<p>I'm a senior that got into only a few schools which were UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, San Jose State, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I got rejected from Davis, but I sent in an appeal letter and I'm not sure if it'll go well. I applied for a computer engineering/computer science and engineering major but I'm unsure of which one is the best to go to. I know that cal poly has a strong engineering program, but I'm unsure of how it compares to the UC's. I also heard that most companies usually prefer people from cal poly over those from UC's when employing people.</p>
<p>I'd go to Cal Poly for engineering. Visit the campuses though.</p>
<p>Yeah, I intend on visiting them this weekend</p>
<p>i strongly suggest cal poly. cal poly is the best engineering school in the western united states. it's approach in teaching students is COMPLETELY different than any UC. cal poly graduates do a lot better in the industry than students from other colleges because professors lead a hands on approach in class. companies prefer this way and that is exactly why they come to hire a bunch of these students. my brother is almost a cal poly graduate in electrical engineering and he has one job lined up for june and is attending interviewS for another. i would choose cal poly but their bme program has JUST been introduced so im sticking to irvine or davis (btw, if anyone has advice abt the whole davis vs irvine thing, please do share). but for electrical and computer engineering, Cal poly is simply the best. its a nice homely campus too with a beach! good luck in ur decisions and hope my input has helped.</p>
<p>The UCs have strong engineering programs and are generally more prestigious.</p>
<p>ubermuchlove:</p>
<p>"cal poly is the best engineering school in the western united states."</p>
<p>Er, no. That would undoubtedly be Harvey Mudd, Berkeley, and Stanford. =)</p>
<p>"it's approach in teaching students is COMPLETELY different than any UC."</p>
<p>Yes, Cal Poly trains them with just the skills to get them out of the university and into the world with a job.</p>
<p>"cal poly graduates do a lot better in the industry than students from other colleges because professors lead a hands on approach in class."</p>
<p>I hardly think that's correct. I don't see how they'd do better, considering that at the UCs, you have more opportunity to do research (after all, the UCs are the research universities of California, whereas the Cal States are more geared to degree-and-go).</p>
<p>"companies prefer this way"</p>
<p>I don't see how you'd know this, or could speak for all of them...</p>
<p>"that is exactly why they come to hire a bunch of these students."</p>
<p>They also go to the UCs to hire a bunch of the engineering students.</p>
<p>"my brother is almost a cal poly graduate in electrical engineering and he has one job lined up for june and is attending interviewS for another."</p>
<p>That's good. As said, Cal Poly's job--and indeed, all the Cal States' job--is to get the students a degree that can quickly get them a job, whereas the UCs are more into research, etc.</p>
<p>"but for electrical and computer engineering, Cal poly is simply the best."</p>
<p>I really hope you mean for non-doctoral colleges on the West Coast. =)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Er, no. That would undoubtedly be Harvey Mudd, Berkeley, and Stanford. =)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Replace Harvey Mudd with Cal-Tech and you have your top 3.</p>
<p>well let me clarify...
Cal Poly's Engineering program is one of the best. But clearly, everyone's definition of "best" is different. Having spoken to several hiring managers, i understand that companies such as Oracle prefer students from cal poly over berkeley because cal poly students have the skills as well as the basic understanding of engineering. </p>
<p>Texas Instruments has approximately only 11 campuses it recruits from the entire country, including Berkeley, MIT, CalTech...Cal Poly was added to this list about two years ago. </p>
<p>Yes, UC colleges are highly prestigious. for research. so if you want to get into research, then sure choose a UC campus like berkeley, which well known for its academic rigor and excellence in Engineering. </p>
<p>but, if you want to get a job in companies like NUMMI (toyota), Pepsi, Oracle Texas Instruments, Boeing, Sun Microsystems, etc after undergraduation and start making some moolah i would say Cal Poly is the way to go.</p>
<p>Cal Poly is the only CSU that is good enough to give berkeley a run for its money and "image."</p>
<p>Once again, this is just advice for the topic starter. So long as you find the information helpful, my job is done.</p>
<p>Actually, Cal Poly is great for undergrad research. It is in the USNews top 35 for that. The other UC's mentioned are not.</p>
<p>^^ er? I don't see Cal Poly in the top 35 on US News. If Cal Poly's in for research, then the UCs definitely are, as they're much more research-oriented than Cal Poly is...</p>
<p>
[quote]
Replace Harvey Mudd with Cal-Tech and you have your top 3.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Oops! Forgot about one of the most obvious! =p</p>
<p>"i understand that companies such as Oracle prefer students from cal poly over berkeley because cal poly students have the skills as well as the basic understanding of engineering."</p>
<p>I highly doubt that Cal Poly grads are superior to Berkeley's in any way.</p>
<p>"but, if you want to get a job in companies like NUMMI (toyota), Pepsi, Oracle Texas Instruments, Boeing, Sun Microsystems, etc after undergraduation and start making some moolah i would say Cal Poly is the way to go."</p>
<p>Maybe for the UCs the OP is looking at, but certainly not Berkeley...</p>
<p>"Cal Poly is the only CSU that is good enough to give berkeley a run for its money and 'image.'"</p>
<p>At best, Cal Poly is comparable to mid-tier UCs: UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, and UC Davis. And that's solely in numbers (GPA and SAT). But without engineering and architecture, Cal Poly would be an unknown school. It doesn't have the top faculty, or the top facilities, or the top research. Berkeley, on the other hand, is well-known for more or less every department, has world-renowned faculty, has some of the best facilities (labs, etc.), and is one of America's leading schools for research and discovery. I hardly see how it gives Berkeley a "run for its money." A university that does that is UCLA, and to say the Cal Poly is easily comparable to UCLA is somewhat laughable.</p>
<p>Kyle: Let me expound. USnews puts out a list of Top 35 schools that are best for undergrad research. Cal Poly is on the list along with UCB, UCLA, and the Ivies. The other UC's didn't make it. They may do more research than Cal Poly as a whole, but CP is so focused on undergrads that almost all research invloves them.</p>
<p>Do you have a link to this list? (I'm not doubting you, I've simply never come across it.)</p>
<p>I was trying to find it online, but it didn't come up. I first came across while reading the hardcopy a couple months ago (hadn't heard of it either until then). Maybe someone with the Best Colleges mag can confirm?</p>
<p>Are you talking about this?:</p>
<p>If that's the list, then I'd question its breadth, since UC Irvine is included, but UCSD isn't.</p>
<p>That looks similar, but I could've sworn it only had 35 schools and didn't include uci.</p>
<p>"Replace Harvey Mudd with Cal-Tech and you have your top 3."</p>
<p>I'd like to insert a slew of comments here but I'll restrain myself.</p>
<p>my dad worked for hp and they loved to hire cal poly grads over berkeley. uc grads are slower than cal poly when it actually comes to real work. the bottom line is if you want to be successful and you dont want to be a doctor, lawyer or professor, go to cal poly.</p>
<p>Go to Cal Poly for undergraduate. Lots of people go to Cal Poly, big network.
Some people never heard of Harvey Mudd, eventhough it's an excellent school. I mentioned this school to my co-worker who graduated from USC and he said he never heard of it, it's only 1 hour away.</p>
<p>go for calpoly.</p>
<p>And is it just me or does UC Davis only reject engineering students? Everyone I talk to who isn't a engineering student were accepted. I'm a ME major myself (transfer student) and I know a few other CE majors who been rejected.</p>