UCLA or Cal Poly SLO

<p>These are the only two schools I'm considering (barring the extremely unlikely event that I get accepted into Stanford), and I have been accepted into both. I was accepted into both as a physics major, though I may want to change that major (more on that later).</p>

<p>So, there are a few specific things I'm wondering. First: cost. I received the Cal Grant A for UCLA, meaning the full $12000 tuition is paid for. I just have to pay for room and board, books, and personal costs and stuff. Still at least $15000 a year, but not bad. I haven't received an award letter yet for Cal Poly, but I have been reading that the Cal Grant A for CSUs is only like $5500. And the CSUmentor financial aid estimator calculated that exact amount for me, and nothing else. If that's the case, it appears that UCLA would actually be a bit cheaper than Cal Poly. Is that really the case?</p>

<p>Also, in regards to my possible major change: I was accepted as a physics major. My goal used to be to get a Phd in physics, but I'm not sure if thats what I want anymore, especially after hearing about the high dropout rate of physics Phd candidates. So now I might possibly want to get into an engineering major if possible (I'd likely decide on this after my freshman year). I know switching into the college of engineering would be hard at either school, but would it be much harder to do at one of them compared to the other?</p>

<p>Finally, I'd just like to hear the overall Pros and Cons of each university.</p>

<p>Cal Poly engineering grad here with several UCLA grad relatives. I have some insights into the physics department due to my senior project (senior thesis) happened to be cross disciplinary and intersected with the physics department heavily. </p>

<p>So if you are seriously contemplating about getting a Phd in Physics eventually, you should go to UCLA. Physics is a basic research field and UCLA would have superior resources and facilities in basic physics research. Additionally, getting connected with physics faculty members in UCLA will help your eventual goal of getting into a Phd physics program. Cal Poly is not a basic research school, we have some research, but it is much more oriented toward industry applications. Moreover, our physics program won’t have the scale that UCLA has.</p>

<p>Alternatively, if you are serious about switching into engineering and perhaps even work a bit prior to graduate school, I would recommend you going to Cal Poly. Cal Poly’s college of science and math has very similar admission standards as the college of engineering, so for you to switch from physics to engineering should not be too much of a challenge as long as your grades in SLO is decent. Physics is look upon as a very rigorous major within Cal Poly and the school of engineering, they don’t consider it as a back door admission ploy. You probably have a superior chance of switching into engineering in Cal Poly than UCLA because of the structure of the colleges. But if you are a rock star scholar then the switch should be of no concern, and UCLA engineering will also be a very good choice. The main differences between SLO and UCLA engineering is that we are very much professionally oriented, we are all about landing you that great post undergrad job. UCLA is more about going straight to graduate school post graduation. </p>

<p>I don’t know enough about the pros and cons of the UCLA physics department. But I can tell you that Cal Poly physics is smaller and more intimate. The students really get to bond between themselves and with the faculty, and it feels very much like a small family. The quality of the teaching at Cal Poly physics is good. We have very small classes and the faculty is very involved in teaching. But our research facility is less impressive than UCLA for sure. I am almost certain that undergraduate UCLA physics will be mostly taught by TAs, given their senior faculty will be too busy doing research. So depending on your learning style, one might suit more than the other. </p>

<p>The pros of Cal Poly is that we are a smaller university compared to UCLA. So we have a lower faculty to student ratio, and we are a dedicated teaching institution. We are located in a very idyllic location, right off the central coast of CA with 3 beautiful beaches near by and wonderful climate year round. We are not a big sports school, so our school spirit is derived from our deep sense of a close-knit university community. I would say 99% of the Cal Poly’s students and faculties REALLY want/love to be here, not because of lack of choices, and so that sense of esprit de corps is evident in almost every aspect of university life. The campus itself is sizable (largest land holding public uni in CA), decent looking, and student life is very active ranging from sports, interests clubs, to professional organizations. </p>

<p>We are more collaborative than UCLA academically. Competition between students are less intense, probably because we are a smaller student body, plus we are located in a very mellow location with all the mountains, and farms, and beaches, and a small posh downtown. We are definitely not Westwood area.</p>

<p>Either university will provide you with a great undergraduate education, it all depends on your personal preferences and also future academic plans. </p>

<p>That response deserves an A+ or at least a thank you.</p>

<p>Thank you! :)</p>

<p>Thank you, that helped a lot. I think for me the deciding factor will come down to cost. Also, since I am considering a switch to engineering, would you mind telling me what type of engineering you majored in, what your current job is, and maybe like what a typical day or week is like for you? You can pm me if you want. Thanks. </p>

<p>cal poly is over UCB in engineering even far ahead of UCLA, that’ my belief. caculating just by SAT</p>

<p>Many pros and cons about attending UCLA vs. Cal Poly stem from the difference between a UC and a CSU school.
–The qualities of getting more of an intimate industry oriented curriculum is one of the CSU benefits and I’ve heard that some employers rather take a CSU student because they are ready for the job while it costs money to train a UC student.
I would highly recommend Cal Poly over UCLA for engineering.</p>

<p>Uc is cheaper than csu once you take into account cal grant.</p>

<p>Csu is only cheaper if you don’t qualify for need aid.</p>

<p>Run the net price calculators.</p>

<p>Ucla has way better name recognition outside California, and especially outside the us. If that will ever matter to you.</p>

<p>Also compare entering class stats to see which one is more desirable by other students. That will clearly point to ucla.</p>

<p>Changing majors once you have been accepted to Cal Poly SLO is brutal. Heard that it has only gotten worse since I did it 30 years ago. </p>