<p>I’ve thought about the “why” of this policy a little, and I’m sure a Cal Poly administrator could tell me if I’m right about this, but here’s a guess:</p>
<p>By requiring major declaration and making it hard to switch, Cal Poly can be a very efficient university. They have a hand-selected number of students in each area of study which means they can very accurately staff and prepare for each quarter. Some schools struggle with large numbers of kids declaring Engineering on application, and then drifting off to some other department before their first year is over. Some even apply to schools knowing their odds of admissions go up if they apply to Engineering, and use this as leverage to get in, knowing full well they don’t plan to stick with that major. </p>
<p>I think part of the strength of the Engineering, Architecture and many other departments at Cal Poly is that the faculty enter each year with confidence that they have a very committed group of young freshmen on the doorstep.</p>