UC Davis vs Cal Poly SLO vs Sac State

College Search & Lists
1

I want to major in Construction Management but I’m stuck between UC Davis, CP SLO, and Sac State. Affordability, shorter distance from home(home sickness), and internship opportunities are most important to me. Applications HAVE NOT started yet so I might not have all 3 choices by next year.

Sac State:
Pro:
-Has Major in Const. Management
-Cheaper because I will commute to school
-It MIGHT be easier for finding internships since its in the city?? maybe i don’t know
Con:
-not a “great school”

Cal Poly:
Pro:
-Has Major in Const. Management
-“Better School” than Sac State.
Con:
-But is more expensive than Sac State
-MIGHT be harder to find internship cuz its a smaller town?? I don’t know
-far from home

UC Davis:
Pro:
-“Better School” than Sac St
-Closer to home than Cal Poly
Con:
-Has only MINOR in Const. Management so I have to choose Major in City/Urban/Regional Planning
-More Expensive than Sac State
-Harder to find internship??(in smaller town)

My ambition is telling me to go apply early to Cal Poly but I don’t know if its worth the debt since that school has poor financial aid. I DO NOT like the feeling of owing thousands of dollars.

2

Are you saying you will also commute to UC Davis?

3

An eclectic list.2 of these schools are really residential and highly selective. The 3rd is a good regional commuter campus. All 3 will provide a solid education. Knowing more about your qualifications would help …

For Sac, as a local applicant, you’ll need a 2.4 GPA and 1000/1600 SAT… it’s profoundly less selective than SLO and UCD.

Freshman Profile for SLO
http://admissions.calpoly.edu/prospective/profile.html

Freshman Profile for Davis
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/davis/freshman-profile/

If money is tight, a CC (AR/Sierra/Sac City/FLC or whichever) then transfer to Sac State is probably your best route. You’ll get a solid education at a total tuition cost of about $16k for all 4 years. If you qualify for financial aid, it will cost a lot less than that.

I live in the Sac area and would suggest you don’t commute to Davis. If you get in, Dorm or don’t go. Parking is very limited and commuting would dramatically undermine your college experience. Sac (my alma mater) is a different story - the vast majority of student drive to campus and, though traffic in the area stinks, parking is plentiful. (I’d still put my kid in a dorm for the experience but, can afford to do so) You won’t be the only one living with your parents.

Check out Chico, my son goes there and loves it. It is <2 hours from home which means you can visit whenever you want, everybody dorms, there are lots of students from the Sac area so, getting a ride to town is easy. It is between SLO and Sac in selectivity and has a respected Construction Management program.

Applications are the cheapest part of college. Apply to Davis, Sac, SLO, Chico and a few others. See who lets you in, what your final cost of attendance will be - then make the call in April/May.

Talk with your parents NOW about what they will contribute per year/semester. Commuting to Sac will be around $7500/yr. Commuting to a CC is around $1k/yr. Dorming @ Chico will be $18k/yr. SLO is about $21k/yr, UCD is $25-$27k/yr. Again, financial aid could significantly change what you pay but, those number should help them put some parameters around what you are considering.

Post a bit more about your qualifications and interests for more guidance.

4

@Gumbymom I live maybe 40 miles away but I could drive.

5

@NCalRent Yeah I was considering replacing UCD with Chico State since they have the CM major . I’ll also think more about starting out close and then transferring since its far cheaper. 16k-20k debt actually doesn’t seem too bad to me. Thanks.

6

http://www.csus.edu/faid/financial%20aid%20basics/Cost%20of%20Attendance.html lists CSU Sacramento’s cost of attendance at $15,932 if you live with your parents. However, that includes many of the things that parents often subsidize for students living at home (e.g. room and board, meaning the food and utilities you consume at home, and transportation, meaning use of a car with fuel, maintenance, and insurance, or public transit fares). Be sure it is clear whether they will subsidize these things for you if you live at home. Tuition and books is $8,636, so if your parents subsidize all of your living, transportation, and other expenses, that is the cost that you will see.

CSU Sacramento is an impacted campus, so frosh applicants with eligibility index under 3100 (with SAT) or 770 (with ACT) and not from the local area may not be admitted, according to http://www.csus.edu/admissions/impaction.html . Some majors are impacted, but construction management is not one of them, according to http://www.calstate.edu/sas/impactionsearch/ .