He is a political science major. Yes , the SDSU visit was great! It was not really on his list but now after visiting and talking to students and professors, he is strongly considering it.
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When your son makes his decision, you should create a thread about his journey. He was accepted to schools that he didn’t expect to like (ex. SDSU, Davis), but had an open mind, visited, and ended up being pleasantly surprised.
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Absolutely! It’s been an interesting journey - different than my daughter’s three years ago when she got into all of the ones she wanted. I was blindsided by his results given his similar GPA rigor but more ECs and leadership. I was expecting similar results. Luckily, he is realizing his options - while not his top three - are still really good.
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100% so important to go visit. Our sons visit to UCI knocked it right off his list due to the overall vibe he got there. Despite being a huge surfer and loving the outdoors, Irvine just felt weird to him. “Soul-less” was his description.
He was only able to go to the Cal Poly open house on Friday and had to head back up to the Bay Area on Sat AM so missed the rainy Saturday down there. Sounds like that day wasn’t great.
Like you, our D19 got into all the UCs she applied to (she ended up at UCLA)–we were happy for her but knew it wasn’t a given–so we were actually very prepared for maybe no UCs for our son. We’re so happy he has good choices (some UCs and CSU’s) and are thrilled that he likes the vibe of SLO, the kids and the area.
I saw that your son really liked Davis. It’s the BEST place. I’m an alum and lots of my daughter’s friends are and it seems like it’s as great as it was when i went–probably even better! If only my son didn’t need the ocean–Davis would be high up on his list.
Also, for what it’s worth, when we went to admitted student day for D19 we definitely had to pay for parking ; )
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Yes, the Ocean draw is the main reason my son is debating Davis - he plays Beach VB and Davis seems rural to him but he is starting to see beyond this.
I read your post with interest about your son’s disconnect with SLO and wasn’t going to post because this is a tangent for this SLO thread, but since my post addresses vibe & fit it may be relevant. My son is debating between Cal and UCSB and while my husband and I slightly favor Cal for him (my older son is there), when we attended UCSB’s admitted students’ day yesterday my son was in love. This, despite the fact that it was really cold, really windy, and really rainy. He’s a big surfer and can’t wait to wake up and walk 5 mins to surf before class each day. We live in a similar beach town further south so of course he realizes that the weather is usually much nicer in SB, but his love for UCSB still surprised me yesterday when he spent most of the day soaking wet and really cold. Vibe & fit!
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Would you please share that in the UCSB thread as well?
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UCSB is my son’s #1 but we are waitlisted. Great campus and vibe! Best to your son in choosing. I know many kids that chose UCSB over Cal.
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Your son is Poli Sci too, yes? Both our sons were waitlisted for that major if he is. Glad they both have good choices : )
Will be interested to see where your son chooses.
Thanks for posting your thoughts on both SDSU and Cal Poly. It’s really valuable information. How did you make it to both Cal Poly and SDSU in the same day? Did you fly into or out of San Luis Obispo? Wondering about transportation? Seems difficult to travel to and from SLO. Train seems to be rough these days.
Cal Poly’s main admitted student day was Friday. The Saturday events were smaller. SDSU was Saturday so we drove Thursday from the Bay area to SLO - attended the farmers market then events on Friday then drove to San Diego Friday afternoon and attended their event on Saturday. It’s not easy flying out of SLO. I heard there is a bus kids take to SF that costs $30.00
We had a wonderful admit/ open house wknd in SLO. My big impression was how friendly everyone we encountered was - in town and on campus. Farmers Market was a blast- we were sitting at a large table for a couple hours at while D24 wandered around the club booths - and several locals joined us, introduced themselves and stayed to chat -several were slo alums that recently moved with their young families. Town is interconnect with campus.
The admitted students 6-10pm party at the University Union was a huge hit. Band, free bowling, free woodstocks pizza - they all just roamed around meeting each other and exchanging contact info. Great way to connect and possibly find a roommate in person.
CAFES college hosted a huge BBQ for hundreds of families in the farm shop barn- so generous! Saturday the nonstop am rain- D wandered the club fair and current students were encouraging and enthusiastic about CP.
We attended a presentation with ALL the professors in her dept. Students answered questions and she met most of the 30 other admitted in he major. Very detailed - almost too much info in the 2 hour session.
the brand new 2nd dining common area is beautiful, huge yet cozy. Tons of space to eat and hang out. Dim lights, With tables, upholstered and leather chair lounge areas. Friday night we saw many groups of what I guess were freshman hanging out together ordering chick fil a at 10pm. Panda Express to open soon and supposedly an all you can eat traditional dining hall area arriving this fall.
All the 1st year dorms are in one area near the huge rec center/gym, bookstore, student union. and 2 dining areas. The 2nd year apartments style dorms are clustered in another area. Walkable campus.
the only con is the 5 hour drive from our home. If she gets off the Cal WL she will have an extremely difficult decision and will probably still choose SLO. the vibe fits her.
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My kid had a great time as well, we were just there Friday. The lunch and afternoon lab and shop tours for their engineering major sealed the deal. The lecturers were eager to meet the students and parents which was very welcoming. We were broken up into parents with the professors/lecturers and incoming students with current students and my kid enjoyed that part a lot. They went in unsure of their major choice but left knowing it was a great fit. The kids all seemed ready to start now!
The Friday night event was a bit much for my kid without knowing anyone so we left pretty quickly but I know the small groups at SLO days and WOW will be a better fit for my kiddo to make some friends.
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D21 was down to one private, one UC and SLO. The SLO vibe was perfect for her.
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So they did offer dorm tours? We asked at two different info tents and both guys told us all tours cancelled. Were you able to see the freshmen 3 person and 5 person rooms? Are they OK?
My son also enjoyed the club booths. He’s usually a shy person, but he was able to talk to a whole bunch of clubs. The students there were just so welcoming and easy to talk to.
I thought their Friday open house organized pretty well, except the morning traffic and parking part. After the morning President’s session, each major had a sign outside that led students to their sessions. The BBQ lunch was great. While waiting in line for lunch, current students and professors chatted with us and answered all our questions. After lunch, again there’s student with sign leading families to the department building. The department info session was very detailed and lab tours were great.
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While we were in SLO, there was a big girl’s Beach VB event going on. Since it was raining cats and dogs, we stayed in the tents and watched a lot of Beach VB games. Beach VB is not a big thing in our part of the world and not offered as varsity sports in any schools, so it’s the first time we watched a school team match. It was great! After watching the games, my son said he may join a Beach VB club/intramural team if he comes to SLO!
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I also was a little underwhelmed by the SLO Friday open house events - and I’m an alumni. My daughter is psych so maybe that’s why? No labs or cool spaces to look at. The presentations we went to (3 of them) were all incredibly repetitive. The best speakers by far were the students. I feel the presidents welcome speech (we were speech 2) was very lacking. Farmers Mkt is always fun but there was a very small booth turnout for kids to explore. The highlights were the rec center, the dining spaces, and we were able to get a student led tour of the newer dorms.
My daughter will probably end up there since she is waitlisted at her top choice (ucsb) She seems fine/resigned to it, but not really excited.
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We were only able to attend on Friday but I thought the remarks and tours (albeit crowded) were great - sealed the deal for my student and for me!
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We had a somewhat different experience. We attended the admitted students events at both Cal Poly SLO and UC Santa Cruz. My daughter was very much on the fence, but I was leaning in favor of Santa Cruz.
Both events were a little chaotic at first. The cold rain on Saturday in Santa Cruz exacerbated the sense of chaos. But, both campuses have their strong points, and for my money, nothing beats classes among the redwoods.
The Cal Poly students we met on Thursday night at the SLO famers market and at the on-campus events on Friday seemed genuinely happy and enthusiastic.
What sealed the deal for my daughter was the tour and Q&A session for incoming chemistry majors. The facilities are new and quite impressive. Classes, even for the 100 level chemistry courses, are relatively small and project based, with no big lecture halls.
Separating kids from their parents for the tour was a good move. My daughter made a new friend and they are already talking about rooming together in the Fall.
Coming from a very small high school here in San Francisco she wants a decent size campus and a more traditional college experience. Academically, she has thrived on the close contact she has with her teachers and wants to replicate that in college. Cal Poly checks both of those boxes, at least for a chemistry major.
After talking things over with her friends at school this morning, she committed to Cal Poly.
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Yes we went to the dorm tour on Saturday morning. It was a huge group because all the other outdoor activities were canceled. We didn’t get to see the indoor, only walked around different dorm sites as she explained the features of each. We ended at yakʔitʸutʸu, by then all our feet were socked due to the downpour. 
In general, I think Cal Poly’s housing is just okay compared to other schools we visited (Santa Clara, Baylor, ASU Barrett).
On Friday we went to the CS department so we only had pizzas but the students’ presentations and chats with staff/students were very good IMHO.
I concur the Friday morning traffic was not good due to many cars. Shuttle was a W because it has its special road to reach the union on time.
I found the eating option in the union area (including the new 1901 place) average but adequate.
My thoughts on the open house event are still positive given it was organized by students. It is a good learning experience for the students by doing.
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