UCSD undeclared or Cal Poly Pomona Aerospace, Need the Professionals advice

Kinkele

Have You visited the UCSD Campus: walked-thru the engineering facilities; and met with instructors and admin?

RE both Pomona & San Diego: are there opportunities for internships with aerospace companies, etc?

Is Your son REALLY ready to study engineering full-time... or is 'he' more inclined to study beaches, sun-tans, parties, girls, etc?




Regards, Wil Taylor

o Trust - But Verify!
o We believe to be true what we prefer to be true.
o For those who believe, no proof is required; for those who cannot believe, no proof is possible.
o Unfortunately, in science what You 'believe' is irrelevant. ["Orion"]
o Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist. [Picasso]

We visited Cal Poly SLO (who didnt accept him) and we visited CalPoly Pomona. In both cases we were impressed. I asked a senior student at each campus if the knew what they were doing after graduation and in both cases they had jobs lined up.

Although he maybe ready to chases girls and play on the beach, he is a serious aeronautical student, He soloed at 16 and got his private pilot license at 17.

His conflict is that UCSD is a higher ranking University, but he risks not getting in as Aeronautical. Cal Poly Pomona is perceived by some as a second choice school, but they offered his an Aerospace engineering major as a freshman.

We are curious if the industry, you the professionals who have been doing this work, have an opinion.

Kinkele

Can't tell you about the Aerospace industry, but I'm a Cal Poly Pomona grad (mechanical). CPP has a great reputation for undergraduate engineering with lots of hands-on work. Classes are taught by professors and/or lecturers, not grad students. When I was there, 92-96, most professors had fairly significant industrial backgrounds, i.e. Not just professional academics. Engineering class sizes were small. However, I think the Aerospace program is small. He might have more flexibility going into Mechanical Engineering.

After graduation, I was hired for a summer internship (went to grad school in the fall) by a Cal Poly grad who told me that he hired CPP grads because we could come into work and not break stuff.

Also check Out the annual rankings (US News and World Report) for both school. The Cal State is also cheaper to attend than UC.

Good luck!
I'm

Thanks, That's the type of information I was looking for. Have you ever met a UCSD engineer?

I'm an ex-aero (U of Wash.), and for background I've never been impressed by college names.

But Cal Poly has more cachet in the propulsion field (at least up to 15 years ago) than does UCSD. And, I have been pretty impressed by Cal Poly grads over the years, more so than MIT grads.

Interesting. I'd never heard of UCSD until now, whereas I am aware of Pomona (in a good way). I think I can see which way this thread is going...

Also,a good degree/GPA from a lower ranked uni is probably more attractive to employers than a reasonable degree from a higher ranked one, if the difference in ranking is not vast.

So, if he is more motivated because he has the major he wants then he is likely to get to grips with the nasty courses with a bit more enthusiasm.

To my mind the crucial thing is whether they can offer good intern programs in the industry of choice.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

Again Thanks to all of you.

The most important thing you can do during your undergrad is participating in as many internships with different companies in the industry as possible. If you do a good job with these internships, and leave a good impression, it will result in lots of industry connections and job offers after graduation. If you have multiple job offers after graduation, don't be shy about using the competing offers in your negotiations. It's just part of normal business, and the companies you are negotiating with are doing the same.

if he really wants aero ... follow that horse.

if he really prefers the school that may give him the chance of Aero, maybe ... but I feel it'll be more like an infatuation, a fling, rather than the real thing.

another day in paradise, or is paradise one day closer ?

I wouldn't necessarily get hung up on a pre-matriculation notion of a major; when I went to school, a truckload of freshmen thought they were going to major in physics, until Physics 1, which was a "weeder" class, i.e., it "weeds" out dilettantes. My first roommate was one such; he declared for English Lit at the end of freshman year. A high school buddy actually did go to UCSD, majored in photography, film, transferred to UC Davis, majored in veterinary, and finally EE, which was what I had thought he was going to major in when we were in high school. A friend's daughter wanted to major in aero, but found that she couldn't manage the math, and wound up as a manager of a Home Depot.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
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Cal Poly Pomona Ranks Among Best College Investments


A Cal Poly Pomona education is right up there with Wall Street stocks when it comes to return on investment, according to the global leader in salary and compensation data.

The PayScale College Return on Investment 2016 rankings compared the cost of education at a university to the average salary its graduates earn after 20 years. By that measure, Cal Poly Pomona came in at No. 69 out of 962 colleges and universities from across the country. The university ranked No. 74 in the 2014 ranking.

Cal Poly Pomona is one of three California State University campuses that ranked among the Top 100. Only Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (No. 32) and San Jose State (No. 66) ranked higher.

The university also is a major player in the region, placing higher than UCLA (No. 91) and USC (No. 146) in the rankings. Caltech was listed as the No. 1 institution.

For students attending out of state, Cal Poly Pomona still held tremendous value, earning a tie at No. 99 when compared with the return on investment for higher out-of-state tuition.

One should be wary of single numbers as criteria, since some of the differences have to be attributed to the mix of majors and percentage of students in each major. Caltech and MIT are primarily engineering schools; you're not going to find many Ancient Languages majors in those schools. Likewise, in UCs vs. CalPolys, the UCs have more diverse curricula, which potentially drives the ROI down.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
faq731-376 forum1529

As some others have inferred, I too find it difficult to quantify an answer to the question of "which school is better?" Too many variables, too many caveats, too much conflicting data. What I can provide, however, are subjective thoughts backed by anecdotal evidence.

-As a practicing aero engineer who spent about a decade working in Southern California, I had the pleasure of working with folks from many different institutions, including UCSD and CPP. What I've learned from that experience is that the quality of employee/engineer is much more dependent on the person than it is the institution or curriculum (assuming a quality institution with a good curriculum, of course). If the qualities that make a good engineer exist in that person (another topic for another thread), then I believe that person can be one...regardless of whether they attended CPP or UCSD.

-As a hiring manager, it's very rare for me to give much credence to the university a person attended...perhaps because of my experience mentioned above. When I hire, I'm looking for a good engineer (again, subjective criteria for another thread). I don't tend to stereotype people from University A as good and those from University B as great...people stand on their own. The only time I will look into a University is if it's one I've never heard of; then I'll check for some type of accreditation and a decent curriculum on paper.

-As someone who might put myself in your son's shoes, I'd look at the choice and realize that I'm going to spend tens of thousands of dollars over the next few years to gain an education. One school will give me what I want, so long as I do my part. The other school might, if they're so inclined, or if a spot opens up, or for whatever goofy motive is driving their decision. To me the decision to your son's dilemma seems obvious, although perhaps my mindset doesn't allow me to comprehend spending that kind of time and money for an uncertain outcome before even writing the first check and attending the first class.

-As someone who once applied to UCSD, I can tell you that I made a decision when faced with an issue very similar to the one your son is currently facing. I was accepted to UCSD, with the aero engineering major I wanted, but was placed in a UCSD "college" with a mission quite dissimilar from my own. (For those unfamiliar with UCSD colleges, see here: UCSD College System ) When I inquired about changing my college to one more inline with my interests, the answer was "sure, if something opens up in the one you're interested in, you can transfer." Although the likelihood of that happening was probably good, it wasn't worth my time/money to walk into a situation I was unhappy with from day one, hoping a change could be had. My choice? I attended and graduated from UC Davis...and haven't regretted it for one day.

kinkele...

One caution note. I attended Cal Poly SLO [aero], starting summer 1971 [beginning of the big aerospace crash of the 1970s]. Admissions standards in the last few years have hit all-time highs... understand many students selected are awaiting a slot and taking approved degree-basic-courses at local JC in SLO vicinity. Make sure that Cal Poly Pomona and UCSD aren't delaying admissions due to over-load.

NOTE. My high school GPA of 3.85 wouldn't get me close to the door today... since GPAs of 4.15+ are now the norm. Timing in life is not necessarily everything... but can be a factor.

NOTE. I have to admit that one important reason I attended CP SLO was the DRAFT [Vietnam War was hot/heavy in '71]. That hot summer-day lottery ... and the general statement from Selective Service was that they would be taking inductees from lottery numbers 1-up-to-125-or-140 [depends] that draft-year. CP SLO had a great Army ROTC program... which led me to deferred Army service from 1976--1979. I have discovered that even though my Army service [active/reserve, Armor] wasn't easy**, it benefited my career [and me personally] in many unique ways over the years. I encourage all sons/daughters to consider this option along with attaining an engineering degree.

**In my case I paid a even higher premium for Army service due to the cost of a failed marriage.

Regards, Wil Taylor

o Trust - But Verify!
o We believe to be true what we prefer to be true. [Unknown]
o For those who believe, no proof is required; for those who cannot believe, no proof is possible. [variation,Stuart Chase]
o Unfortunately, in science what You 'believe' is irrelevant. ["Orion"]
o Learn the rules like a pro, so you can b

Wil,

not necessarily clear whether you'd get in or not. Any honors or AP classes that you took would now be scored on a 5 point scale. That said, there are other things that are radically different. When I graduated from HS, I only had 4 AP classes taken; both my sons had 7 AP exams before senior yr and my older son graduated having taken 10. Even that might e considered pedestrian, there are schools that require taking 14 AP exams before graduating.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
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