engineering phd

UCSB or Cal Poly SLO for Electrical Engineering

I was accepted (disappointingly, almost, because I legitimately thought I had stats for UCLA/UCB) to UCSB and Cal Poly SLO for electrical engineering. UCSB offered me enough in grants and scholarships that it would cost, in essence, just as much as SLO.

I need to know what people who are familiar with the two would have to say on the following (I am going to be visiting the schools and asking over spring break, but I need “outside” opinions):

Is it true that it’s near-impossible to get any “unnecessary” classes, and difficult to get any necessary classes, at Cal Poly?
Is the party environment at UCSB really that bad?
Does the frequently-communicated argument “Cal Poly’s “Learn by Doing” policy makes it better than most UCs” hold true? Will going to Cal Poly allow me to learn more about Electrical Engineering than if I went to UCSB? (I’ve looked at the flowcharts but have no real grasp on the depth each course goes into at each school…)
Will one school make me more prepared for grad school than the other? I looked at SLO’s “after-graduation” survey and it seemed like very few EE majors went to grad school. Does anybody know if one EE program is better than the other for after-college purposes?

<ol> <li>WHICH ONE WOULD YOU CHOOSE I’m always veering towards SLO but the fact that they have such a poor graduation rate because of a weird class-getting issue scares me. I want to minor in something (probably entrepreneurship or physics or computer science) in college, and it seems like my chances of doing that at SLO are nill…is this true?</li> </ol>

And finally, how do I get over the fact my top choices said no? I had a 33 ACT, 2170 SAT, 4.04 GPA, and both UCLA and UCB (and Stanford and Harvey Mudd) said no. Am I really just a UCSB-level student based on those stats? My ECs weren’t that bad, and while EE is a very difficult major to get into…I just feel like I might have overestimated myself and it’s hard to reconcile myself with that thought…

‘just a UCSB level student’? UCSBs level in Electrical Engineering is quite high.

the top 136 Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate programs in the US using the latest National Research Council data. <a href=“ http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/electrical-engineering/rank/__M_____________________________________________________________U ”> http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/electrical-engineering/rank/__M_____________________________________________________________U</a></p&gt ;

<a href=“ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCSB_Department_of_Electrical_and_Computer_Engineering ”> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCSB_Department_of_Electrical_and_Computer_Engineering</a></p&gt ;

<a href=“ http://engineering.ucsb.edu/prospective_undergraduates/why_choose_ucsb ”> http://engineering.ucsb.edu/prospective_undergraduates/why_choose_ucsb</a></p&gt ;

I understand UCSB is more grad school oriented, but with luck someone from that major will chime in. There are other threads on this, you might want to search.

Q1. <a href=“ http://www.redd ”> http://www.redd </a> it.com/r/CalPoly/comments/21prf6/i amthinkingofcommittingtocalpolyis/

This site would not allow me to post a link with reddit .com/r/calpoly

Q2. It depends on how you choose to engage with UCSB’s social scene. It can go either way depending on you.

Q3. Almost every engineering class in Cal Poly is accompanied by a lab class where you implement what is being taught in the lecture class. So “learn by doing” is not a marketing tool, rather it is an actual corner stone of a Cal Poly education. Moreover, prior to graduation, everyone is required to complete a senior project (senior thesis), a capstone project that will tangibly demonstrate everything that you have learned as an EE. Cal Poly will prepare you to become a practicing electrical engineer very well. Therefore, if you plan to work a bit before pursuing further education, Cal Poly is a great choice. With regards to graduate school, if you did well at Cal Poly academically speaking, you will have no issue getting into a great graduate school after.

UCSB will more theory focused, more geared toward book learning, and does not require a senior project for graduation. Which one is better all depends on your learning style/preferences. If your future plan is a Phd in engineering in the future, and you don’t mind getting the Phd at UCSB right after finishing undergraduate, then UCSB might be preferable. UCSB undergrad degree will get you into a UCSB Phd program with less work than Cal Poly.

Q4. Most Cal Poly engineering graduates enter the workforce first prior to graduate school. Our program is very professionally oriented and thus it leans toward landing you a great job post graduation rather than immediately entering grad school. That’s not to say Cal Poly graduates don’t go to graduate school. Getting into a good graduate has a lot to do with your undergrad academic performance than anything else.

Q5. Cal Poly’s reddit page has a lot of the answers you are looking for.

Q6. Cal Poly engineering freshman stats:

Avg GPA: 4.08 Avg ACT: 31 Avg SAT: 1388 (out of 1600)

<a href=“ Cal Poly Admissions ”> Cal Poly Admissions ;

As you can see, you were slightly below on the GPA and slight above on your ACT. In running the risk of being overly simplistic, you were actually almost an exact match with Cal Poly’s requirements.

I think you should not bemoan your acceptance at UCSB and Cal Poly as a failure. Rather celebrate it as a solid achievement. Lots of people couldn’t get into either school this year, especially as an EE, a highly competitive major.

That…helps a lot. I didn’t know Cal Poly was so rigorous (the 2012 stats…or whatever they’d given me on a flyer, were much more…lax), and I didn’t know that UCSB was ranked highly. I guess I should start actually consulting people from those colleges (I was hoping some such people would weigh in here), and I’m sure reddit’s a great place to start.

In regards to the last part of my post…I know they’re both great schools, and I know I’m lucky to have gotten in…I’m just still recovering from the shock of getting so many “no’s”

Also, @blindmonkey , when you say “if you don’t mind getting a PhD at UCSB”, do you mean it’s hard to get a PhD/Masters elsewhere (getting in to other grad schools is difficult from UCSB) or what?

It is easier to be admitted to a Phd engineering program if you had attended undergraduate engineering at the same university. Often, the Phd program will not require you to take the GRE if you did your undergraduate at the same place. Also, you would have had a chance to network with the faculty, and if they like you, you are much more likely to be admitted to their Phd.

Similar to UCSB, Cal Poly’s engineering and its EE program are both highly ranked as well.

Cal Poly engineering is #8 in the US for non-Phd granting universities.

I don’t remember the number, but I think SLO’s EE program is ranked #2 or #3 for non-Phd granting program in the US.

You should search other threads comparing these schools on EE, there was one very recently which did a thorough comparison. I am just speaking from memory of that thread when I say people said Cal Poly is more practical for immediate work force, but UCSB better prepares you for a graduate program. Also, while a senior project may not be required at UCSB, I’m pretty sure I saw they were available, and also research opportunities for undergraduates of a level few undergraduates can find. Until someone weighs in, here is the UCSB website on it: <a href=“ http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/ ”> http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/</a></p&gt ;

And with UCSB ranked four in the nation for EE, if you can get into UCSB’s graduate program, I would think that meant most others would be easier.

Here is the UCSB brochure on why a student should choose UCSB for electrical engineering (1 to 8 faculty to student ratio sounds pretty good particularly when one of the faculty is a nobel prize winner: <a href=“ http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/academics/undergrad/why/why-ece.pdf ”> http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/academics/undergrad/why/why-ece.pdf</a></p&gt ;

Here’s a student interview from the brochure:

Your visits over spring break will probably be your best opportunity. Call ahead and ask to meet with advisers or whomever they have available when you will be there, or if you can sit in on a class or meet with any current students in the department. I don’t know what they ‘have available’, but I’m sure if you call in advance something can be set up.

This is not necessarily true. In some majors, some schools’ departments favor the idea that students should go to different schools for undergraduate and PhD study. For example, Berkeley’s chemical engineering department says at <a href=“ http://cheme.berkeley.edu/grad_info/faq.php ”> http://cheme.berkeley.edu/grad_info/faq.php</a&gt ; :

Whether or not that is true for EE at UCSB is a different question, but one should not assume that it is necessarily easier to get into the same school for PhD study.

I know nothing about UCSB, but I have heard great feedback on CalPoly SLO. They were using project-based approaches before it became popular in other schools. DH and I are both engineers, and we like that approach very much.

I do know a lot about Harvey Mudd. Mudd (and Stanford) is a reach for everybody, even students with stats higher than yours.

UCSB has about 20K students, of these 18K are undergrads. So, UCSB is highly undergrad focused when compared to most other UC’s. Their engineering department is small - 2k students total and a pretty good student to instructor ratio (9:1 I think). Engineers have a higher priority when it comes to course registration than just about anyone else. Since UCSB wants you to graduate in 4 years the engineering advisers will do what it takes to get you into the classes you need. This includes getting a special admit code to closed courses when needed to keep you on schedule.

With so many UG’s it is easier to get research opportunities since you’re not competing with a huge pool of grad students.

SLO has a fantastic program and reputation. But, they took on too many students last year and this has resulted in a number of issues. You will have issues getting into classes and they’ve been tripling their dorm rooms. But, don’t let the fact that they are not a research institution scare you. FWIW, we know a recent ME grad who has just accepted a fantastic offer for the grad/PhD program at that little 'Big Bang Theory" place down the road.

So, I just visited Santa Barbara, and I have to say, the campus is absolutely gorgeous! The student liason answered many of my questions and made UCSB seem really nice, especially since it seems double majoring/minoring is actually possible there, because the engineering program isn’t completely inundated like SLOs. Now I’m at SLO, and I’m going to talk to them.

Can anybody comment on UCSB’s social atmosphere? I heard that it was really shallow/partyish, and I’m a semi-introvert who has never gotten drunk, so…is it a “join or die” type party atmosphere or what?

UCSB is “technically” the #2 party school in the country.

<a href=“ UCSB Ranked #2 Party School in Country - The Santa Barbara Independent ”> http://www.independent.com/news/2013/aug/06/ucsb-ranked-2-party-school-country/</a></p&gt ;

And it’s also “technically” highly ranked in engineering. Really highly ranked, if I’m reading the rankings correctly. So is it safe to assume the people who are partying are some (no offense to anybody who has these majors) liberal art majors who have all the time in the world to party? Because…from how it’s described, the engineering department is really small, and really good…

You are too concerned with the rankings… both schools are in fact excellent. Focus more on all-around fit instead.

That’s…probably true. I do get fixated on the rankings. I just…feel the need to justify UCSB because it has such a…reputation, at my school and my city (San Diego) of just being a party school people go to to party, so I need something to justify.

But you’re right…

@Aarontpz My niece wasn’t into the partying (the big partying, anyhow, there are also more select ‘group of friends’ parties kids throw for bbq on the beach or whatever). In fact she was an EMT (a pre med student) and saw the ‘other side’ of the biggest party there - Halloween. She said that was a problem because people came from colleges all over the state for it, and they were trying to keep it local because the local students had a care for their ‘home’ that the out of towners really didn’t. I understand they now ‘close’ the streets to the town now in the afternoon and it is the one time it is hard to get around. But a lot of people just stay away from it, since it is only one day of the year. She loved it there and tried to get back there for her residency after medical school (she is graduating from medical school this year). She did get her first choice practice, surgery, but is going to be at a hospital associated with an ivy league, instead. She said there were those who liked the big parties, many from the city college rather than from UCSB, but that there was plenty of social life for those who didn’t.

As you point out, UCSB is full of serious students, and they have to be serious about their studies. I wouldn’t say the parties are all liberal arts (though maybe somewhat more so), because there are serious liberal arts students as well. A lot of students take the parties as they want them, after finals or for a break, but don’t make a lifestyle of it.

There are enough people who are concerned about this that there are a number of threads on it, and current students have constantly said this is really not a problem. There is partying at every college, particularly those in college towns where so many young people take the town over. However, the truly big parties aren’t the norm, and are easy to avoid if that simply isn’t what you want. Note, that people from SLO drive down for the Halloween party as well, so both places you have people who do and don’t go for that sort of thing.

as for UCSB being number 4 for EE, I posted that link in a prior post. There are many different rankings, though, that was the latest one by the National Research Council. I think US News has them ranked at 17 out of National Universities using the US News criterion (you should look at their methodology). SLO is rated by US News in the Regional Colleges list rather than in the National University list, so you need to kind of pull out the elements that are important to you in comparing those rankings.