I am a high school senior from San Diego and am going between these 3 schools. I am leaning toward cal poly but noticed that it is typically ranked lower than the other 2 for ie. I’m wondering if CP is really seen as lesser by employers or if it was because they don’t have a phd program or as much research. I wanted to know how they compare on a couple of factors. I am already considering price, social life, location, etc but just had questions about some things you can’t look up. Please answer any of the following questions you can, preferably on a 1-10 scale and/or an explanation/personal experience, and any other info you think may be important. Specifically looking for info about the industrial engineering department but anything about the schools would be helpful.
How respectable is it out of state?
How respectable is it in state?
How is networking and connections in state and out of state?
how hands on is it?
how well prepared for work you will be after graduating?
how easy to get into classes/ graduate in 4 years/ complete a minor?
how easy to get an internship (especially in san diego)?
How many hours of hw per week?
How deep do you go into concentrations or specifics of Industrial Engineering?
They are all great schools, but they are pretty different.
Your favorite, Cal Poly SLO, is an excellent school and is very well regarded by employers. Its hands on education has a reputation of preparing students extremely well for industry.
A big reason that Cal Poly shows up lower in various rankings is that it does not have PhD level programs, as you mentioned. Many of these ranking systems have an emphasis on the strength of the graduate program and high level research. Cal Poly focuses on teaching undergraduates.
Although I don’t know a whole lot about IE, my son was interested in it for a while, and we found that industrial engineering degrees can vary significantly in focus from school to school. Different schools might have different emphasis in their programs, different research going on, and place into different companies and industries.
So if you really want to compare, you could start by looking up a few things,
The 4 year curriculum for the major at each school – what will you actually be studying at each school in your 4 years? This can tell you a lot (and give you a sense of whether you want to be studying that).
What kind of research is going on in each department? Is it interesting to you?
Try to find info on first destinations (top employers, top geographic destinations, and salaries for new grads). That will answer a lot of the questions that you posed.
And this is what’s most important to undergraduates.
I can’t see paying to go out of state for IE, when you have an acceptance to Cal Poly in state. This is coming from a parent who paid out of state tuition for Cal Poly (BS/MS ME ‘19) for a student that had the stats to be competitive anywhere.
How respectable is it out of state?
As mentioned, my son was a ME, but he had an east coast offer before graduation.
How respectable is it in state?
When he was choosing between staying at CP and going to Stanford for his MS, several engineers on the forum said they had worked for companies that preferred CP grads, while others preferred Stanford grads. It was clearly split. I’d say it’s very well respected in state.
how hands on is it?
Extremely. Nearly every class has a lab. My son did lab projects that were as robust as senior projects at other schools.
how well prepared for work you will be after graduating?
Very well, based on the previous answer.
how easy to get into classes/ graduate in 4 years/ complete a minor?
Four year graduation is easy if you don’t fail any classes, don’t dodge times, and don’t dodge professors. Our son finished in 5 years with a thesis based MS.
how easy to get an internship (especially in san diego)?
Can’t speak for San Diego, but our son had internships every summer, as did many of his friends.
Agreed, but it’s possible Cal Poly industrial engineering (specifically) has a different emphasis, or places into different industries, compared to the other universities. Do you know where/how to look up first destinations by major on their web site?
@OliverAnderson you’ll want to click on the above Tableau link, then on the right side under Academic Department, uncheck “All” and then check “Industrial Engineering” to see the outcomes for IE.
A data point of one. D21 is a junior at SLO, though not in CENG.
Best bang for your buck IMO. “Learn by doing” begins immediately first quarter freshman year. D21 will graduate in 4 years with a minor. Workload is heavy, especially if you regularly attend office hours.
And D21 has had zero problems obtaining internships, research opportunities or jobs in her major field. You will be prepared to work post graduation.
Instate reputation is excellent. D18 graduated from Michigan. Her roommates and friends, those who were Michigan residents, had not ever heard of SLO.
Comforting to hear as the person who wrote that, since my daughter got in to SLO but not USC :).
I do think Cal Poly is gaining more of a highly respected reputation, especially as an engineering school outside California as well.
Given that you are in-state for SLO, that would be in pole position personally. That said, IE is a major where the curriculum matters far more than a major like CS. Traditionally IE has had an industrial focus but in recent times IE has become more like a combo of Data Science/CS and Business. In that context, I would take a closer look at the IE curriculum across all 3 schools and check if the courses, research labs, and the companies recruiting on campus matches what you are looking for.
