My husband and I were on a weekend away in SLO and we walked around the campus. I have been twice with our son on a regular tour and the engineering tour. My husband had never seen the school. The weather was beautiful as always! Once again I had a great feeling about Cal Poly. It was very quiet on a Saturday afternoon, but everyone we saw looked happy and relaxed. My husband especially liked the views from the Cerra Vista dorms. He thought the campus was a good size and easy to find your way around. a must for our son!
We also spent some time walking around downtown. Again, the people seemed so warm and friendly and we saw a lot of students in groups, enjoying th sunshine and the shops and restaurants.
Our son has applied to several UC's and University of The Pacific. Here are his stats:
Materials Engineering
4.0 unweighted
4.27 UC
not sure what the Cal Poly GPA is
ACT 35 (both times)
SAT 800M
680CR
middle of the road for EC's and good leadership because he is a guitar instructor and a tutor
We are pretty sure that he will get in to at least 2 of the UC's he applied to and UOP, but I really love Cal Poly. I hope he will go there. It just seems like an awesome education and a friendly place to grow and learn. Everyone we know who attends Cal Poly currently or in the past loves it! Not to mention it is more affordable! Our son is waiting to see where he is accepted before he decides.
Decisions are coming soon! best of luck to everyone!
^He will only go there if he decides to become a pharmacist. He has applied to the pre-pharmacy program there. Awhile back we thought that would be a well paying job that is in demand and helps people. Not so sure now. There are a lot of pharmacy schools now and perhaps too many pharmacists by the time he is done. Not to mention the cost of the program and the possibility of being stuck in a job he will be bored with.
CP is a great place and I hope that you are accepted aj and my son too!
My son is in Materials Engineering at Cal Poly (3rd year) and he loves it. It is a relatively small department within the College of Engineering, and kind of has a "family" feel to the department. He really likes MOST of his MATE professors, too. He made a solar water heater his freshman year in his MATE class, and last year he built a light measurement system (with his project team). This year they watched surgery on cadavers and are working on design improvement for artificial joints for humans. He's done computerized modeling and and machining, lathing and milling, and now casting in the machine shop. The school is very "hands on" but also teaches all the theory and academically challenging courses (like calculus, physics, chem, strength of materials, etc.) and is a great educational program. I think Cal Poly is hard to beat for engineering, but I'm starting to understand why most kids can't finish the program in only 4 years. There are over 190 credits required for most engineers, and that includes tons of labs that take 3 hours of class (per week) for one unit of credit.
Good luck to your son. With his stats, he should get accepted to most places including CP!
Thanks for the positive info Ralph4. There aren't too many people in Materials E so it is great to hear from someone who likes it. My son wasn't sure which type of engineering would be best for him, but the description of MATE sounded the most interesting. What do you and your son think about job prospects? Was you son a "hands on" type kid before Cal Poly. My son hasn't had a lot of experience with that sort of thing, but he wants to learn. he does well with theory. No worries there. Any other info or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
AVHSDad Not sure of his rank. We think top 5% He did not make ELC at his school even with his great stats. Too many kids there take every AP you can and he did not do that. Would AV stand for Amador Valley in P-Town by any chance? If so...that is where my son goes!
Exactly! Too cool! You are exactly right about our HS being competitive. With a 3.6 UW (3.7 after this semester) DS has no chance of breaking the top 10%, but did great on his SAT1. I think they're both likely to be accepted at CP. Great score on your son's ACT by the way. DS took ACT also and got 33 both times. The decision will be his but we applied to a LOT of schools and already have a great offer from Tulane (my first choice!). We're worried about the budget impact on the UC and State schools, so we're leaning towards private. You can check out his stats and schools in my profile under College Visits => Stats Profile.
That is so cool! I wonder if our boys know each other? I tried to look at his stats, but didn't find it. I'm not sure I am doing it right. I sent you a private message, so maybe you can tell me there. Our son is only applying to CA schools. We are worried about the public school issues too, but we want him close to home. Congrats on the acceptance to Tulane!
We are thinking of visiting Cal Poly once we hear whether or not our son gets accepted into the mechanical engineering program. Does anyone know if it is possible to have an admitted student sit in on a class. Our son has been accepted into UCD (ELC) and Santa Clara and we are trying to help get a feel for the classroom experience at each place.
Have you taken the Engineering Tour? During ours we got to observe and interact with a team of students working on and monitoring satellites that they had built and had launched into orbit on a Russian missile. The enthusiasm and energy emanating from this "mission control center" blew us away and sold my son and me on Cal Poly. Sitting in on a class is not a bad idea but the class lecture is not what distinguishes Cal Poly. It's the "learn by doing" projects the students do and I highly recommend that you try to observe one of them in action in ME.
Yes, my son and I went on the engineering tour. We did get to see some students working, but nothing as exciting as what you saw! That sounds very cool! We saw many labs, but they were often empty ones. We still thought it was great and could also feel the enthusiasm from the students.
I think you can call or e-mail the department about sitting in on a class. I'm sure they have rules about that as they have thousands of students visit the campus. Let su know what you find out. I think it is a good idea for you to make a decision between 3 great schools like Santa Clara, Davis and Cal Poly. They are all excellent schools.
If you know a junior senior in ME @ Cal Poly he/she might be able to arrange it. Otherwise, once he's accepted, I'd call the dept. and see what they can do for you.
(BTW, my niece went to Santa Clara and loved it so much she works there now and is going for her MBA)
HE HAS A 4.0 UNWEIGHTED GPA 35 ON THE ACT IF HE APPLIED TO UC BERKELEY HE WOULD GET ACCEPTED, their average is only a 30. HE ALSO HAS A PHENOMENAL CHANCE AT STANFORD
sorry i had to do caps because he did get a 35 and a 4.0
Last edited by FutureENTSurgeon; 02-10-2010 at 04:37 AM.
