<p>I am planning to major electrical engineering.
So here is my personal assessment of schools.</p>
<p>Engineering Major Strength
UCB>= Cal Poly> USC = UCLA</p>
<p>School environment (personal opinion)
UCLA> USC> UCB (don't know well about Cal Poly)</p>
<p>Prestige in Korea (My parents live there, and they want me to go to PRESTIGIOUS school)
UCB> UCLA> USC> Cal Poly (not as well known in Korea)</p>
<p>Money
USC (1/2 scholarship + school aid) > Cal Poly ($1800 per quarter) > UCLA ($3500 family contribution + $9000 of Student Loan & Work Study) (Don't know about Berkeley yet)</p>
<p>Preparing for Graduate Schools (Professor and counselor accessibility, class size, competitions)
Cal Poly >= USC > UCLA > UCB</p>
<p>I don't exactly know what schools are really like, but these are my personal assessments.
I like every four school, and I have a hard time deciding between them.
If I think about money and graduate schools, I think it's right for me to go to Cal Poly or USC.. (UCLA and UCB will leave me with loans and super curves)
However, I also liked UCLA environment.. Near Santa Monica, with lively students. I didn't like locations of UCB and USC (too urban for me)..
If I think about prestige, I also lean toward choosing Berkeley as well..
Well what do you guys think..???</p>
<p>There’s a great Korean community in LA in general, and especially at UCLA. I’d implore you to take a deeper look at SLO - it’s got a true college town vibe. Beautiful surrounding area (more rural than any of the other schools) & graduates there definitely get jobs. </p>
<p>Are you set on grad school? Have you researched what that entails?</p>
<p>Since we are an Asian mixed family, I get where your parents are coming from. I can understand why they are hoping for you to go to a prestigious school. Nevertheless, If you don’t like UCB or USC then don’t go. I taught an intensive business and entrepreneurship program at USC in the summer of 2003 and I was not impressed with the location. It is located in the heart of some of LA’s toughest neighborhoods. Remember, this will be your life for the next 4 to 6 years depending on how fast you can graduate. Be happy with the campus you choose. I also taught a class called “Doing Business in the Pacific Rim” at UCLA’s Andersen School in 2006 and I really liked the campus and the atmosphere there. It is a great location and your parents will surely be satisfied with the prestige and name recognition. Having said that, money is very important and graduating with a mountain of debt is generally not a good idea. It could take years to pay that down. Given your statement above, I’d choose Cal Poly SLO. Explain it this way to your parents. Cal Poly is one of the highest rated EE programs in the United States. Additionally, it offers the highest starting salaries for engineers of any of the schools mentioned above. They may not have heard of Cal Poly, but it is one of the most respected institutions in California and it offers a unique “hands on” education that employers find irresistible. Every year 400 to 600 top employers recruit at Cal Poly. This number dwarfs the other schools. In my opinion, your chances of graduating with a job are highest at Cal Poly SLO. I am a businessman first and a part time educator second and as such, I give more weight to what employers and industry think.
Like you, my son was also accepted to UCLA and was invited to apply for merit scholarships at UCB and UCSD (they have not officially posted their decisions yet, but we are confident he’ll get in). Our first choice? Cal Poly SLO. He’ll start there in the Fall. Good luck!</p>
<p>I agree with what people above me said, the main thing about choosing where you go is how happy you feel there. You are going to spend at least 4 years so its a good idea to enjoy the environment.</p>
<p>Just another thing to add, while Cal Poly has a stronger EE program than UCLA, remember that it is very common for students to change majors in college…I think the statistic is over 60% change in their first year? This is one of the reasons I choose LA…I loved the environment/people and while its not the absolute best in the nation for every department, most of of the departments here are great, allowing me the flexibility to switch majors if I needed/want to. UCLA is a well rounded school in that regard. I can’t comment on SLO, but at UCLA you can get “the college experience”. There’s a lot of students here, but I think its great…lots of cool people to meet. Good luck</p>
<p>FWIW, my EE prof last quarter said that the latest rankings put UCLA EE at #5 nationally. Not that you should go strictly by the rankings at all.</p>
<p>Also FWIW, I do research with some Korean grad students who are super awesome =]</p>
<p>UCB is stronger in EE than Cal Poly. Notably, you would be getting an EECS degree and your options would be greater. If, that is a big if, you can get into Cal you should got there. Everyone I know that got into UCLA for Fall 2011 got rejected from Berkeley because they are simply looking for the BEST! Plus, a UC will undoubtedly prepare you better for grad school.</p>
<p>I’m glad you’ve narrowed it down to UCLA/Cal Poly SLO due to campus/environment preference. I graduated from EE at UCI and am now at UCLA for my MS/PhD), and I find the program strengths are all variable, unless you know your specific specialization (ie communications under signals and systems, photonics under physical and wave electronics, etc.). Honestly, you won’t understand this until you hit your senior year/take graduate courses. </p>
<p>What are your plans in the future with EE? MS? Ph.D? MBA? Are you planning on working in Korea (Samsung Korea recruits straight from UCLA)? </p>
<p>Although Cal Poly SLO does strive to create a more hands on curriculum, being best prepared for the working world is heavily based on the student’s effort into building his/her resume through research opportunities, projects, and leadership experience. That being said, I wouldn’t assume that Cal Poly’s EE program is stronger than UCLA’s.</p>
I am leaning toward Cal Poly and UCLA</p>