Right now, Im choosing between U dub and Cal Poly SLO and Im not sure which one to pick. Im from California and got into SLO as a civil engineering major and I got into U dub as a Pre Arts & Sciences major. Im interested in a STEM major, but Im not sure what yet. I visited both schools and really liked U dub and I thought Cal Poly was alright (nothing really too special). Im also super into sports which U dub is much better at. Obviously, SLO would be the cheaper choice but Im not sure what I should do. Any ideas???
Setting aside financial and extracurricuiar considerations, if you have your heart set on engineering, it sounds like it will be very difficult to get into an engineering major from pre-arts and science, according to information on the UW website:
“Admission to engineering departments is highly competitive for students not admitted directly to the College of Engineering. If you choose to attend the UW, you will be able to apply for admission to an engineering department at the end of your sophomore year. Demand for engineering degrees far exceeds available space in classes; admission is not guaranteed.
“Therefore, if you decide to attend the UW, you should be prepared to pursue a different major. The UW offers more than 180 majors in 68 different departments outside of the College of Engineering.”
Many of those other 180 majors in 68 departments are “ST*M-related,” so if you are flexible, you should be able to find several majors and minors of interest to you. Some majors are more difficult to enter than others (e.g., computer science), so review the general catalog and department websites for detailed admission information about each potential major. Department advising staff may be able to provide additional admission information (e.g., number of students applying and admitted in each cycle, average GPA of students admitted to the major, etc., if not stated in the general catalog or department website).
https://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/degree_programsTOC.html
Congratulations and good luck!
Can you and your family afford UW without excessive debt? Otherwise, stay in state.
If you want Engineering go to Cal poly SLO. If you can see yourself majoring in Economics or math then UW ONLY if your parents can pay for it out of pocket (not through loans, taking from their retirement funds, or HELOC).