UC Riverside Bourns Engineering vs Cal Poly Pomona Engineering

skbryan
Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:09:34 +0000

Don’t let your peers tell you that UCR is a bad school just because it’s the easiest UC to get into. I’m a CS major at UCR and I can tell you that the engineering department is very good with a lot of funding for research. For CS at least, the classes are more challenging compared to other UC equivalents, which is a good thing because you’ll end up learning more. If you’re worried about how UCR will look on your resume, don’t. The UC system in itself is one of the best education systems in the world and UCR has high rankings for engineering disciplines. It all comes down to what you know. I have gotten many interviews for internships and employers didn’t think twice about looking down on UCR (I also have a strong GPA). Also, I like how the engineering department is relatively small compared to other departments at UCR so it’s easy to have face-to-face time with your counselor and they actually remember you.

Those were the pros of UCR, here are the cons. The career center here is useless. I got my current internship by applying on my own, arranging interview times on my own, and accepting the job on my own. Some biased UCR employee might point to their “ScotJobs” web page showing a list of hundreds of job offerings through UCR, but there really aren’t a lot listed and not a lot of goods jobs. There are virtually no companies coming to recruit people for internships or hiring with the exception of Google and some local companies. No other big names. Basically, you’re on your own to get an internship and/or job at UCR. I hope this changes in the future.

To contrast, I hear Cal Poly Pomona has a good network and good recruiting programs to get you an internship or job before graduation. They say that they focus more on practicality than other schools do. There is also a lot of hands-on work in UCR classes since almost every CS class is accompanied with a 3 hour lab unlike other UC’s where some classes don’t lab at all but a 1 hour discussion. I can’t comment outside of CS though.

Cal Poly Pomona will be cheaper if cost is an issue for you.

Location: Personally, both schools are in pretty bad locations. Cal Poly Pomona feels secluded, but has a cool farm. UCR is in a busier city that’s closer to interest points, but is inland and it can get pretty hot.

As far as CSU Long Beach, I hear they have a great engineering program too with good recruitment. I think of it as a CPP in a better area.

I think either choice will be good. Both have pros and cons so it just matters on your preference in the end.