<p>I was accepted at Cal Poly in Mechanical Engineering. I am got the ELC so I will be accepted at UCSB. I cannot decide between the schools. Any insights?</p>
<p>Last weekend, D, H and I toured UCSB and also stopped in at Cal Poly on the way home where D has been accepted. (We’ve already been there previously for the tour, admissions presentation, etc. so are very familiar with CPSLO.) The admissions and tour folks at UCSB were wonderful - couldn’t have been nicer or more informative - and we got a great tour of the campus. However, we all agreed the UCSB campus was not that well kept up and felt kind of impersonal. Also, UCSB doesn’t have my daughter’s preferred major. Lastly, we liked the town of SLO better than Santa Barbara. While Santa Barbara is very nice, the large homeless population makes the downtown a bit sketchy. So, unless something major happens, (i.e. a fall acceptance from USC which we are thinking is not too likely) D will be attending Cal Poly in the Fall.</p>
<p>What is important to you? You can use the Search function for this forum and get a ton of comparisons on a bunch of different levels.
IMHO, Cal Poly has a superior engineering program distinguished by its learn by doing, hands on approach. (My son is in Aerospace and loves it.) UCSB, while a fine school, follows the traditional, formal learning route. On the other hand, UCSB which is in Goleta not Santa Barbara, is one seriously wild party school with the beach within easy walking distance.</p>
<p>go visit the schools and decide which one is more you. thats all you can really do</p>
<p>gotpeter: While Cal Poly SLO does have a fantastic engineering program, you forgot to leave out that UCSB is world-renown for their Engineering program as well. Calling it “superior” because of a different learning approach is absolutely ridiculous. </p>
<p>If the reason for it being “superior” is the fact that it is more hands on, then why is it within the second year at UCSB Chemical Engineers build chemical fueled cars that compete in national wide competitions (and you get credit for them)? </p>
<p>To OP: I highly suggest that you look further into both programs, and see which would be a better match for you. I personally love the academia at UCSB, but the social environment isn’t for me, so I’m not going to be returning next year (most likely at least).</p>
<p>DrAhumada, we aggressively examined UCSB & UCSD and, yes, they are beginning to incorporate active learning into some curricula but at a glacial pace. Cal Poly has been doing it for decades. For instance, my son’s first AE class in his first qtr had him on a team building and launching an RC airplane and then a rocket to stringent specifications and objectives. What I meant by “superior” is that results from this kind of active learning blow away those from the passive textbook, lecture, test, maybe a lab approach. Aside from making intuitive sense, reams of research have been done on the subject. Problem is, our educational system, particularly ‘publish or perish’ higher ed. is incredibly resistant to such change.</p>
<p>I don’t know what Santa Barbara you’re talking about, but it doesn’t have a large homeless population. I’m from the Bay Area, and we know what homeless populations look like. What area is your daughter coming from?
Both schools are very good, but I know Cal Poly parties just as much as Santa Barbara, because ANY college parties.
Don’t be blind in thinking it doesn’t occur some places and not others, it’s just probably not as publicized.
I agree with Gotpeter about the Learn By Doing, I feel it will be more beneficial.</p>
<p>Um, sorry Mandilove, but we were just there and were told by several locals that there is a large homeless shelter there and the people do frequent the downtown - we saw it for ourselves - they are sitting on just about every bench asking for money. I wasn’t knocking Santa Barbara, only making an observation since cities similar to Santa Barbara - i.e. SLO, Carmel, La Jolla, etc. do not have this problem - and we have recently been to all of them. By the way, we are from the Bay Area as well.</p>
<p>Of course the UCSB campus is many miles north of downtown and the areas where the homeless hangout.</p>
<p>My D was just accepted into UCSB as a Regents Scholar. My wife and I grew up in Santa Barbara, and spent our first 30 years there. Both sides of our family are from there.</p>
<p>We now live north of SB, and go to San Luis most weekends to go shopping.</p>
<p>Cal Poly/San Luis is safe. The town is a great place. There is partying there, just watch KSBY news. I find that the kids we run into on the weekends are just great kids overall. My two D’s have spent a lot of time on the Cal Poly campus for tutoring, math competitions, etc. It’s a really nice environment.</p>
<p>UCSB is not in SB but outside in Goleta - north of Fairview Ave. You have to drive miles to get to downtown SB. Homeless population does exist in SB, downtown and along Cabrillo Blvd next to the beach. There is noticeable HL population downtown, but people all of the world flock to downtown SB, so it detracts few people (that I’m aware of).</p>
<p>Isla Vista is the town abutting UCSB where the majority of partying occurs. You can avoid this area if you choose, and many locals who attend UCSB do just that.</p>
<p>Growing up in SB, I NEVER felt the need to go into Isla Vista. So this is a place you can go if you choose to party, but not give it a second thought if you are not into that scene.</p>
<p>Took D to UCSB a couple of weeks ago. The energy was completely different than CP. The energy on the campus was electrifying. I had to wait about an hour for D, and just watched people go by. Can’t say enough about how cool it was. In all of our years at CP I never felt this kind of intensity. It just has a slower feel to it.</p>
<p>Thanks Ryanone for a very accurate analysis of both campuses - I agree 100%. Every kid is different and likes different things about the various schools. Cal Poly is definitely more laid back and just felt more comfortable to our daughter than UCSB.</p>
<p>Both schools are pretty different, so you must chose based on your tastes in a town, environment/attitude,partying etc…
If your looking on a pure rankings standpoint, Cal Poly is the superior school by quite a margin. If your looking at engineering, UCSB doesn’t even remotely compare academically to Cal poly’s program.</p>
<p>huge homeless population? where do you live, Beverly hills? go to san fransisco, and you will see homeless population.</p>
<p>cal poly ranks higher than UCSB by far in engineering, dont try to even say that the programs come close. both are good and will get you somewhere tho.</p>
<p>seriously , its all about the actual school itself. go visit and decide which town/area/school/campus you like better</p>
<p>Homeless folks? Check out University Ave. in Palo Alto. Hmmm, now what school is just down the street? Oh yeah, definitely don’t want to go there 
Follow aj’s advice. You are not going to go wrong with either choice as long as its right for you. Screw the rankings.</p>
<p>LOL. Living in Santa Cruz, a mecca for homeless folks lining the downtown main street, I’m all too familiar with it. Unless they intend to do me harm, I just ignore them. I love visiting San Francisco and man of us know about their homeless population. Again, I mostly just walk by and look the other way. It didn’t really bother me when we visited Berkeley, either. I’m not saying I welcome it with open arms–not at all. I’m mostly opposed to the “homeless by choice” and it does bother me to see teenagers out on the street gatherng on corners “acting tough” or begging. </p>
<p>However, I would be more worried about gang activity or other violence around the immediate area of a university my daughter was attending. That sort of thing scares me a lot more than street performers or the homeless. Or to a certain extent “fraternities-gone-wild” who might entice her into a world of crazy-alcohol-or-drug-induced mayhem.</p>
<p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
gotpeter wrote:</p>
<p>Homeless folks? Check out University Ave. in Palo Alto. Hmmm, now what school is just down the street? Oh yeah, definitely don’t want to go there
Follow aj’s advice. You are not going to go wrong with either choice as long as its right for you. Screw the rankings.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies. I am going to visit both schools again. I like the idea of learning by doing, but I have heard it creates engineers that are good at projects already conceptualized. And that the cp training does not produce engineers that can design new things from first principles because they do not get enough theory. I am just repeating what some professors in my hometown ( a college town) have told my parents.</p>
<p>That is an interesting comment. Do you think going for the Master’s program (4+1) would help with that? Or grad school somewhere else?</p>
<p>barrelrider: Speaking as someone who has spent their career in technology oriented businesses, I don’t agree at all with the advice you were given. It is not knowing theory of engineering, marketing, etc. that matters. It is the ability to apply theory to real world situations that matters. That is why business schools make case studies such an integral part of their curriculum. Doing the same thing in other disciplines is not as easy, but CP seems to have figured it out. There will be thousands of engineering graduates coming out of college in 2014 that can talk theory. Far fewer will have the depth of experience at applying theory as those coming out of CP. </p>
<p>Just something to keep in mind. </p>
<p>“cp training does not produce engineers that can design new things from first principles because they do not get enough theory”</p>
<p>Thanks Mariner116. I was thinking the same thing. being able to work as an engineer and actually complete projects seems to be a very marketable skill. I would hope that going to CPSLO would get students into jobs that could offer more creative R&D opportunities later if they were desired. Industry does need people who can complete projects and work in a practical way, not just theory.</p>
<p>I know someone whose husband is part of management for a large company and whenever it comes time to hire engineers their eyes brighten when they see that they came out of Cal Poly’s program. He said that it’s nice to be able to have a new employee basically go right to work. In other words, he or she has “got it”. Not much explaining has to happen.</p>