<p>Im having a really hard time deciding.</p>
<p>Here are pros and cons for each, help me.</p>
<p>UCLA
PROS:
-17k fin aid first year.. rest is loans
-It's UCLA/Peer pressure
-Social Life ( I can join my dads/brothers fraternity, food, LA environment )
-Sports
-Resources available (Libraries/career etc)
-Keep my car
-better grad school placement</p>
<p>CONS:
-Classes will be far more crowded / harder with a curve ( form what I hear )
-If I don't maintain a proper GPA, I wont get my major.
-Traffic/LA Parking etc</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO
Pros:
-Im in love with the place, the feel, people and environment.
-Better program for engineering
-Better career placement ( companies prefer SLO engineers, from what I hear )
-Guaranteed in major
-Smaller Classes/Hands on learning/Will graduate with projects and experience</p>
<p>CONS:
-No fin aid, except loans
-Denying UCLA
-no car
-may take 5 years ( but so may UCLA )
-No fraternity(possibly)</p>
<p>Thats all I can think of.. help me decide cause im on the fence. The more a procrastinate my decision, the worse housing Ill get ( at Cal Poly at least )</p>
<p>You may want to think about what you’d like to do with your career (grad school or industry work). UCLA will prepare you very well for grad school and present lots of research opportunities. But if you want to work in industry, you will need to gain engineering project/teamwork experience through MechE project clubs or internships - UCLA MechE is very light with the hands-on engineering classes. I’ve heard and seen that coursework at SLO is much more hands-on than than UCLA’s, which is probably why companies prefer SLO graduates. </p>
<p>I found myself with slim pickings for an industry job out of college despite a good GPA. But I decided I would rather go to grad school (which I’m doing now), so it worked out for the best, and I feel that UCLA prepared me for that very well.</p>
<p>Get ready – Cal Poly SLO supporter here.</p>
<p>We were in a similar situation as yourself choosing between UCLA, USCD and three other UC’s and Cal Poly SLO. We chose CPSLO without hesitation. It sounds like you really prefer SLO so let’s look at the CONS you mentioned:</p>
<p>CONS:
-No fin aid, except loans - CPSLO will be $10K-$12K cheaper than UCLA every year for 4 to 5 years. The $17K you mention above seems like it is for the first year only. Overall you will be ahead at CPSLO. Don’t forget that you can get paid engineer wages with some CPSLO internships. Those often lead to job offers and long-term CPSLO engineering grads earn more than UCLA grads. See the stats on the CPSLO web site: [Cal</a> Poly Grads, Alumni Earn Top Starting, Mid-Career Salaries](<a href=“http://www.calpolynews.calpoly.edu/news_releases/2010/November/salaries.html]Cal”>http://www.calpolynews.calpoly.edu/news_releases/2010/November/salaries.html)</p>
<p>-Denying UCLA - My kid didn’t even blink an eye. He was sold. Now if your family all went to UCLA that is another thing. But you must be your own independent person.</p>
<p>-no car - My kid will take his car no problem. He plans to travel home on some weekends and take off to the mountains for rock climbing, hiking and photography on others.</p>
<p>-may take 5 years ( but so may UCLA ) - At CPSLO you can graduate in 5 years with both a Master’s degree and a Bachelor’s degree with the 4+1 program. My kid is seriously looking into it.</p>
<p>-No fraternity(possibly) - CPSLO is a HUGE fraternity school. At the Open House two weeks ago many, many of the booths were for frats and sororities. If anything, you will have a difficult time choosing which frat to join.</p>
<p>With regards to grad school, I doubt that you will have significantly better placement being from UCLA. It really depends on your grades, test scores, work experience and the actual reason why you want to go to grad school.</p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>SLO is a tech school. Engineering is a technical major, its a simple solution. Do you want a school tailored to you interests? Would you be happier in a certain environment? Coming from a non biased standpoint I can honestly say cal poly will be a better choice</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help guys, im pretty set on cal poly.</p>
<p>A quick note about the fraternity… I would still join one, but not the one my father and brother are in, so I wouldnt be a legacy</p>
<p>Great choice ShaneS12. My kid will be in your graduating class. By the way, you are not the only student to give up UCLA for SLO. We know of three others that we met at the UCLA, UCSD and SLO tours. SLO poaches many of its students from the UC’s.</p>
<p>Excellent choice! With regards to the frats good time to start you OWN legacy!</p>