Hello. My goal after college is to work an entry level construction management job as a field engineer or project engineer at a construction firm. However, I am stuck between two different major and school choices.
UCLA pros
-very inexpensive for me as I am poor, UC blue and gold + large school grant for housing
-best overall campus life
-prestige
1 hour away from home home
UCLA cons
-major does not match career focus, but not impossible to break in as a UCLA CM club does exist for that career
-very small earth science department
-theory based learning and competitive academic culture
Cal Poly pros
-best construction program in the nation, heavily recruited with high salaries
-relevant coursework
-better city to live in
Cal Poly cons
-more expensive ($5k a year for me to attend after scholarships)
-worse campus life/not as good dining hall
-5 hours away from my house
Can getting internships make up for the 5k yearly fee? Can your parents afford the school? If so Slo is obviously your better choice. My kids also worked during the school year. 10-15 hours a week on campus. That can help with the extra fee. Are there other school choices that you can be directly into your major? Slo is a great school
Are there other majors at UCLA that make more sense for the field you want to go into? Civil engineering?
Cal Poly’s motto is Learn by Doing. One of the ways they support that is by having a lot of the campus jobs done by students. They pay well too. You could easily make up the $5k difference by doing an ASI job. Go to Cal Poly and get the degree you want.
However I did talk to the ucla cm club and they said they definitely saw other majors like poli sci and business in construction internships, but don’t know any non engineering personally at UCLA in cm.
It’s clear that Cal Poly is where you should be - in part because you can study and grow into the role you love - which won’t happen at UCLA and with a Geology degree, you’re likely looking at more school.
Can you borrow the $5K? You can - but are you willing? You can borrow up to $27K over four years and I think $5500 the first year. I’m not a fan of loans but it’s reasonable.
As for living far and yes travel is an expense the few times a year you go home, but I suspect, you’ll find folks to carpool with - and thus reduce expense.
So don’t count on it. My son had a great chain supply internship at Kohler in Wisconsin (supposed to be great for supply chain) but it was canceled during the pandemic
Just goes to show you can’t rely on it not usually you get paid during CO - ops and you should easily be able to recover this with that.
So, I chose SLO because the cost came down to $2,700 for first year. My construction management major definitely pays more than geology, at $90k for LA and $95k for Bay Area.
However, upon being on campus and studying for a while, I think if I was studying literally anything else I would’ve gone to UCLA. I didn’t actually realize how impressive UCLA was until I was walking through the Cal Poly sciences/arts halls and realized they had laminated stock photos and 3 year old study abroad flyers. Pretty disappointing. The weather is beautiful though and people are very friendly. The food has gotten better and at worst, it’s just bland which isn’t bad at Vista grande.
Overall, I’m going to finish my summer quarter and go from there. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t toying with idea of going back to cc and getting an associates degree for transfer. Then again, construction management at SLO has so many diverse companies coming to recruit and constantly doing lunch and learns, best in the ASC competition so that’ll be hard to pass up.
Overall, to anyone in a similar situation, I would recommend going to a UC even if it’s the exact same major. UC’s will give you money but Cal Poly will give you a link to Sallie Mae
This is what matters - why you are going to school - and what makes you think other colleges won’t have outdated posters as well?
Heck - some of the most esteemed corporations in the world - have their websites littered with outdated info - and that’s real life business!!
Sounds like you are in a great place. Worry more about the substance and not so much the aesthetic - unless of course, that aesthetic means that much more to you.
Yes. Overall, I was able to pay for the $2,700 with a federal subsidized loan, and the construction program is the best in the nations with so many companies coming and internships are easy to find, with an almost 100% employment rate. In general, a lot of people can’t even say that and I’m very grateful.
What I mean is just pure liberal arts/sciences seem better attuned at a UC. There’s a ton of cool and relevant research on the wall, active events, etc. Very few other Cal Poly programs are like cm, and most UC’s have a comparable program for any other major that probably is cheaper.
You only see the warts, and EVERY school has them, after you get there as a student.
Before you change paths, you have to ask yourself what you are changing for. Is it your perception of what you’ll get? If so, it’s not going to be greatly different at any public. None will have the personal touches that small, very expensive privates have.
My son’s private counselor referred to Berkeley as “going to school at the DMV.” Meanwhile one of the small privates he was accepted to was planning his path to a Fulbright before he accepted (which he didn’t).
Be careful of the greener grass. It isn’t always what you think it is.
Thank you for taking time to update us. I hope you’ll continue to return and share your experience… paying it forward to the next generations. Sincere best wishes.
I ended up being paid $1,137 to attend after financial aid came in. A whole refund! I also realized I hate chemistry and physics and geology wouldn’t have been a good fit LOL.
Fortunately, I was able to add a heavy civil minor my first quarter which allows me to add transportation engineering and highway design classes and I couldn’t be happier. I’m even thinking of graduate school here for urban planning or even civil engineering. I also realized how big the Cal Poly name is in the AEC industry. Overall, very satisfied but my opinion will always be developing as a I progress through.
If anyone has any questions on my experience on UCLA vs Cal Poly SLO feel free to ask here or PM. Both great schools. Thanks.