Sophemore Cal Poly Student Warning You Not to Listen to Dropout Freshmen's Advice

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
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<p>I find it funny how people are changing their minds off wanting to go to school here through information on this website… </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Realize that the majority of the people writing on these forums don’t represent the University. I would say maybe 0.01% of the students that attend Cal Poly write on this page. This means that by letting yourself directly believe the information a weird nerdy online demographic is writing could actually not be an accurate depiction of life at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.</p></li>
<li><p>The majority of people writing on this website that actually do go to Cal Poly are 1st quarter freshman. That means that their actual idea of Cal Poly is lacking credibility due to the fact that they have barely even been at the University. Take advice maybe on freshman food and living in dorms. First quarter freshman aren’t even allowed to rush frats yet, this is the first year that this hasn’t been allowed. That means that the greek system is just starting to adjust to this change, by next year things will be a lot more smooth. Also when a first quarter dropout says that the education system is just aimed at putting graduates into career jobs, maybe rethink his credibility. The majority of students I know here are totally focused on continuing education after they get their bachelors degree, and most of the newly graduated students I know are completely able to go to graduate school and thrive, or if they won’t go straight to a career job. Sorry the education at Cal Poly is so good that employers are ready to hire graduates right out of college.</p></li>
<li><p>Understand the set dynamics of the City of San Luis Obispo. They have never changed. SLO is a party town located on the coast, between San Francisco and Los Angeles. I call it a party town because if you ever visit friends at SLO, you will see that the majority of people party. Also if you ever visit downtown SLO, you will see there are more bars than you can count. </p></li>
<li><p>Changing majors is always the area of scare for everyone. In my freshman year I changed majors between completely different colleges and had absolutely no problems. The change of major system is actually really fair, if you can pass the requirements that you need during the process of changing majors, than you actually probably deserve to be able to change into that major. For example, if you are a Soil Science major trying to switch into Architecture, you are going to have to pass around 5 courses with above a 3.0 gpa to get into the Arch major. if you can successfully do that, then you actually deserve to belong in that accredited department. It’s really not that hard of a process, and if you actually talk to the department you are interested in switching to, you will see it’s not as incredibly difficult as it seems.</p></li>
<li><p>I hear everyone saying how Cal Poly SLO is soo white? It only has around a 60% white population. Asian and Hispanic percentages are relatively high as well. Maybe you should all look at the demographics of the State of California, because public institutions should match the tax paying demographics, and guess what? Cal Poly basically mirrors the demographics of California.</p></li>
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<p>-6. Im over hearing how everyone thinks Cal Poly is basically only an engineering school. Yes it’s true that the College of Engineering does hold some of the highest ranked programs in the nation. But also… </p>

<p>Cal Poly has the 2nd best ranked Business program (Orfalea) in California behind UC Berkeley’s Haas. </p>

<p>Cal Poly’s majors within the College of Architecture all are ranked among the best in the nation and are compared to institutions like Harvard. (City & Regional Planning, Landscape Architecture, Architectural Engineering, Construction Management, Architecture).</p>

<p>The College of Science and Mathematics is extremely well respected, especially with the “learn by doing” process. I remember reading somewhere that the College of Science and Mathematics had a medical school acceptance rate above 70% for those that applied. </p>

<p>College of Agriculture is excellent and hands on. Not much is needed to be said about the College due to the fact that nowhere else in CA besides UC Davis has a program of equal status.</p>

<p>College of Liberal Arts is the most highly selective program in the state with an acceptance rate of 26%. It also requires and feeds it’s students into major-relevant internships which only make graduates more desirable for graduate school. For example, if your a history major, there is a good chance you could be guiding tours at Hearst Castle, or working directly for one of the many Law offices within the town.</p>

<p>Advice:<br>
-Talk to your friends at other universities and ask them about their classes. If you become jealous of the fact that they have 500 person lectures where they never say a word to their professors, than maybe Cal Poly’s learn by doing system isn’t right for you.</p>

<p>-If you feel like your having trouble partying, hit up your WOW leaders on their cell phones or facebook pages. The majority of Cal Poly students party and know of parties going on and they will most likely be glad to have you tag along. Likewise, maybe use your older connections you may know (friends brothers/sister, older people from your highschool, sorority girls in your dorm needing dates to formals etc.).</p>

<p>-Check out SLO. College is a time of discovery. I discovered that Cork N Bottle liquor store down foothill across from Alberstons, might have the best hamburgers and food deals in all of SLO and who would have thought. </p>

<p>-I hear everyone saying how Cal Poly SLO is soo white? It only has around a 60% white population. Asian and Hispanic percentages are relatively high as well.</p>

<p>-If you are really unhappy with Cal Poly, start considering other places you would rather go… Is Chico going to be better than Cal Poly? Is Isla Vista really where you want to spend the next 3-4 years of your life? Is the party scene at UC Irvine going to be much better? What college in California better integrates social aspects, strong academics, and location in a better fashion??</p>

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<p>Thanks for the info man, much better than that kid’s! I mean it’s good to see both the positives and negatives of schools, but thanks for balancing that out.</p>

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<p>I’m a first year here and what OP says is spot on.</p>

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<p>Thanks OP. Your post was really informative.</p>

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<p>Thank you for your insight! That other guy just ruined my college appetite… What’s up with him? Don’t have to rant out all his problems on CC. If there’s something wrong with the school, talk to a school administrator or something. If there’s something wrong with him, unload all your complaints to a psychologist or counselor.</p>

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<p>“The other guy” has the maturity of a two year toddler. Read his other posts. He pulled the fire alarm and was wondering what was going to happen to him, he flunked his classes and *****ed about not being able to change his major (what department would want that train wreck) and to top it off he wanted to apply to another school and not mention his time/grades (?) at Cal Poly (ethics classes anyone). But, he is still looking for a good party!!!</p>

<p>My son goes to Cal Poly (I didn’t) and loves it. He is in his fifth year. That’s my only complaint. The 4 year graduation rate is very low (The ME department head quoted it at 15% at the department intro when we dropped my son off his freshman year). Most need five years to get their degree. You have a tough time getting all the classes you want and with the state budget issues flowing down to the schools, it is only going to get worse, not better. You just have to figure the extra cost and the time into the equation. Cal Poly is not alone in this respect with CA state schools. I remember UC Davis and UCSB talking about the same problem.</p>

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<p>^^^ But, at least most engineering majors will get hired right out of school, many with a decent salary. Remember–that “hands on”/“learn by doing” philisophy goes a long way when companies are hiring. My daughter, on the other hand, is a kinesiology major who will most likely graduate in 4 years. But, she will still need to go to grad school for another 2 years if she wants to pursue a career in occupational therapy. Probably even more if she goes with physical therapy. And, will probably never make as much as many engineers.</p>

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<p>^^^ Getting hired right out of school was a pretty sure thing a few years ago. But with the economy the way it is, I am hoping that my son will find a job. I am an engineer and my company scaled back its college hiring big time this year. </p>

<p>Most engineers that I have worked with ended up getting their MS. However, most got a job right after their BS and then had their company help pay the cost of the MS.</p>

<p>My daughter was considering several schools for engineering. My wife and I make too much money to qualify for need based FinAid, but the private offered a decent amount of merit money. When I went thru the money numbers, it was a push between 5 years at a public school and 4 years at a private school (one that has a good 4 year grad rate). With Cal Poly (or pretty much any public school), it isn’t the tuition that gets the cost up, its the rent and other living expenses.</p>

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<p>Oh boy I’m waiting for the sequel of the sequel:</p>

<p>“Dropout Junior Cal Poly Student Warning You Not to Listen to Sophomore’s Advice”</p>

<p>and its sequel:</p>

<p>“Senior Cal Poly Student Warning You Not to Listen to Junior’s Advice”</p>

<p>XD</p>

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<p>Ha yeah… I mean, it’s one thing if someone wants to bad mouth their school after being there for at least a year, but to say all the garbage he was saying before his first quarter is up, its just ridiculous. I read a previous thread the kid started and it said he was looking to drop out of school and be homeless for a while to experience “something new.” </p>

<p>In reality, if you talk to Cal Poly students, they will tell you that they love it here. It’s just a great lively place to live, and people are fun loving and intelligent. Classes can be difficult to get, but if you can’t enroll in a class it’s honestly just a matter of crashing the class and sucking up to the teacher.</p>

<p>Taking units in the summer really helps graduating in a timely matter. But yeah, the reason why a lot of students have to stay at Poly for additional years is because department accreditation requires more classes to be taken. You will find that Cal Poly has a lot of accredited majors, which really just makes it a more reputable institution.</p>

<p>I honestly can’t really imagine being happier anywhere else. I feel like in terms of faults, Cal Poly has the least when compared to any other school in California. Its a really great balance of multiple factors.</p>

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<p>How about “bitter 5th year senior urging you to listen to dropout freshman’s advice… or at least some of it”?</p>

<p>So, you managed to change majors? Whoop-de-do. You are a sophomore. You underclassmen have it easy these days. The GPA requirements (within the college of engineering at least) are sane. However, once you have some classes in, it becomes absolutely impossible. If you have more than 28 units (that’s 7 ‘normal’, 4-unit classes) that do not go towards your new degree and a change of major cannot be allowed under any circumstances. Heck, I’ve got that much in preforming ensembles! Never mind that you really don’t get a taste of the ‘good stuff’ until you are an upperclassman. Never mind that the university actively discourages you from taking classes outside your degree program (only 4 units at a time, unless you have special permission). This is NOT the place to go if you are in any way unsure of what you want to do for the rest of your life. This is not the place to go if you want to explore anything outside of your degree area. And, if you are coming in from high school, you will be unsure of what you want to do. If you have never experienced work in your chosen field, how can you know that is what you want to do?</p>

<p>That being said, I’ve tempered my hatred of Cal Poly a bit. You can be successful here, you just have to be aware of the university’s rather nasty shortcomings. I advise incoming freshmen (withing the college of engineering at least) to put in some time at a community college if they can do it. Get as much math and science out of the way as possible (these block your engineering curriculum, unless you are computer science). Get CSU GE area A out of the way (there are lots of GE classes that depend on completing area A. Plus, the area A classes are the hardest to get). Take a few classes towards a variety of engineering fields. Even if you can’t transfer the credits, you might be able to use the experience. Admittedly, this might reduce your chances of admission. But, if you do get in you stand a much better chance of graduating and you will have a better GPA. Moreover, I personally think you will have a better chance of choosing a major that you can be successful in and enjoy. </p>

<p>Skipping the CSU GE area A logjam will save you some time in SLO, but don’t think you can pull off a transfer in less than 4-5 years. The engineering classes are a long series, no matter which engineering field you choose. Perhaps the benefits are simply not worth the increased time and cost. You will have to make up your own mind.</p>

<p>

I’m not sure if that’s inadvertently directed at me. I certainly am not a dropout freshman, although I certainly do hold the view that Cal Poly is a glorified trade school in some ways. Clearly, the majority of students you know are not the majority of students that I know. Even if they are, I’m clearly a counterexample. I want to study a field of engineering. 4 and a quarter years of university later, I still don’t know which one. So… Am I supposed to get a grad degree in general engineering? Am I supposed to wallow about in a series of master’s programs while burning up precious time and money? This is something that undergrad education should do. Cal Poly has failed me in this regard. </li>
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<p>

What exactly do you mean highest ranked? Ranked by whom using what criteria? Anything you acctually care about? Don’t get me wrong, I think most of the engineering programs at Poly are pretty good. I’m just not sure if that has any relation to the rankings that someone has given it. </p>

<p>

And, that relates to educational quality, how? I’m so tired of selectivity being used as a proxy for quality. That’s even worse than depending on some obscure rating that involves a poll of university professors and the rate of alumni donations. </p>

<p>This university would be much better off if they listened to and served the needs of their students, rather than jockeying for some pointless ranking that no impact on our lives.</p>

<p>

Meh. It depends on what you take. I did a summer quarter and it turns out that I can’t use a single one of those units towards my degree. Of course, that was somewhat intentional, and I don’t regret it for a moment. These days, I advise against doing a summer quarter at Cal Poly. Most of the time you will end up paying more for the same classes you could get at Cuesta, or during the school year for far less per unit. (back when I did my summer quarter, there was some state subsidy. These days, there is none, so everything is out-of-state tuition during the summer. ) Your situation may be different, or they might start subsidizing summer classes again. Or, Clint Staley might offer something I can’t resist even though I probably should :slight_smile: (If I hate programming so much, why do I keep trying to challenge myself with things like that… I really don’t know). </p>

<p>

Tuition isn’t exactly cheap either. The one good thing about the great soviet housing complex in Poly Canyon is that it drove rents down throughout the area. I live off campus, and my rent went from around $765 a month for a bedroom to around $600 a month for a studio in the two years after it opened. At that rate, my rent is acctually less than my tuition for a quarter (at full load). With food and supplies, your cost of living is still slightly higher than tuition, but it isn’t a vast difference. </p>

<p>

You are operating under the false assumption that they acctually care. Why should I undertake a personal risk when I have no real chance of changing anything?</p>

<p>

Yes, this guy isn’t exactly a role model. In fact, it’s people like him that makes me look down on business majors (sorry, folks). I’m almost completely opposed his lifestyle. I’m here to learn, no matter what the university does to try to stop me. Yet, I share some of his complaints. As I said before, you can’t simply write off everything he says because he’s all but failed out. Even if you do, I’m saying some of the same things and I haven’t failed out.</p>

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<p>njornredtail-reading your post is depressing… I changed majors with well over 28 units. I agree, this isn’t a place to go if “you are in any way unsure of what you want to do the rest of your life.” I feel like that statement is rather redundant considering the fact that you do have to declare a major when applying. Nonetheless, I really haven’t met one person (no offense, but by the way you sound im guessing your not the most social person) that has really been completely told they can’t change majors. I changed into the College of Architecture. I don’t know if you have realized this, but to get into most non-major classes, it generally requires the permission of the instructor, and I haven’t been turned away once. Maybe just lurking on PASS all day isn’t the best way to get into the classes you want.</p>

<p>“If you have never experienced work in your chosen field, how can you know that is what you want to do?”

  • Hmm… maybe rethink what you are saying. People generally have at least the faintest idea of what they find interesting. If they don’t, then yeah I agree, maybe they don’t belong at Cal Poly. But im sure they don’t belong at any other top institutions either. Is there some common system out there that I dont know about that occupies students with highly sought after jobs before they even graduate college? </p>

<p>"I want to study a field of engineering. 4 and a quarter years of university later, I still don’t know which one. So… Am I supposed to get a grad degree in general engineering? Am I supposed to wallow about in a series of master’s programs while burning up precious time and money? This is something that undergrad education should do. Cal Poly has failed me in this regard. "
-How is Cal Poly the blame of this? You have been in college for over 4 years and still haven’t been able to find a field of engineering that your interested in. Im sure at other colleges, while you sit in your room playing computer games, they deliver books to you on career choices right? Im just going to say that generally after 4 years of college, people have at least made up their mind about what field they want to study in, and with that comes graduate school and continuing your education. Just the fact that every graduate is required to produce a Senior research project is evidence enough that Cal Poly does have continuing education on the agenda.</p>

<p>“What exactly do you mean highest ranked? Ranked by whom using what criteria? Anything you acctually care about? Don’t get me wrong, I think most of the engineering programs at Poly are pretty good. I’m just not sure if that has any relation to the rankings that someone has given it.”
-Thank you for picking apart my comment. Im not sure what your motive is, but I think its pretty well established that Cal Poly has an excellent Engineering department. I know Aerospace Engineering is consistently regarded to as one of the top programs in the U.S. and the other departments have established rankings as well. Google around, or I guess just don’t believe me. </p>

<p>(on selectivity) hmm, how does selectivity have anything to do with educational quality. Well, generally when a specific department accepts only a small percentage of it’s pool of applicants, it means that there isn’t enough space in the department to just accept everyone you see. This means that the more qualified students of the applicant pool will be accepted, thus providing the department with an overall group of more qualified, and generally more intelligent students. Just the fact that more people apply than are accepted should give you some insight that a lot of people find the education to be respectable, especially when the acceptance rate is just 26% (very low percentage). </p>

<p>From the way you responded earlier, im guessing that you are more of a pessimistic person. Correct me if im wrong, but generally people that think/act pessimistically don’t enjoy things in life as much? I guarantee that someday after you’ve been making a steady 6 figure salary for a while, you’ll look back at your engineering education at Cal Poly and really appreciate it.<br>
-I mean, you can’t complain that Cal Poly costs too much, because guess what? It’s about the most inexpensive that college can get.
-You can’t say that the classes were too big, because i know those engineering labs are tiny in comparison to any other public institution.
-It’d be hard for you to say the town isn’t fun… Beach 15 minutes away. Hiking/mountain biking nearly everywhere surrounding the town. Solid music hub with the downtown brew, as well as solid bar scene all over the downtown. Great food from sushi to italian to BBQ.</p>

<p>Idk good luck, it’s too bad that your place at Cal Poly couldn’t have been taken by someone who could appreciate it more.</p>

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<p>I didn’t realize it before, but choosing and attending a college is a lot like dating.:/</p>

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<p>Or getting married! Expensive and painful to make a change…</p>

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<p>

[quote]
njornredtail-reading your post is depressing… I changed majors with well over 28 units. I agree, this isn’t a place to go if “you are in any way unsure of what you want to do the rest of your life.” I feel like that statement is rather redundant considering the fact that you do have to declare a major when applying. Nonetheless, I really haven’t met one person (no offense, but by the way you sound im guessing your not the most social person) that has really been completely told they can’t change majors. I changed into the College of Architecture. I don’t know if you have realized this, but to get into most non-major classes, it generally requires the permission of the instructor, and I haven’t been turned away once. Maybe just lurking on PASS all day isn’t the best way to get into the classes you want.

[quote]

Okay, let us see what the policy is for my college:
[College</a> of Engineering Advising Center - Changing Majors into ME](<a href=“http://eadvise.calpoly.edu/dept/memajor.php]College”>http://eadvise.calpoly.edu/dept/memajor.php)

And…

If I walk over to the engineering advising center the moment I get back to SLO and ask to change to anywhere else in the college of engineering, I would be laughed at. If the current policy existed 2 years ago, I wouldn’t have been allowed to change. If you had an easy time changing majors, it means you were extremely lucky to know what you wanted so soon in your academic career.</p>

<p>As far as non-major classes go:
[College</a> of Engineering - Academic/Administrative Probation](<a href=“http://eadvise.calpoly.edu/policy/probation.php]College”>http://eadvise.calpoly.edu/policy/probation.php)

Yup. You cannot take more than 4 units a quarter that do not apply towards your degree. No more than 24 units over your academic career. Hum… So, how am I supposed to experience other majors if I’m not ever allowed to take their classes (remember, I’m always enrolled in some preforming ensemble or other, so even a single 4 unit class would put me on Administrative Probation). Perhaps your college has a different policy?</p>

<p>

It’s called an internship or co-op. Been there, done that. I was somewhat disappointed, but that might have more to do with particular business I worked fore than the industry. It still has raised some doubts in my mind. I want to do something more important than yet another accounting web app. </p>

<p>

Meh… It’s possible to game the numbers by getting lots and lots of completely unqualified folks to apply. On the flip side, I haven’t gone that deep into the CLA’s classes, so I can’t really say that it’s a bad education either. I just think that even if selectivity tells you a little bit about your class mates, it doesn’t say that much about the department.</p>

<p>

You are correct in noticing that I am not complaining about any of those things (although, I would put the music hub of SLO up at the PAC, not at downtown brew :slight_smile: ). There’s plenty that CP SLO gets right. This stuff they get wrong still hurts. </p>

<p>

The fact that I attend this university makes more, not less, qualified to point out shortcomings in the education it provides.</p>

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<p>

That’s a great way to put it.</p>

<p>It’s nice to see something besides blind praise. As a 4th year engineer I agree with many of redtail’s sentiments. I’m also disappointed in Cal Poly’s low expectations from their engineers, particularly in my major.</p>

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<p>What engineering major are you in vc89?</p>

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<p>I am just curious, what do you mean exactly by “low expectations in some of the engineering majors?”…</p>