UCSB vs. Cal Poly Pomona for Mechanical Engineering

Neither is better for ME. Both are ABET approved programs and so the classes are going to teach similar material. Success will depend on your D working hard for good grades (harder than she may imagine, as in 6-10 hours outside class each week for each STEM class). Finding internships, the burden of which is on the student at almost all schools, is a plus.

However the student experience is quite different since most students live on-campus/near UCSB and CPP is primarily a commuter school. If she hasn’t been to them already I suggest visiting on admitted student day to get a sense of the school and to see how comfortable she feels at each.