My D25 is deciding between Cal Poly SLO and Pitt, and is very torn as she loves both. We are OOS for both, with COA approximately equal, though she got 10k/yr merit to Pitt versus 1k/yr plus Honors Program at SLO. For Pitt, she just loved Oakland and Pittsburgh, and found the campus vibe lovely, while at SLO she was enthralled with the campus, the professors and Evnironmenral Science program she was admitted to, the friendly students, and all the clubs/activities, though less so the town if only due to its smaller size and slower pace. Of course the CA weather was glorious and we encountered many young people building successful early careers in Environmental Science snd management After attending the SLO Admitted Students Open house weekend, I realized that the Deitrich Admitted Students presentation was fine but lackluster; no welcome from the Dean, not a single faculty panel, so we don’t have a sense of their programs or professors other than from their own webpages. D would be either Economics or Ecology and Evolution (bio) at Pitt. Any insights you can share would be so appreciated.
Congrats on two great options! People really love both schools!
Does she have strong feelings about where she might want to live after college? That might inform some of the decision.
Yes, factoring in where she would like to end up is great advice. Also, let her know that it’s okay if her choice comes down to something seemingly as trivial as “I don’t want to wear a coat in December, just a sweatshirt,” or “I want to be able to take a short bus ride to a world-class symphony.”
I’m not trying to be glib, but if she just can’t make a choice, have her flip a coin. Whether she’s happy or unhappy with the result will tell her a lot.
Maybe. But some kids just want to experience a different part of the country while in college.
Are either of these two easier to get to from your home?
I don’t think she can go wrong with either choice. At this point, she needs to start looking at the things she doesn’t like…and maybe that will eliminate one of these excellent options.
Not sure if where I want to be should matter - not today with the internet. Sample of one family but my Alabama kid ended up out West and Charleston kid in Denver. Knowing their friends - it’s not unreal.
I also would not consider a lame admissions presentation. It sounds like if Pitt didn’t fail at the sales job, the student would be there. So that’s no reason to decline a school - although many do. College last four years - so it’s too bad that “sales events” sway the decisions - but in reality, they do, and it’s too bad they are not all “equal” so that they don’t.
That said, because you heard from SLO professors, etc you might have her reach out to Pitt’s department to see if she can arrange a meeting so that she can get a sense. She might also ask to speak with a student ambassador in the major.
You might find career outcomes for both. You mentioned SLOs - how are Pitt’s ?
Here is the career board - you may have to reset. I used Env Science, not studies - for 2023. Others will say don’t - as not everyone reports, etc. but it’s the data you have. They show a median $48K salary with mean $56K - so likely most skew lower than the average. They list 22 employers as most common (they either had 1 or 2 employees - and include the university and Army. They showed a 97% success rate.
Studies, if that’s what the student wants, shows 100% - with a $39.5K median and $46K mean. Their employers included the cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Good luck
I’d personally focus on where I wanted my four-year college experience, and count on my degree from either of these colleges being quite portable.
As for where to want that experience–in a case like this it really is pure personal preference, and I think you fairly summarized the tradeoffs.
But as I final thought, I would try not to put too much weight on the quality of the Admitted student event per se.
However, if a kid actually ended up more excited about a certain college, then that is fine! It is good to be excited about where you are going to college!
Thanks so much!
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