<p>Let me chime in as my kid turned down UCLA (and four other UC’s) for Cal Poly.</p>
<p>Q: 1. I want to go to grad school after undergrad, will that be easier at ucla because I hear they try to prepare you for that better or cal poly maybe I would be able to get a better gpa?</p>
<p>A: As eyemgh said above, if you do well at Cal Poly you can get into any grad school you want. Also, you can do the 4+1 program at Cal Poly and get both your undergrad and graduate degree at Cal Poly together. Do not assume that you can get a better GPA at Cal Poly because it is not a UC. Cal Poly is very challenging and kids flunk out every year just like at UCLA. </p>
<p>Q: 2. What kind of personality types tend to go to both schools? I am a pretty shy person and I am afraid of there being too many people at UCLA that I may not be able to find people I fit in with.</p>
<p>A: UCLA is a metropolis with as many as 60,000 people on campus if you add everyone up from students and profs to the cleaning crew. So, there will be all types and it can get lonely. UCLA really is a sink or swim situation. Cal Poly is also diverse, but the atmosphere is much more laid back. Cal Poly seems to be more relaxed and very open and friendly. This is my opinion and completely anecdotal. My kid is very introverted and easily found his peeps. WOW week really made a difference and integrated him into the school form day one.</p>
<p>Q: 3. Ucla is about $5,000 a year cheaper for me than cal poly slo, so that comes into my mind a lot and I know that UCLA has a higher four year graduation rate…</p>
<p>A: $5,000 a year cheaper is a very big deal. You must take that into consideration in your choice. Cal Poly takes longer to graduate because it is intense and often because students do internships and often take on extended PAID co-ops. These often lead to job offers. I know kids that got internships at Cal Poly that paid $10,000 over a summer and co-ops that paid over $20,000.</p>
<p>Q: 4. At this point I do believe I want to be an electrical engineer, but I am not 100% sure and I want the opportunity to switch majors if I choose too. Specifically to computer science if I find that I like it, and I know ucla said that it is very easy to switch majors within the engineering school if you want to. I did not go to the cal poly slo open house but I heard it’s at the very least easier to switch into another engineering major from the engineering school than from outside it.</p>
<p>A: No worries, at Cal Poly EE and CS are both in the College of Engineering <a href=“http://ceng.calpoly.edu/departments/”>http://ceng.calpoly.edu/departments/</a> and changing majors is not that big of a deal at Cal Poly. My kid did and did not miss a beat.</p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>