Ok, I know UC Berkeley will get me a more valuable bachelor’s degree - but how much more valuable? My main concern with UC Berkeley is the competitive nature of it, and the freshman year 3.4 GPA minimum requirement to be admitted into the CS major. I’m a much more laid back person, and I’m worried I wouldn’t make the 3.4 GPA in such a competitive environment. I loved the campus and vibe of Cal Poly, and it definitely feels more like home than Berkeley. They also have much smaller class sizes which is a huge plus. But I don’t want to miss out on a big opportunity…thoughts?
Would it be correct that you are in UCB L&S, but in the CS major at CPSLO?
Yep, L&S at Cal vs. CoE at CPSLO… My bad I should’ve specified.
At CPSLO, are you in the CS major, or a different engineering major? If the latter, you need a 3.0 GPA to change into the CS major: https://eadvise.calpoly.edu/majors/changing-majors-within-ceng/ .
Either way, you would be safer with respect to your major at CPSLO than needing a 3.3 GPA to get into L&S CS at UCB.
Yeah I’m in the CS major already at cal poly. And that’s what I was thinking, but are there any specific benefits at Cal that I could get which would make the risk worth it?
For a small number of people it might make a diffrence.
Wall Street firms recruit at schools like Cal, it’s unlikely they go to SLO. And Silicon Valley and SF are right there so you can easily drive or take the train down to meet with companies.
I’m almost not wanting to post this because so many kids want to “keep all their options open”, it’s a human characteristic. It’s why the package of some machine lists 20 features even if only 3 of them really matter
That said, I think the differences don’t matter. I don’t see you missing out on any big opportunity, but just that you ask it may be a flag you are susceptible to that “keep options open” thinking. Kids get great jobs out of SLO if they do the right things (decent grades and internships). And you run a sizeable and real risk if you choose Cal. School starts out a bit harder than you think and you get some B’s and C’s, at SLO you’re still going to get a CS degree if you stick it out. At Cal, better open the catalog and pick some other major.
Here are the post-graduation career surveys for both schools:
https://career.berkeley.edu/Survey/Survey (“What Can I Do With a Major In…?” links for by-major results)
https://careers.calpoly.edu/search.php
However, note carefully the difference between mean versus median pay levels.
@mikemac valuable input, thank you.
@ucbalumnus that’s a very good point - so you can’t really compare those 
but the Berkeley report was helpful in listing the companies grads were employed at. I see many of the companies that recruit from Cal Poly listed there, so that’s good! I’m definitely leaning more toward to Cal Poly.
Cal Poly SLO is the one CSU that’s right up there with the UCs when it comes to CS and Engineering programs. I fyou feel more at home at Cal Poly, go there.
After two or three years of work experience, where you went to school starts to become irrelevant. It’s what you know that matters, not your school.
Why go to Cal if you know you will hate it there? From your comments above - not just the space but the competitive environment and wound up classmates will bother you.
It is really difficult to excel when you aren’t comfortable with your surroundings - increasing your chances of not meeting the GPA threshold.
Seriously - head to SLO.and don’t look back.
Thanks for the input, makes me more confident about my decision!