I’m stuck between these two programs. Before anyone asks, I have visited both and didn’t form a strong opinion about either. I wasn’t able to attend UCSB’s orientation, but did meet with a professor and sit in on a class. I attended Cal Poly’s orientation and was hilariously told by some professors that I should go to UCSB instead. I believe I would be happy going to either, but I want to make an educated decision. Any additional info would be appreciated!
Career Goals: I would like to work in medicine/research/maybe pharm, and possibly with machines related to that industry. Biochem fits that well, but I’m worried that it would be “just” a biochem degree and not as helpful as an engineering degree towards getting a job. For EE, it seems that I would be able to easily switch between majors in the engineering department, but it would be difficult due to the fact that I have to take major courses my first quarter.
Academics: SLO is not even on the same ranking scale as the UCs, so I’m not sure how to compare the academics of both. Is SLO’s “learn by doing” mantra actually advantageous to students?
Honors/Perks: I am in CCS at UCSB, which is appealing (extended drop dates, priority registration, research opportunities, good LORs for grad school, etc.). I am unaware about honors for SLO, but I could sign up for it after my first quarter.
Location/Atmosphere: Both are very similar, but SLO seems to have more of a “small town” feel while UCSB’s partying reputation is a little daunting. Is this accurate, and if so, enough to affect student life?
UCSB is awesome! The party reputation really comes from a few huge events a year where outsiders come into town. I went to USC before transferring to UCSB and the party reputation I find a bit misleading. At USC, you’d have these huge crazy frat parties. Sure that exists to some degree at UCSB, but generally Isla Vista is a casual little beach town where you hang out with your friends. If you’re looking for parties, you can always head to Del Playa street, but it’s really only 1 street that is known for its partying. UCSB is a very social place-- but think music in the park, pizza night with your friends, concerts on campus etc. I’m not a partier and had the best time of my life! Living in a walkable, college town like Isla Vista was pretty hard to beat
you don’t really seem to understand how this works.
CCS is aimed at students that want to get a PhD. Which is a good thing because getting a decent job in the sciences doing research requires a PhD. You completely miss this when you write “Biochem fits that well, but I’m worried that it would be “just” a biochem degree” as if you’ll be finding that job in “medicine/research/maybe pharm” in 4 years. Try 8-10 years for the PhD included. If this isn’t your aim then CCS may not be a great fit.
As for SLO, you write “For EE, it seems that I would be able to easily switch between majors in the engineering department.” Did someone actually tell you that? They have GPA requirements to change, and you have to show that you can graduate in 5 years. So maybe your 1st year it wouldn’t be too hard, but much after that its pretty much locked down.
Of the 2, since it sounds like you want to work right after undergrad, SLO seems the better choice.
@mikemac Is getting a PhD for biochem the only route? And would an eventual job have enough benefits to outweigh if I went to SLO, got a job right out of undergrad, and was working for whatever time it would take me to get that PhD?
At SLO’s orientation, I was told that most students switch their major and it is fairly easy to do within departments if you have the GPA. But if I don’t enjoy EE, I’m afraid that I’ll get locked in.
I’m honestly just unsure of what to do. I don’t really have any experience in either, and there are no opportunities in my area to explore career options other than googling things.
Assuming your asking about a job here, not the CCS program. You can find forums to discuss career choices elsewhere on this forum and the web. I’m not a career counselor, but its my understanding that employers typically expect a PhD for researchers and that jobs for those with just a BS are hard to find and tend not to have great career prospects. The bad news continues; there is a glut of PhDs these days, as you can find discussed with a web search. As for whether it would outweigh the engineering degree, I don’t know. I can’t predict the job market 10 years from now for PhDs or engineers, nor do I have any way of sensing which career you’d find more rewarding.
You’d have to check with the engineering dept to see what this means. Are they talking about frosh only? Or is it true for a junior too? I’d be surprised if it was the latter, but maybe they have a very flexible program.