UCSB vs Cal Poly & Transfer Requirement Dilemma for Electrical Engineering Transfer

<p>My top choices for the schools I've been accepted to are UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly SLO for EE as a junior transfer. I'm having a hard time choosing between the two schools, probably because I've driven by the areas each university is in and UCSB is in such a nice area! I want to go to the school with the best EE program and reputation but on the other hand I've been at a community college for 2 years and I feel like I missed out on the college experience. I am also waiting on UC San Diego and UCLA responses. I hate the SoCal area though, so I'd only go there if the engineering programs are better than the others that I am considering. Are these schools better for engineering?</p>

<p>Which of these two schools would you reccommend? Most importantly, I would like to attend the school with the best reputation and highest chances for graduate studies but a little fun wouldn't hurt.</p>

<p>To further complicate things, I'd dropped English 1B this semester thinking I was going to Cal Poly. This class is a transfer requirement to get into the UC system. Will this hurt my UC eligibility? I'm willing to take the class during the summer to make it up.</p>

<p>Thanks for any insight you may be able to give me! -Jim</p>

<p>you mention you want the school with the best chances for graduate studies.......</p>

<p>well if thats the case i would definately recommend UCSB.</p>

<p>UC's in general are more directed towards preparing kids for grad school while Cal Poly is a school known for getting their undergrad students ready for the work force straight out of school. </p>

<p>In terms of E.E, Cal Poly by far has the better program. Employers in California LOVE Cal Poly E.E graduates, it has one of the most reputable electrical engineering programs in the country. UCSB has a great engineering program as well, but Cal Poly E.E is one of the hardest, but most rewarding, E.E programs in California. </p>

<p>UCSB and Cal Poly are both fun. UCSB is just crazy if you like to party, Cal Poly offers a lot of partying too, but nowhere close to as wild as SB. Both areas are nice. </p>

<p>Like i said, if you really plan on going to grad school, without a doubt go to a UC, if u do get into UCSD, go there, if not, UCSB. if your not sure about grad school, u might want to consider Cal Poly instead.</p>

<p>i was interested in transfering to calpoly for their ee program. what were your stats jimbert? did you complete the statics/prop materials requirement?</p>

<p>i think the only thing that gives me seconds thoughts about cal poly is my chances getting into a good grad school. what do you think would improve my chances of getting into a top grad school with a b.s. from cal poly?</p>

<p>your chances are fine from either school. Both are viewed to be at roughly the same level by employers and grad schools. The main deciding factor on where you go for grad school is your GRE scores, your GPA, and your recs. </p>

<p>BTW most schools have a 5-year MS program in engineering and its worth doing because you get a higher salary to start, don't have to spend 3+ years of your life if you try to do it part-time while working, and will be a better prepared engineer.</p>

<p>how about UCI engineering compared to UCSB and SLO?</p>

<p>Yeah, I have done statics and materials science, UCWannabe. I applied to Cal Poly and all the other schools with a 3.3 GPA. I've also taken C++ and Java programming classes as well, which I think they look kindly on because Cal Poly teaches their intro to programming courses in Java as opposed to C++ and probably use that language in future classes. I've heard a from a few people that going to Cal Poly does not put you at a disadvantage over most UC's because the engineering program is known to be rigorous at this particular university. </p>

<p>I'm still thinking hard on the subject, any more thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!</p>

<p>I got accepted to UCI as an EE and I honestly think it was a waste of 55 bucks. For the most part, the engineering department is not as strong at UCI as at the other two schools and I wouldn't dream of going there over either of them. The only reason why I checked the box to send my app there was as a safety to UCSC, which was a safety for UCD, which was a safety for Cal Poly and UCSB. Not to say that UCD isn't a great school; they have some impressive engineering facilities over there.</p>