<p>Yes, Cal Poly is overrated. However, even I, someone who deeply regrets coming here, think that has more to do with the rating than the school. After all, there are people out there who compare us to folks like MIT and Cal Tech. No, Cal Poly isn’t one of the world’s best universities. But, if you are willing to accept it’s limitations, it’s a pretty good school in the context of the western United States.</p>
<p>The difficulty in changing major is very real. In the college of engineering, you simply cannot change major if you would have more than 24 excess units when you graduate. That’s two years of your engineering coursework, folks! This is a major limitation. </p>
<p>I would like to add that the classes are often over-scheduled. While Cal Poly doesn’t have many 100+ person lectures, the advertised small-class size is achieved by having artificially small classes on paper and allowing students to crash and add the class in real life. And, of course, there’s almost always more people trying to add the class than the fire marshal will permit. Bits and pieces of the campus infrastructure are starting to change to allow bigger lectures. However, I doubt that most classes will ever have more than 40 people in them. Also, given the lack of a graduate program, your teacher is likely to be a dedicated professor or lecturer. </p>
<p>Speaking of classes, don’t expect to get out in 4 years, no matter how studious you are. Even if I had perfect grades and attempted to push 19 units a quarter, I couldn’t have done it in 4. The spots in the necessary classes simply where not available in a timely manner. For several key classes, availability sucks. And, with the additional budget cuts, I fully expect this to get worse. </p>
<p>Cal Poly is getting to be more expensive. The new rec-center and other unnecessary luxuries are not helping things either. Even if the tuition is cheaper than say, UC Davis, you are going to be paying significantly more in living expenses. Leaving aside any talk of “financial aid” (what’s that?), Cal Poly is an okay deal, but I feel that there are other state universities in the western United States that provide better value. Private school? Aside from Harvey Mudd, do those exist for engineering? And, [$42,140[/url</a>] pays for 3 years, with room and board at Cal Poly. </p>
<p>The rural atmosphere isn’t for everyone. I for one love it. I love exploring the campus’ vast tracts of agricultural land. And, there’s plenty of culture if you are willing to go out and look for it. I’ve maxed out credits for two preforming ensembles in my time here. I enjoy the occasional night out at the [url=<a href=“http://www.slosymphony.com/cm/Home.html]SLO”>http://www.slosymphony.com/cm/Home.html]SLO</a> Symphony<a href=“or%20an%20afternoon%20at%20one%20of%20their%20free%20dress%20rehearsals”>/url</a>, or a night of preforming with the [url=<a href=“http://symphony.calpoly.edu%5DCal”>http://symphony.calpoly.edu]Cal</a> Poly Symphony](<a href=“http://www.hmc.edu/admission1/costsandaid.html]$42,140[/url”>http://www.hmc.edu/admission1/costsandaid.html). I think both of those count as culture.</p>
<p>If you are willing to live with those disadvantages, Cal Poly is a good school. Even in larger classes you will have direct interaction with your professors. If you are a Computer Science major, you can rejoice in the fact that we are NOT a [Java</a> School](<a href=“http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/ThePerilsofJavaSchools.html]Java”>The Perils of JavaSchools – Joel on Software), and that we are really doing something (CPE 123) about the “throw-them-to-the-wolves” attitude that you often see in first-year computing programs. Cal Poly has some serious flaws, but you can still get a great education here.</p>