Hey @Robin101, I am going to attempt to answer from the other end (company), not student. The company I work for (large known software company) does not care about whether you are international or not when recruiting. As long as you can work legally as an intern, you have the exact same opportunities like everyone else regardless where you go. I had many international student interns working for me (not from either school though). I am going to assume most established companies have similar policies. The only exception to this rule are companies with Dept. of Defense contracts, don’t even apply to SpaceX, Raytheon, etc you won’t get security clearance as a non citizen. That would be true whether you go to UCB or SLO. The bigger determining factor on getting internship is how well your resume stands out from your peers and how well you do on interviews.
There’s no shortage of companies recruiting in both campuses. Each company has a limited number of people they can physically interview and a limited number of people they pick from each college, which is why you have to stand out. Standing out is a function of: classes you took already in the major, other internships you had, grades, clubs you have participated in, research you might be doing, how you write your resume, how much you show interest towards a given company/position in the resume and in your interaction with the recruiters, having someone to recommend you. Those get you in the short list as getting opportunities to interview, then you still have to do well/better than your peers in interviews. Even with that, expect rejections from a good number of companies, there’s a large dose of randomness in the interview process. Sounds long and scary, but if you’re passionate about the job and determined it is not that hard. It is not that different from the college admissions process, slightly different rules and processes. Computer engineering is hot, there are plenty of opportunities.
UCB pros
If you plan on working or studying outside US after graduation, UCB will make you look much better.
CalPoly pros
It might be a little easier to stand out from your peers at CalPoly than UCB.
Although joining as a transfer in the Junior year might be a bit more difficult if you don’t have prior internships, since a lot of Juniors tend to have good internships under their belt already, and that will make them look good in the fall when the internship recruiting season starts. This is the most critical internship, since most companies expect these interns to be offered positions at the end of the internship if they do well.
One easy way to make CalPoly work for you better is to enroll in the masters program in CS and make sure you mention that to the recruiters. That gives you an extra summer for an internship opportunity.
The process of getting an internship is to get your resume in the hands of as many recruiters as possible and make your resume stand out. You could do that by participating (with good preparation) in all career fairs and reaching out to companies through your network of friends and directly through their websites.
Hope this helps, good luck!