UC Riverside Bourns Engineering vs Cal Poly Pomona Engineering

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Which is the better school for engineering?
I got accepted into UCRiverside Engineering and Undeclared at Cal Poly Pomona. I know UCR used to be the butt of the UC system, but I feel it is implementing good changes. Perhaps Pomona has a better engineering program?
But I fear that if I try to changed from Undeclared to engineering at Pomona, and don't get approved, then i'm stuck with a useless degree. </p>

<p>I spoke to a few engineers from California, and they all said Pomona engineering is well respected, and UCR is overlooked - but could it be that the school has improved since they recieved their degrees 15+ years ago? </p>

<p>Any imput would be appreciated. Thank you. </p>

<p>Also, I got wait listed for Cal Poly SLO, CSU Long Beach, and SDSU. Should I try to remain on the wait list for these schools? I applied undeclared to all 3.</p>

2

<p>There are lots of opinions on this topic.</p>

<p>You might find them both about equal. It might come down to how you feel about the campus, etc.</p>

<p>UCR is implementing lots of great changes. The admissions standards are rising and as a result, the students are more motivated.</p>

3

<p>Get on the phone and call the engineering college and ask about how to transfer in at Cal Poly Pomona. Pomona has great internships and job offerings for engineering. Cal Poly Pomona actually supplies places like So Cal Edison, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other top employers with engineers. CPP graduates one of every 14 engineers in the state of California. This means a good solid network of colleagues and alums to help you in your career. UCR is a good up and coming school. But do yourself a favor and find out exactly what you can do at CPP before you give up. When you call CPP make sure you know what kind of engineering you want to transfer into. i.e. Mechanical E, Aerospace, Electrical E, etc. Good luck – UCR is pretty good. But, know your options.</p>

4

<p>Disclaimer: I’m more partial to UC. I came from UCLA.</p>

<p>UC = More theoretical, huge classes, professor don’t really help, don’t help you find your job, more for graduate school
Cal states = More practical, smaller classes, professors help/teach, help you find your job, more for industry.</p>

<p>CPP is a commuter school. UCR is out in the middle of inland valley. </p>

<p>Choose the school you feel comfortable with ultimately. </p>

<p>CPP I feel produces sub par graduates. SLO on the other hand produces graduates I feel make good engineers. I’ve worked with some CPP civil engineering graduates (shoddy work, incorrect units, can’t do basic calculations). I find it funny that a CPP CivilE can’t pass the Civil PE whereas a UCLA ChemE can pass the Civil PE on the first attempt (mind you I had 3 weeks to learn CivilE whereas this CPP graduate had 3 months + B.S. in CivilE). In no way is this an accurate reflection of CPP’s student body, this is based on an individual. </p>

<p>However, in my experience I feel this is a good representation of UCLA versus CPP student body. </p>

<p>UCLA = driven, cutthroat, snooty, arrogant
CPP = laid-back, more friendly and easier to work with, not as apt at technical</p>

<p>(disclaimer: total ancedotal evidence but the admission statistics do show a difference [GPA/SAT/etc])</p>

<p>I have a friend (Stanford undergrad, UCSD grad) who use to be a recruiter for Fluor. He told me, we want people who are smart enough to not mess up the work, but stupid enough to not talk back and not leave us, hence why CPP graduates are great. Disclaimer: He eventually left Fluor.</p>

5

<p>I went to CPP and I say neither UCR or CPP.
If u didn’t get in to SLO, go to a community college and transfer to the better schools ie: UCLA, just like the above poster said.</p>

<p>I work for the biggest publicly-owned utility agency in the United States ($6B+ /yr revenue) and a majority (more than 50%) of the engineers are Cal Poly Pomona grad.
However, MOST the bosses (middle management and above) went to the better schools (UCLA, Cal, USC, UC Davis, UCSD, UIUC).</p>

<p>This is not to insult CPP grads and claim that CPP engineering education is sub-par compared to UCR. </p>

<p>Current Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis went to CPP. Several of my friends managed to land a job at JPL. One got in to HBS, another went to INSEAD for his MBA and work (or worked?) at McKinsey. My boss went to CPP and then Cal.</p>

<p>However, I could turn back time I would go to a CC then transfer to a better school.</p>

6

<p>For LADWP:</p>

<p>Correct that LADWP / LADPW recruits from CPP and CSLA. </p>

<p>It’s just how it is when you have good alumni relationships. I believe LADWP only recruits their civil engineering associates from top cream of the crop much like how oil companies pick their top students and pay them the high salaries to retain talent.</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, CPP nor UCR are not bad schools. They are both ABET accredited. If you want to be an engineer, go with CPP or UCR - engineering doesn’t judge your school as harshly as let’s say Goldman Sachs / BCG / etc. If you want to be management, go to a higher school and go from there. </p>

<p>As for MBA. Is the McKinsey graduate working in U.S.? I believe McKinsey will only allow you to be associate level in the U.S. with a MBA from an American school. You can work outside of U.S. with a B.S. or M.S. and be an associate or work.</p>

<p>INSEAD is a different MBA school as it has an alliance with UPenn and Kellogg. Not to mention the 1 year MBA, foreign language requirement, and three physical location campuses. </p>

<p>P.S. - Rheidzan, I would imagine most of LADWP and LADPW are busy studying for tomorrow and friday.</p>

7

<p>Don’t let your peers tell you that UCR is a bad school just because it’s the easiest UC to get into. I’m a CS major at UCR and I can tell you that the engineering department is very good with a lot of funding for research. For CS at least, the classes are more challenging compared to other UC equivalents, which is a good thing because you’ll end up learning more. If you’re worried about how UCR will look on your resume, don’t. The UC system in itself is one of the best education systems in the world and UCR has high rankings for engineering disciplines. It all comes down to what you know. I have gotten many interviews for internships and employers didn’t think twice about looking down on UCR (I also have a strong GPA). Also, I like how the engineering department is relatively small compared to other departments at UCR so it’s easy to have face-to-face time with your counselor and they actually remember you.</p>

<p>Those were the pros of UCR, here are the cons. The career center here is useless. I got my current internship by applying on my own, arranging interview times on my own, and accepting the job on my own. Some biased UCR employee might point to their “ScotJobs” web page showing a list of hundreds of job offerings through UCR, but there really aren’t a lot listed and not a lot of goods jobs. There are virtually no companies coming to recruit people for internships or hiring with the exception of Google and some local companies. No other big names. Basically, you’re on your own to get an internship and/or job at UCR. I hope this changes in the future.</p>

<p>To contrast, I hear Cal Poly Pomona has a good network and good recruiting programs to get you an internship or job before graduation. They say that they focus more on practicality than other schools do. There is also a lot of hands-on work in UCR classes since almost every CS class is accompanied with a 3 hour lab unlike other UC’s where some classes don’t lab at all but a 1 hour discussion. I can’t comment outside of CS though.</p>

<p>Cal Poly Pomona will be cheaper if cost is an issue for you.</p>

<p>Location: Personally, both schools are in pretty bad locations. Cal Poly Pomona feels secluded, but has a cool farm. UCR is in a busier city that’s closer to interest points, but is inland and it can get pretty hot.</p>

<p>As far as CSU Long Beach, I hear they have a great engineering program too with good recruitment. I think of it as a CPP in a better area.</p>

<p>I think either choice will be good. Both have pros and cons so it just matters on your preference in the end.</p>

8

<p>

LA office.</p>

<p>

Took a trip to vegas. Barely returned so wouldn’t know and don’t care. Passed my PE last year.</p>

9

<p>For undergraduate engineering Cal Poly Pomona… hands down, no doubt about it, but since you got in as “undeclared” at CPP, so investigate how hard is to get into its impacted engineering programs.</p>

10

<p>@confusedncollege</p>

<p>Im going to apply to basically the same colleges as you, can you tell me your stats?</p>

<p>GPA, SAT/ACT scores, AP classes. Anythinh
Thank you!</p>

11

<p>Please let me know your info about your high school career</p>