<p>I'm a California transfer student, and I'm looking to transfer next year to somewhere in-state.
My GPA is good--around a 3.83, maybe higher. I'll be transferring with 66 credits and my IGETC completed. Essentially, I'm decently qualified for either school, so aside from statistics...</p>
<p>Which one would you choose? They're both great schools, but is one better than the other? The only reason I'm leaning towards Cal Poly right now is that several of my close friends go there and we were playing with the idea of all rooming together.</p>
<p>CP and SB are my two choices right now, but aside from opinions about those two schools I'd also be open to suggestions for other California campuses :)</p>
<p>Mmmmmmm… there is no good answer for your question without more information. Cal Poly is better for certain things and UCSB could be better for others. Cal Poly requires you to be very specific with regards to major – especially for a transfer student. UCSB offers many of the same majors, but could be easier to change majors later on. What do you want to major in? Neither school is better than the other until you drill down to the specifics. You probably want to dig a bit deeper on this one.</p>
<p>I left it open in regards to that in case people wanted to just give their general opinions on the schools, but I can give more information as well. I’m majoring in Sociology, and planning on law school after I graduate.</p>
<p>Other information: I’ve volunteered with local children’s programs, and held a paying job as a soccer trainer since I was sixteen.</p>
<p>Also, I was accepted to UCSB as a freshman but since I already had 30 credits completed, I decided to just finish my GE at a community college.</p>
<p>Any other information I’d be happy to give. Thanks!</p>
<p>I am a Cal Poly dad and absolutely LOVE the school. However, my son is engineering all the way. At Cal Poly technical majors are King. For sociology and law later… I hate to say it but you may be better off at UCSB. </p>
<p>However, before you make that choice call an academic counselor at both schools and see if you can meet folks in your major there.</p>
<p>In some ways they are fairly similar u’s. The student bodies at both are fairly outdoorsy types of physically active students; the u’s are fairly close to each other; etc. Just that one is a CSU, though SLO is top-of-the-line within this set, and SB is a UC.</p>
<p>If you’re thinking of soc to grad/law school, I think SB might be a better choice as seen by [Calbar’s](<a href=“http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/demographics.aspx”>http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/demographics.aspx</a>) link, about a 1/3 of a way down, though atty numbers are dependent on orientation of student body interests. In this way, SLO is probably more like Davis as far this and as well as course orientation, ag school, a wide array of science courses, etc.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would approach non-tech/non biz/non-Arch at SLO with some caution. Those are the three strong programs. Traditional liberal arts is not (nor would it be expected to be) the strength at a school named “Polytechnic”.</p>
<p>Ask other sociology, history, poliSci, English, etc. students at SLO how their experience has been. You are definitely in the minority in terms of respect and resources within that environment. I havent’t visited the site in a long time, and you have to assess each review in light of the credibility of the poster, but </p>
<p>s t u d e n t s r e v i e w . c o m </p>
<p>generally has very frank comments about each college. (take out the spaces)</p>
<p>On the other hand, having built-in close friends greatly adds to the enjoyment of the college experience, and could outweight the relative downside of being a Soc major at a tech school.</p>
<p>As to your friends going to SLO, its a plus and then again its not. Lots of people head off to college every fall without a friend on campus, and they do just fine. Of course you need to factor in how outgoing you are and that you’ll be a junior instead of a frosh. And while on the one hand you’ll benefit from having friends around who can get you orientated, you can meet their friends, etc. on the other this can also cause some friction since perhaps not all of their friends will assume you’re an instant friend/part of their group. So while this may be a nice factor, I wouldn’t make it into a tipping one.</p>
<p>BTW were those 30 units you had completed before you started college (if I’ve read your post correctly) from AP credit or concurrent enrollment at a CC? It makes a difference to when you have to graduate, at least at UCSB.</p>
<p>Originally, as a high school student I applied to Cal Poly SLO and Santa Barbara; got in to Santa Barbara but not Cal Poly. Even though SLO was my first choice, after I’d visited Santa Barbara a few times I was completely content to go there. Then when I got my AP scores over the summer and my family hit a bit of a financial stumble, I realized it would be a much better idea to just finish out my GE at a community college since I only needed about 30 more units.</p>
<p>Now that I have the opportunity again, I’m having difficulty deciding between Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. My best friend got in there as a freshman, and she absolutely loves it, she’s the one I’d planned to room with next year. She’s a biz major</p>
<p>to Mikemac: I looked into the TAG, but I didn’t fulfill the requirements since I’m a first year transfer. All my 30 credits were from AP classes.</p>
<p>to everyone: thanks for the advice. I hadn’t really thought about the “technical” aspect of Cal Poly, although in retrospect that seems like a silly thing to overlook. Haha.</p>
<p>‘though [high] atty numbers [by bac-recipient inst.] are dependent on [a specific, obviously pre-legal] orientation of student body interests [and perusal].’</p>
<p>The more I adjust the above, the more bracketed info I need to add … maddening.</p>
<p>CPSLO is obviously very tech oriented and won’t produce many attys. There’s sometimes a better atmosphere for those who aspire to certain professions to be around more of those who have similar plans. </p>
<p>SB will have a lot more pre-laws than CPSLO. There will be more law school fairs on campus at SB, better mentoring by those who’ve made it to L-school, along with great comaraderie, etc. But SLO has to produce some attys and if you do well in your studies at the U, you’ll have many options for grad school also. Sounds like a tossup; go with what you’re most comfortable.</p>
<p>I just posted this to correct my spelling of camaraderie lest xiggi specifically post to correct me. ;)</p>
<p>But SB will undoubtedly have an excellent Prelaw Society; CPSLO probably wouldn’t have as strong of a one. Some of these pre-legal clubs, including debate team, would undoubtedly help you in your quest to become an atty, or whatever within the legal system.</p>
<p>I think I’m done with my numerous corrections for now; I think we’ve given you some fairly detailed advice … Best of Luck.</p>
<p>This may give you a worthwhile option at UC schools. The UC schools treat AP credit special; “Advanced Placement credit earned prior to entering the university will not be counted toward maximum unit limitations either for selection of a major or for graduation.” from [UCSB</a> AP Chart](<a href=“http://my.sa.ucsb.edu/Catalog/Current/UndergraduateEducation/APCreditandChart.aspx]UCSB”>UC Santa Barbara General Catalog - Advanced Placement Credit and Chart) What this means for an incoming frosh is that they can use the units if they wish to satisfy requirements and towards graduation, but if they want to spend the full 4 years at school they can. In your case, I think that if you wanted to spend 3 years at UCSB you could since one year of the credits that make you a junior when you would enroll come from AP (check with a counselor to be sure this is right, though). I don’t know if you could do this at SLO.</p>
This is not to say you shouldn’t go to law school, but that you should be clear before you go too far down the road about what you want to do with the degree and how to be a strong candidate for that category of jobs when you finish law school.</p>
<p>Great articles mikemac. If you want law school – if you choose that path, be sure that you LOVE the law and are willing to make every financial and personal sacrifice to succeed. Both in school and long afterwards in your career.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice everyone. And yes, I really am interested in law; I love the critical thinking and development of a solid argument, I enjoy all sorts of debates and discussions. As for work afterward, I think I have a bit of a leg up because one of my aunt’s is a legal secretary for a large San Francisco law firm, and another aunt has been a lawyer (graduated from UC Hastings) for more than twenty years.</p>