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?
Electrical Engineering and Biochemistry are VERY different. What you will do with either degree will be VERY different. Your top priority should be to decide which path speaks to you more.
With that said, engineering will likely offer broader, higher paying opportunities than biochem. Biochem would require an advanced degree to give the upward mobility and salary potential of an engineering degree.
If you choose Poly, your education will be top notch. I’m not certain about UCSB, but your class sizes will be much smaller than most (all?) UCs and all of the teaching will be done by professors, not TAs. That doesn’t mean that every prof will be an awesome teacher. There are weak spots no matter where you go.
Learn by Doing doesn’t do anything but add to the strength of your engineering degree. You’ll get all the theory you’d get anywhere else, but there are labs and clubs where you can put your theory to work. That’s the doing and by all reports it creates great engineers that are in high demand.
Major change…easy within the CENG. You are so uncertain about what you want to do that you don’t want to start changing the moment you hit the ground anyway. Get established. Learn what you’re attracted to. Then consider switching if EE doesn’t speak to you.
Lastly, engineering is hard. The hardest biochem classes are like the average engineering classes. I have one of each in my family.
If Biochem is what you want to go into, go to UCSB. If you want to make good money without having to go to grad school, EE will provide a better nest of money.
If you ever change your mind, it is easier to go from being on an EE salary and going back to college to try to learn Biochem than the other way around.
Changing majors won’t be too hard since your first quarter will only be GE and intro classes
I am very familiar with both programs. Go to CCS Biochem if you are absolutely sure you want to go on to graduate studies in the life sciences. Be assured this is a long process: several years in a PhD program follow by at least one postdoc position. And this assumes you are a stellar undergraduate student who gets into a top ten PhD program. DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT GOING TO GRAD SCHOOL IN LIFE SCIENCES IF IT IS NOT A TOP RANKED PROGRAM. Even after that an academic or industry position is not assured as there is a huge surplus of life science graduates at all levels. If you have a passion for biology and cannot see yourself doing anything else then doing Biochem at CCS would be very rewarding. CCS bio/biochem, CS, physics, and math are really amazing and unique programs. There is nothing like them in the rest of the UC system. They are only UC programs that I would recommend over their Cal Poly counterparts. CCS Physics and Math grads routinely place into elite programs such as Stanford, MIT and Harvard. CS grads go on to work at the likes of Google and Apple. And the top life science grads go onto top tier programs as well. But, again, you got to be committed to the idea of an academic career and are very motivated to start doing research right out of the gate freshman year.
Cal Poly engineering is the top choice for anyone who wants a solid preparation for an industry job right out of college. Personally I would go there over any of the UC programs for all the reasons everyone else gives: small classes taught by professors, hands on learning, and an awesome campus environment. The undergrad experience for UC engineers is one of very large lectures with sections taught by TAs, distant professors, and a campus atmosphere that is somewhat sterile relative to Cal Poly. The only exception I might make is EECS at Cal. There it may be worth it to put up with all the UC negatives to be surrounded by extremely intelligent classmates and professors that are the cutting edge in the field. And the Cal campus may be a better fit for some: urban vs rural, liberal vs relative conservative, diverse vs relatively white.
Sorry I got a little off topic here. But, you really need to think long and hard about what you want to do with your life. Both Cal Poly and CCS really want you to commit to a field freshman year. And the fields you are comparing are very different.
@choroidal Is getting a PhD worth it over getting 4 years of experience in the industry?
I’m motivated to do research, but I have no idea if I “like” biochem or EE because I’ve never experienced either. However, the Cal Poly people I talked to all encouraged me to go to UCSB, and many of the students I talked to were UCSB rejects. So I’m more confused than I was before I visited.
If you want to do research in biochemistry you need to learn what interests you and how to conduct research. That’s what graduate programs do and no amount of time in industry can replace that. On the job experience won’t supply the skills, but even if it could, you’ll be lacking the paper required to open the doors to the jobs you want. If you are ok being a life long lab tech a BS will be fine. If you want to be the one calling the shots on what to study and how to design the experiment(s) to answer your questions you need an advanced degree. As @choroidal said, it’s a LONG process.
@ruetherford
Money-wise? Engineering will get you further than with the PhD.
SB was never high on my list, so when I was accepted to it in high school, I was really trying to pick between UCSD and Cal Poly. If I weren’t so confident about finishing as an Engineer, I would have gone to SD. SB would have been 40k more and not even the same caliber as UCSD.
Also not that UCSB classes will be more theoretical. Cal Poly labs will be much closer to real industry experience of doing research.
My S had a somewhat similar decision to make between those schools last year with a different major at each. A big part of the decision came down to which major he preferred after the acceptances. Even though it would be within the CoE, we did not count on being able to switch engineering majors. I think your decision is even tougher though. I will only comment on your concern about the “partying reputation” being daunting. It hasn’t been an issue at all for our S and he also came in as a top admit like you would. Look up the St. Fratty’s Day roof collapse at SLO if you think there are no parties there. Basically partying at either school is up to you - choose based on whichever major you think you’ll be happiest with. CCS is an awesome opportunity, but since you don’t have the same major at each school you don’t have an apples to apples decision which is tougher.
I know that I definitely don’t want to stay a lab tech, but I’m not the type to be more of a manager, I think. I just want to work in something STEM and be making new things, preferably in medicine. But I want to be able to comfortably support myself after graduation and not have to weigh down my parents with years and years of schooling. I’m not really sure how to plan for my future, and all the adults in my life are just telling me to not worry and go with the flow.
If that’s what you wasn’t to do, then I’d choose engineering. That’s really what engineering is, applied science in the design and manufacturing of stuff. Look onto Medtronic, Stryker, Boston Scientific, etc. and that’s what they do. Once you get you’re feet wet you can decide if EE is the best angle. ME might be better. Good luck.
If you want to make “things” then I would go in to engineering. If you want to make new molecules then go biochem. My son (the one who went through UCSB CCS) is at a biotech startup making things. He graduated in bio, but I am pretty sure the only reason he got the job is that he had a heavy background in math and CS. The founders of his company are all PhD engineers: mostly mechanical, but one is an EE.
I would not worried about being around UCSB rejects at Cal Poly. Where others got in and did not get in should have no bearing on your decision. The applicant pool to these schools is extremely similar. I know of several kids rejected from Cal Poly engineering who were accepted at UCSB and vice versa.
Just to confuse you a bit more; if you are really interested in drug design and production (rather than making things you can hold) then you really should look at the pharmacology major at UCSB. It is somewhat unique for an undergrad program in that it is very lab intensive. The capstone lab is two 8 hour labs per week and it is an amazing experience for highly motivated undergrads. You could emphasize pharmacology as a CCS major.
To take that concept one step further, selectivity is completely major dependent. My guess is that if you go to UCSB the Poly rejects will be in engineering. If you go to Poly the UCSB rejects will be in biochem and biology. What that tells you is that you have the right acceptance for each respective major.
BTW CCS is filled with people who “rejected” Berkeley, UCLA and even Stanford. But, that is no reason to pick CCS. Choose it because you feel it will best fit you as a student. My son was criticized by his peers for rejecting much more “prestigious” school to attend CCS and has not regretted it for a minute.