<p>I applied ED to SLO for EE but I'm having serious second guesses and my counselor told me I had till the 15th to put them to rest (I can change from ED to RD by the 15th).
I have a 4.04 weighted, 3.75 unweighted GPA, and a 1940 SAT.</p>
<p>I'm confused because I want the highest quality education and I heard that at SLO the hands-on education comes at the cost of depth (if that makes sense; I'm afraid of getting a shallow education). I'm also applying to UCSB, UCD, and UCB for Electrical Engineering (I'm aware that I most likely won't get into Berkeley, but UCSB is pretty reasonable imo.)</p>
<p>I just need to know whether or not to go from ED to RD. I'm being pressured to apply ED to SLO because of finances (my mother's afraid of me not getting enough financial aid to support the UCs, because they/she can't afford UC tuition), but I'm fairly certain I'll get enough scholarships and I absolutely can't accept anything but the best education that I can attain. I believe I have fair chances of getting into UCD and UCSB in addition to SLO (RD), right?</p>
<p>Any advice/words will be welcomed, I have until the 13th (personal deadline) to decide on this. If you need any more information, please tell me.</p>
<p>Given how uncertain you are about what school is your first choice, and your apparent desire to compare financial aid offers, it does not make sense to apply ED anywhere.</p>
<p>Why do your parents want you to apply ED? Seems that applying RD to CPSLO and the various UCs would allow you to select whichever is the least expensive out of the schools that admit you. All of the schools you list are perfectly good schools for engineering.</p>
<p>Also, do you have a safety, or is starting at community college your safety?</p>
<p>My safety is Pomona and UC Riverside…
They believe that since SLO is a CSU and that because my sister wasn’t extended financial aid when she was accepted to UCs, I won’t be able to afford the UCs. </p>
<p>Also, and I know I’ve talked to you before, ucbalumnus, there is no objective UC vs SLO comparison, is there? I’ve scourged College Confidential for one and I have not found any objective comparison. Just biases and anecdotal evidence.</p>
<p>With two students in college, financial aid could be more favorable for both you and her. Check the net price calculators (but also remember that you will have a year or few after she graduates, so the one in college scenario also needs to be considered).</p>
<p>In any case, what is the advantage of locking yourself down to CPSLO instead of applying to all and seeing if any of the schools is significantly less expensive than the others? For someone who is concerned about finances and unsure of his first choice, applying ED just does not make sense.</p>
<p>“UCSB has more depth than SLO especially for engineering.” I heard that because so much time is spent with the hands-on approach there’s less theory/they cover less material. Perhaps that’s just conjecture/heresay. </p>
<p>And…I know applying ED doesn’t make sense but I’m afraid of not applying ED to SLO and not getting into any of the higher UCs or SLO or not getting financial aid for the UCs and then having to go to a safety which I really don’t want…</p>
<p>Well yeah, I didn’t word that last sentence properly. My parents can cover a CSU tuition, but I have to cover the difference; my worst case scenario is not getting into SLO and not getting aid for the UCs. </p>
<p>I really just want to know how likely it is to get financial aid for the UCs vs how likely I am to get into SLO, I guess…</p>
<p>For need-based aid, run the net price calculators to see what the net price after subtracting financial aid grants would be (run for both the scenario with you and your sister in college, and with just you after your sister graduates). Of course, merit scholarships are less predictable.</p>
<p>As far as differences between CPSLO and the UCs, are your post-graduation goals to work in the industry, or to go on to PhD study? CPSLO appears to have somewhat more emphasis on the former, while the UCs appear to have somewhat more emphasis on the latter.</p>
<p>But the bottom line is, applying anywhere ED closes options before you even see them. If you don’t apply ED, but get into CPSLO and the UCs, you can choose whichever will cost less over the years you will be in college.</p>
<p>One thing that some posters have been concerned about is that CPSLO’s four year graduation rate is relatively low for a school of its selectivity. You may want to ask on the forum about it what the typical reasons are – whether they are benign like taking quarters off for co-op jobs, student related like voluntarily taking light course loads, or school related like insufficient space in classes that you need (the last is commonly cited at many schools, but is probably exaggerated at four year schools). CPSLO does not have a four year graduation pledge program, but CPP does.</p>
<p>IMO, at 26%, the 4-year grad rate for SLO is awful. But regardless of my opinion, it does mean that 75% of the students will be there more than 4 years…in other words, 5+ years of tuition.</p>
<p>Definitely run the UC calculator. If I recall posts on cc, with the Blue and Gold plan, UC can be less expensive than a Cal State. Moreover, the odds are much better of limiting tuition/fees to four years.</p>
<p>btw: the 5-year grad rate at SLO is only ~75%.</p>
<p>If you do well at CLSO, you will be able to get into good PhDs program. If you don’t do well there, I would assume you don’t do well at UCs either, so getting into a PhD program is also moot.</p>
<p>Yeah a common theme I’ve come across is how atrocious the rate of getting required classes is at SLO, so that’s terrifying. @bluebayou I am not qualified for the Blue and Gold grant, my family income is over 100000 even though they can’t really afford to pay us through college, so we don’t get many grants (or my sister didn’t).</p>
<p>Ideally I’d be doing more research while pursuing some internships/a internship, but at the same time I don’t see anything wrong with the hands-on approach.</p>
<p>The Berkeley calculator estimates the net cost after grants are applied at 26500, and estimates I’d get 8000 with student loans/work. The CSU calculator estimates 3500 by way of student loan, so…I understand what you’re saying.</p>
<p>So…I’m afraid of drawing conclusions, but I definitely see where this is pointing.</p>
<p>Not necessarily. It could be that 4 years plus 1 or 2 quarters is common. It could also be that co-op jobs cause extended calendar time to graduation, but not extra tuition-paying quarters.</p>
<p>But this does need more investigation if you are concerned about costs.</p>
<p>Note that 7% of CPSLO bachelor’s degrees are in architecture, which is nominally a 5-year NAAB-accredited program. But it does not appear that anything else is nominally a greater than 4-year program, although some engineering majors do require more than 180 quarter units.</p>
<p>If there is any question on being able to afford even CPSLO or other CSUs, you may want to see if you qualify for any of the following for even lower cost options:</p>
<p>Also, are any UCs or CSUs in commute range? That may save several thousand (subtract room and board for dorm or off-campus, add in food, utilities, and commuting costs from your parents’ house).</p>
<p>Check the other UCs as well, as Berkeley financial aid may be slightly better than others for some ranges of family income. If CSUs only give you loans, then the net price is list price ($24,360 for CPSLO on or off campus and $22,745 for CPP on or off campus). So CSUs would be cheaper, but perhaps not by as much as you were thinking (but watch out for the year after your sister graduates). Getting a scholarship may tip the comparison the other way.</p>
<p>Is your sister at a UC or CSU? Especially if she is at a UC, she should also apply for financial aid for the year that both of you will be in college.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>More reason not to do ED so that you can compare financial aid and scholarships from several schools if they admit you.</p>
<p>Oh, don’t get me wrong, ucbalumnus, my family can (barely) afford the CSUs, so CPSLO would be fine. It’s just a question of stretching to get a ‘higher’ quality education at the higher UCs versus being safe and secure at CPSLO, but dealing with the potentially lacking education, and, apparently, the unlikelihood of graduating on time.</p>
<p>Also, my sister attends a CSU.</p>
<p>And I’m aware that the cost will go up when my sister graduates, which is why the numbers I gave you for the costs and everything were taken under the assumption that I was the only one attending college (she graduates in 2015).</p>
<p>It may be just PR spin, but we had a SLO campus tour with two engineering students this summer, and when the question about graduation rates came up, they were both skeptical. Both were graduating in 4 years. One said that the head of his department emailed all his advisees and and told them to let him know if they were having any trouble getting required classes and he would intervene. They were of the definite opinion that those who were not graduating in four years were the people who never wanted a class before 10am, never wanted a class on Friday, were not willing to take evening classes, etc. So I don’t know if their explanation is a fact, but I think we certainly have to look critically at what is behind the graduation rates.</p>
<p>What you may want to do is calculate four year total costs, based on one year of both of you in college and three years of you alone in college after she graduates (and, if you are pessimistic, one or more extra semesters or quarters) for each school, based on their net price calculator estimates.</p>
<p>When I went to college, the four year graduation rate was under 40%. I had no trouble graduating in eight semesters in four calendar years, taking more than 120 semester units of courses in the process (despite coming in with some AP credit). What I did observe was that a lot of students needed a remedial English composition course, voluntarily took light course loads, or decided or changed major late. These are all student-related reasons for delayed graduation.</p>
<p>Yeah ucbalumnus it’s estimated at around 109400 vs 98000 (in favor of SLO), but that’s not counting the loans and work-study offered/estimated by the UCs, which essentially puts them on equal footing.</p>