Cal Poly SLO "Hands On" Concerns

Nukewarm
Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:35:16 +0000

I’m considering applying to cal poly slo next fall. Their offered engineering courses look very interesting, and I hear it’s an overall great college (Especially considering Harvey Mudd is not an option this year).

I’m a little concerned, however, regarding the “hands on” aspect of their curriculum. I always hear people say that colleges either teach in a hands on way, or in a theoretical way. This sounds like a very polite way to say that people at “hands on” institutions don’t have a great understanding for what it is they are doing, or why they are doing it. While I like the idea of participating in a hands on curriculum, I feel if I attend an institution that simply gives us equations to plug numbers into, I’ll be wasting my tuition.

Does Cal Poly’s curriculum cover the “How”'s and “Why”'s of engineering thoroughly? If I wanted to leave college with as great an understanding of the subject matter as possible, would attending Cal Poly be a detriment to my success?

Thanks,
Nukewarm