Ok, first things first. I'm not trying to bash any university system. Both the UC and the CSU are fine systems of higher education. However, there seems to be a sort of unofficial concensus which outlines three tiers in the UC system (excluding UCSF).
Top-tier:Berkeley, UCLA, and maybe UCSD.
Middle-tier:UCSB, UCI, UCD
Bottom-tier:UCSC, UCR, and UCM.
And something similar in the CSU where
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Cal Poly Pomona
San Diego State
Long Beach State
Cal State Fullerton
So my the question is: from top to bottom, how would you rate those 11 universities
Cal Poly Pomona (CPP)
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (CPSLO)
Cal State Fullerton (CSUF)
Long Beach State (LBSU)
San Diego State (SDSU)
UC Davis (UCD)
UC Irvine (UCI)
UC Merced (UCM)
UC Riverside (UCR)
UC Santa Barbara (UCSB)
UC Santa Cruz (UCSC)
in overall strenght, or if you want, in a particular area such as business or engineering?
I think most kids and their parents use the USNWR to start off the ranking. (If the school doesn't list a number, I couldn't find the ranking.) And it ends up looking something like this.
2. University of California-Berkeley* 4.7
19. University of California-Los Angeles* 3.7
19. University of California-San Diego* 3.7
34. University of California-Davis* 3.4
34. University of California-Santa Barbara* 3.4
45. University of California-Irvine* 3.1
University of California-Santa Cruz*
University of California-Riverside*
University of California-Merced*
4. Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo * 4.0
16. Calif. State Poly. Univ.–Pomona * 3.3
16. San Jose State University (CA)* 3.3
31. California State U.–Los Angeles * 3.0
38. California State U.–Northridge * 2.9
47. California State U.–Long Beach * 2.8
47. California State U.–Sacramento * 2.8
65. California State U.–Fullerton * 2.6
87. California State Univ.–Chico * 2.5
87. Humboldt State University (CA)* 2.5
89. San Diego State University (CA)
But, I think if they thought it through and combined the two reports it would come out like this.
2. University of California-Berkeley* 4.7
4. Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo * 4.0
19. University of California-Los Angeles* 3.7
19. University of California-San Diego* 3.7
34. University of California-Davis* 3.4
34. University of California-Santa Barbara* 3.4
16. Calif. State Poly. Univ.–Pomona * 3.3
16. San Jose State University (CA)* 3.3
45. University of California-Irvine* 3.1
31. California State U.–Los Angeles * 3.0
38. California State U.–Northridge * 2.9
47. California State U.–Long Beach * 2.8
47. California State U.–Sacramento * 2.8
65. California State U.–Fullerton * 2.6
87. California State Univ.–Chico * 2.5
87. Humboldt State University (CA)* 2.5
89. San Diego State University (CA)
I did not know where to put UCR, UCSC or UCM. And, if you know what type of engineering you want to do, then I don't think you should use either of these methods. You should figure out if you are a "learn by doing" type of learner or a theoretical type and re-rank from there. Plus, you need to see that the difference between a 3.3 and 2.8 isn't all that big - pick the school that has the best appeal in other areas.
In MY opinion, I wouldn't rate CPP that high. I didn't even apply to CPP out of high school and I got accepted. I'm really iffy on UCM because even though it's a UC...it's Merced.
Not that sure about LBSU/CSUF, but in my personal experience this is what I've noticed for the rest:
My son is a "learn by doing' student and would really like to take less core req , ie history, english etc....than most UC's offer. For Mech. Enginnering or aerospce....which of these Cal school are most cutting edge, and applied or intership in their programs. He would also consider going to another western state if it made sense or if he had some assistance to attend a private mid-smaller school in engineering. Advise????
For Business, USNWR shows...
3. University of California–Berkeley (Haas) * 4.5
71. San Diego State University * 2.9
83. Univ. of California–Riverside * 2.8
126. California State U.–Los Angeles * 2.5
126. Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo * 2.5
126. San Jose State University (CA)* 2.5
@koliv001 - I don't think anyone is knocking UCR. For engineering, most people go by these formal program reviews that are done every few years. UCR will get a few review in 2012. They haven't appeared in the USNWR rankings because they only really look at the top 100 or so. Most of the other eng schools are more familiar to reviewers because they've been around so long. For example, CSULB got accredited in 1963 - that's a lot of years to build a program. UCR got their first program accredited in 1994 - EE. Here's their complete list...
Computer Science - 2005
Chemical Eng - 1995
Computer Eng - 2001
Electrical Eng - 1994
Environmental Eng - 1995
Mechanical - 1999
There business is super well-ranked, as noted above.
For those that aren't aware...
To become a licensed professional engineer, one common prerequisite is graduation from an EAC or TAC of ABET-accredited program. TAC graduates typically require more experience, if accepted for testing at all. Requirements for professional engineer testing for EAC and TAC accredited programs vary from state to state.
If anyone has found an ABET self-study report on the internet for CSULB, would you provide the link. I am interested in finding out what the CE program's noted difficiencies are.
