@eyemgh @sawadeeka I would love your opinion if you have one on Cal Poly Comp Sci vs UW CS (new Paul Allen building - FTF direct to major only starting 2019) https://www.cs.washington.edu/academics/ugrad/admissions/dtm
@tkg2023, what state are you from?
WA
With direct admit at UW, in state, I think I’d choose UW. That’s nothing against Poly. My son’s roommate went to Cal Poly from WA and now works for Apple. I’d think though that the cost difference would be substantial. The risk at UW had always been not getting the desired major. That seems to be changing.
What would the cost difference be and is CS guaranteed?
About 60k over 4 years for everything.Yes, CS is guaranteed now - and the only way to get in is as a FTF. If he gets in, I think it’ll be an issue of the benefits of going away to college vs staying (very) close to home, which we value for their personal growth. I guess I’d want to know if the education would be considered comparable enough, regardless of cost.
They are both well respected programs with grads in high demand. We paid about $60k more than our son’s cheapest school for Cal Poly, but we had it saved. If it created a financial struggle, I’d say go UW all the way. If not, visit both and let him go with his gut. Can’t really go wrong. Just see which one resonates. Congrats!
Thanks for your responses and support in general on this forum. Yes, he will get to choose. For some reason guessing what might happen, reading and participating in threads here during the waiting period alleviates some of the stress and distracts from the heart-dropping realization that they’re leaving after all of this. They’re going to be just fine and we’re grateful there are choices - college will be truly what these kids make of it, anyway.
“college will be truly what these kids make of it, anyway.”
That’s the bottom line!
@eyemgh Thanks for your response. I believe I will be able to recite “Cal Poly SLO - instructors with terminal degrees - hand-on opportunities - small class size - fabulous for engineering - bad food - ocean” until my dying days after reading through the relevant threads this past week.
The capping mechanisms in the MCA flatten it out a bit, so it’s probably not the best measure to understand the student population. With 75th percentile SAT at 680 verbal and 700 math according to the latest common data set, students in some majors definitely have lower scores than what the engineering majors are posting on this site. OTOH it’s not necessarily a representative sample here with all of us highly involved parents.
DD has a lot of interests. I’m sure she would do well at any of her multiple options, including CPSLO. I don’t think she’ll get the same value out of independently reading Adam Smith, de Toqueville, Rousseau, etc. as she would studying them with other motivated students. By that logic she could study engineering in our garage. Sure, it’s possible, but most students benefit from interaction with professors and other students.
I also take your point that high achievers will do well anywhere, but an engaged student body certainly makes a more enjoyable learning experience. We are all investing time, effort and money into finding the right fit for our kids.
Can any other former or current students or parents weigh in on your humanities education at SLO?
If she can set up the labs and has the equipment, that might be fine. Last I checked, most of us don’t sport wind tunnels or vibration labs in our houses.
As for 75th being 680 and 700 and there being something wrong with that, those are both 92nd percentile. The raw difference between those scores and 800 is just a few questions on a half day long test. My son scored a 760 on math and missed a single question, all day long. I’d caution you against putting too much emphasis on standardized test scores as a metric for potential. Nearly everything written in the education literature supports the notion that they can be easily gamed by families with money having their children educated to the task (I was one of them). High School GPA is well known as the most predictive metric.
Cal Poly isn’t right for everyone. In fact, assuming there’s a PERFECT school for anyone is really a mistake. EVERY school has strengths and weaknesses. In forming a list of prospective schools, it’s important to find a handful that are ALL acceptable and then letting a student use their intuition to choose the one that speaks most to them. She needs to decide what she wants to prioritize and what she’s willing to compromise. If she chooses CP, they have 20,000 students. She’ll certainly find “her tribe.”
Good to hear different views, thanks everyone for your generous advice. @Gator88NE thanks very much for the detailed info about UF and especially about the Linkedin tip. Very useful, we found a few UF alumni in DH’s network whom we’ll reach out to.
Calpoly and UF are indeed different, we’ll be attending Florida Day for sure, and Polycultural Weekend if he gets accepted into Calpoly. Both are compelling, and as many wise posters have said it’s what DS makes of the opportunities that matters.
My S19 is in this situation. Applied to many schools for electrical engineering and engineering physics. Got accepted to SLO. Got an invite for EE fast track program at UCLA. Waiting on other schools like Stanford, UCB and Harvey Mudd.
I’ve talked to him about SLO and shared the info from here. I just want to give him/us all the information for him to make a good decision. Thanks!
My son is a current Freshman ME and chose SLO (paying full COA in-state) over UCLA where he was awarded their Regents and Achievement Scholarships ($12k/year) based on fit, Engineering Dept, internships/job placement and “Learn by Doing” hands-on experience. He also came in with over 100 credits which helps with scheduling and registration. He (and we) love SLO!
@gzza73, please don’t take this personally, but your son’s list is odd. To have UCLA and Mudd on the same list, two schools that could not be more different that one and other, tells me that he hasn’t fully dug into what his experience will be like at the institutions he applied to. He has some work to do. He wouldn’t want to make a choice based simply on reputation and then find it was a terrible fit.
He needs to narrow to say Vanilla (small focussed tech school with no major athletics, but professor taught and small classes), Chocolate (Large research institution with big time athletics, large classes, lots of TAs, very loyal alumni network) or Strawberry (something in the middle). He’ll get a good education and a good job if he keeps his grades up, but his experience will be radically different at the three types.
Full disclosure, my son is just finishing his MS at Poly. After vetting them, he didn’t apply to UCLA or UCB (too big) or Mudd (too small). I’m not saying CP is the best choice. I’m saying his list has too many flavors of ice cream. He needs to pick a flavor and then concentrate on brand. Right now he’s just got the freezer door open letting the cold air out. 
@eyemgh it doesn’t surprise me that @gzza73 son has a variety of different schools; I think a lot of kids are in that boat, being a bit unsure about what they’re looking for in a college during the research phase of applying to schools. I think your son may have figured what constituted a good match for him notably earlier than most, and therefore his list was a good bit more focused.
Hopefully @gzza73’s son will have had the opportunity to do his homework on the schools, visit most or all of the ones he’s seriously considering–so when all the decisions come in, he won’t feel ill-informed and pressured to make a decision based on limited information and perspective.
I know from our end we have visited around 8 so far, with at least 3 more to come in the next 3 weeks or so–big and small, public and private, big research vs small research vs little research. It’s our hope that–along with the hours of research on the schools and their respective programs–the visits, the discussions and walking around and soaking things in, that the decision will be easier to make in the end.
@“Idaho Father” visiting made a BIG difference for us. It certainly is an expense, but I can’t recommend it highly enough, especially for engineering. Everyone’s web page looks good, but seeing the lecture halls and the toys (the lab spaces and clubs) is very informative.
@eyemgh none taken. Unfortunately my S19 is still trying to figure things out. Since we are in CA, UCLA is a option. I know there’s a big difference between the schools on his list.
So he applied to a wide range and will decide based on which one he gets into. If he decided on just small schools with low acceptance rate and didn’t get in. And didn’t apply to others then he would be left out.
Thanks for your reply/input
@“Idaho Father”
Oh my. The obvious point is some kids like neapolitan and could thrive in multiple environments. No single right strategy and my D is keeping her options open until all her acceptances are on the table.
@KWSoCal, my son actually applied to schools that were as small as 4000 (WPI) and as large as 30,000 (Utah). But SOMETHING united them (direct admit to major, hands on engineering, starting first year, right price after merit). That’s really what I mean…find the thing that unifies them and that’s your flavor.
@eyemgh Neapolitan all the way!