merit scholarships.