UCSD vs Cal Poly Pomona ENGINEERING

OsakaDad
Mon, 25 Jun 2012 02:01:55 +0000

@ pbh415 – Cal Poly Pomona actually has a really nice campus. One of the consistent comments by the students that we met there was that the campus was beautiful. Your first impression will be the fields and stables around campus. The famous Kellogg family donated the land and the campus to the state with the mandate that the school would continue to raise the benefactor’s beloved Arabian horses for as long as the school exists. So, if you are lucky you will see Arabian horses frolicking and grazing in the fields like we did the first day we explored campus. The school’s hands on learn by doing teaching methodology extends to all subjects including agriculture, so there are a lot of vineyards and cash crop programs around campus. There is a small school produce store where you can buy fruits, vegetables and other goods grown or raised on campus farms. The school has a lot of botanical diversity and a beautiful rose garden as well. It also has a Japanese garden and a small pond with ducks and frogs on campus. It is a surprisingly nice place to be --we really liked it. There is a brand new state of the art business building and the well funded engineering department has impressive facilities as well. One of the interesting things that you will see is an office park nearby campus where certain firms that recruit from campus have set up facilities. So Cal Edison is one such firm as well as many others. Another surprising thing we saw was the campus art museum filled with work from local and student artists, the theater department and the music building. Another thing that surprised us was that CPP has one of the best hotel and hospitality programs in the US with its own accommodations and upscale restaurant on campus as well. It also has a distinctive administrative building that is featured on much of its literature, but I believe that it has some structural issues and will be replaced or overhauled in the future.

It is located inland from Los Angeles and does have a hot and dry climate, but it is not a bad campus with acceptable dormitories and on campus dining. There is a surprising amount of school spirit and it is a commuter school. However, so is UCSD to a certain extent. The nearby city of Pomona is a bit of a let down. But, who cares? Joshua Tree National Park is nearby and it is nothing short of spectacular. Big Bear for hiking anytime and skiing/snow boarding in the Winter. Idyllwild for rock climbing is close by too. If you like nightlife or the beach go into LA. If you like Las Vegas, you are 1/3 of the way there from LA. Also, nearby are several elite private LAC’s and other publics. The Claremont consortium (Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Scripps), University of Laverne, University of Redlands, UC Riverside, CSU San Bernardino and RCC.

Like I said, it was in our top 3 for sure. Is it the most beautiful campus I’ve ever seen? No, it is not – but, there is something really cool and unique about it that we liked. My kid said, “I can see myself going here” while we were on the campus tour. Two other very important pluses for the school – Exactly as DrGoogle mentioned above, Cal Poly Pomona sends a number of folks to great grad schools. USC and Cal Tech among others like UCLA. Also, you will save between $12,000 to $13,000 a year at CPP over UCSD.