UCSD vs Cal Poly SLO vs UCLA

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
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Hello everybody,

I am a prospective mechanical engineering major and I’m having a difficult time deciding which school to attend of those mentioned above. I got accepted into Warren at UCSD for mechanical engineering, into Cal Poly SLO also for mechanical engineering, and I got waitlisted at UCLA for mechanical engineering. I’m still waiting on Berkeley, but I don’t think I will get in or attend if I do. I understand that getting into UCLA off the waitlist is a long shot.
Let me tell you about myself and also about my current impressions of these schools based on research and internet surfing. I’m currently a senior in a northern CA high school. My academic stats are as follows: GPA (weighted): 4.5, GPA (unweighted) 4.0, SAT: 1490 (760 math, 730 English), ACT: 33 (superscore 34, highest subscores are 36 english, 35 math, 32 science & reading), and finally SAT II Subject tests: Physics: 800, Math 2: 800. So I’m no slouch, and I was highly disappointed to see myself get waitlisted at UCLA, but let’s ignore that for now. I’ve applied mainly for mechanical engineering, but what I really want to do is nuclear engineering, thought this is incredibly difficult to get as an undergrad as you all probably know.
Let me start by saying that I couldn’t give less of a sht about a school’s name recognition. My impression of Cal Poly SLO is that everyone really likes it there and that professors actually care about their undergrads (a real problem at the UC’s according to my brother at UCI). My main concern, however, is that of classes being impacted and the average graduation time, *especially because my goal is to graduate in 2-3 years if possible (I have a ton of AP credits). Also it seems as though nuclear might become a major in the next few years? Anyone know about this?
As for UCSD, it’s nationally ranked and whatnot (not sure of the criteria for this), but it appears to me that everyone who goes here is simply miserable. The location obviously speaks for itself, but the campus is just awful (drab cement everywhere). It almost seems like the UC Merced of Berkeley and LA: a dumping ground for the UCB and UCLA rejects. They have a large endowment (compared to Cal Poly), but apparently the professors don’t care about undergrads (as with a lot of the other UC’s) and none of the money is actually spent for a Freshman’s benefit.

I hate to be so negative, but I reiterate that these are just my own impressions.

So, given my scenario and my potentially inaccurate impressions, which of the schools do you think is best and why? Also, if I were to by some miracle get into LA, should I choose this over the other two?

Please don’t just say, “choose UCSD, because I [went/am going] here!” or “choose UCSD because a group of pretentious journalists with esoteric criteria ranks it higher on the charts,” because I see this a lot on these forums.

Thanks in advance.

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UC’s are a waste of time for undergrad. I transferred out of UCI as an Aero Eng and am at Cal poly Pomona. What a world of a difference. I am actually being taught material and am learning. Not to mention that I get to conduct a ton of lab experiments such as wind tunnel tests, water tunnel testing F-22 models, building and firing rockets and analyzing their performance. UC’s are good for Grad school. For undergrad not so good. I highly recommend SLO. I have a few friends there and they love it. All i saw at UCI was a bunch of adderall pill popping students that only cared about passing a test. Even if it meant kissing the profs ass too. Save your time, money, and sanity and go to SLO where you’ll actually learn. I do not regret my decision at all. You want hands on experience and real professors, go to SLO. You want a brand and a name, well go to a UC.

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Man I don’t know where you get the idea that most of us are miserable at UCSD. We can be a cynical lot, and a lot of unhappy folks lurk on CollegeConfidential and Reddit during finals week, but it’s really hard to be truly sad when you’re here. San Diego is one of the most beautiful cities in the country, and UCSD is filled with some of the brightest, most driven people I’ve ever met. I’m personally extremely offended by that UC Merced comparison, so I’m going to put in the effort to correct your misapprehensions about this campus and its atmosphere.

Did a lot of us not get into UC Berkeley or UCLA? Yes, I can’t sugarcoat that. Did most of us expect to? Definitely. I sure did. Your stats are awesome and very similar to mine (2400 SAT, 800/800/770 subject tests, all 5s in APs, top 10 class rank in NorCal). It stings for the first few weeks after not getting in, and then you get over it and use it to drive you to do better. Almost everyone I’ve met in that situation holds on to it, but it’s like a collective chip on our shoulders to prove that we’re good enough. In my opinion, that’s what drives a lot of us to identify our weaknesses and improve while we’re here. My classmates are doing great things, unbelievable things. I know a guy who started a tech nonprofit and secured thousands in grants and research funding, works in three labs, will be interning at Harvard this summer and won a biotech hackathon last week. I know a guy who turned his class project into a biotech startup that has been funded for years to come. I know a dude who designed and deployed virtual reality cloud-based genomics software and built a company around it. I know a girl whose research team discovered that oncogenes can be found on extrachromosomal DNA. I know people who will be working at Apple, Google, Facebook, Salesforce, VISA, Booz Allen Hamilton, Genentech, KPMG, Kaiser, and tons of other top firms. I’ve met people who have gone on to top grad schools and med schools. These people aren’t the exception, they’re the norm. I thought when I got here I’d still be the smartest kid in the room. I am never the smartest guy in the room anymore, unless it’s just me and my girlfriend (don’t quote me). But like everyone else, I’m learning and growing to be a better version of myself.

But I didn’t really address your concerns. First of all, the campus. Some people like it, some people hate it. I personally love it, but I had to learn about it first. It’s easier if you think of it as ten different campuses (Revelle, Muir, Marshall, Warren, ERC, Sixth, the Village, University Center, School of Medicine, East Campus). Marshall and Sixth are pretty ugly ngl but the rest of them are elegant examples of open space influencing the built environment. It’s not as conventionally attractive as many colleges at first sight, but you learn to appreciate little things like how the sun lines up with the Rady School on the solstice or the way it looks setting over the ERC roofs and Pacific Ocean.

I’ve never met a professor who didn’t care about her/his students. Pretty much every professor I’ve had has seemed open and friendly and will guide you during office hours or after class if you have a question. I don’t know what your brother’s experience was like, but the profs here seem excited to be able to impart a little more knowledge to the next generation. That doesn’t mean they’re not busy or brilliant–one of my professors made news last year for developing a biochemical test on a tattoo and another runs a research group of nearly fifty people, but they always make time to show they care about us. The work they assign feels relevant. I had a project due last night that required me to digitally model an entire red blood cell and simulate the effects of a certain drug on Alzheimer’s patients versus healthy patients. The material is very current and while some lower-division classes were a drag, for the most part learning feels exciting and essential.

It’s not all sunshine and daisies. I wish we had Division I sports–they’re on their way, but I’ll have graduated and even then there won’t be football. I wish there was a frat row–obviously there are always parties but you can’t just hop between them like you could at a real party school, they’re more spread out and you have to talk to people to hear about them. I wish there was a little more hand-holding for freshman and more guidance towards tutoring programs and extracurriculars because they’re all there but not everyone knows they exist. I wish classes weren’t so damn hard, although it’s easier because the atmosphere feels more collaborative than cutthroat competitive. But they’re freckles on an otherwise beautiful girl. UCSD has been the most unbelievable three years of my life and I don’t regret coming here in the slightest. It has all kinds of people and all sorts of quirks and histories. I guess what I’m getting at is don’t ever compare us to Merced Community College ever again

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@DoctorP Since you seem to have also had a lot of AP credits, do you know how easy it is to graduate quickly at UCSD vs Cal Poly SLO (as in 2-3 years)? Did you get to use your credits to skip lower div classes? I’m in Warren which should be the best for this route if I’m correct.

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@knovoselic I was able to skip most of the Revelle GE requirements. I passed out of 1/3 of the calculus requirement, 4 out of the 5 natural science requirements, all of the social science requirements, 3/4 of the foreign language requirements, and the university American History & Institutions requirement. I’d use this chart to figure out how many courses you can skip: https://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/pdf/APC-chart.pdf Note that you usually can’t use the same AP credit to fulfill a university requirement as well as a Warren one.

Two of my friends graduated with bio degrees in two years, and another graduated with an international relations degree in two years. Many people graduate in three years, especially in the divisions of Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences. It’s much rarer in engineering, but definitely doable. You probably won’t have any trouble getting the classes you want after winter quarter freshman year, thanks to your AP credits.

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@DoctorP, based on your logic, people who go to Cornell (big engineering school), simply because they got rejected from Brown (small engineering school)? :slight_smile: a lot of kids got rejected from UCLA, simply because there are way too many applicants, they are not really looking at score / grades anymore. They are looking at other aspects of the students that could potentially fit their campus culture. a lot of kids got accepted from UCSD, simply because UCSD’s admit process goes from School to College to Major. Being rejected by one school and accepted by another (at this academic level), just because everyone has different style looking at their applicants. like if you are an introvert, you probably hang better with introvert. When a band is already filled 2 guitarists (and millions of guitarists applicants), they probably hope for 2 drummers with similar personality. that’s how simple it is. you should be thrilled, you got accepted to UCSD’s engineering major. you will be surrounded by the people like yourself…more because UCSD see you fit better in their school

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@CollegeSpec not sure if you’re tryna reply to me or the OP but I agree at some point admissions becomes just a crapshoot now it’s about what you do with the results

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oops… @knovoselic … sorry @DoctorP

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@DoctorP wow I loved your post! as a prospective transfer who was feeling kinda unsure if UCSD was a good choice (im local so not too excited about it lol), your post definitely persuaded me! what is your major btw? and for what class did you have to model a red blood cell? that sounds absolutely fascinating and would love to do projects like that (im a physics major btw)

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@otoribashi happy to help yo, I’m a bioengineering: biotechnology major and the RBC project was for BENG 123 (Dynamic Simulation in Bioengineering). If you’re curious about your classes you could look into your degree program at http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/PHYS-ug.html and http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/courses/PHYS.html. My friend who’s a physics major and he told me PHYS 160 (Stellar Astrophysics) which he took this quarter was really interesting.