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Dear TeamLiquid,
My girlfriend would like to ask any UCLA or Cal Poly Pomona students about the views on whether she should go to UCLA or Pomona for her civil engineering major. She is having a really tough time deciding.
The pros of going to Pomona: she would be able to see her best friend and boyfriend more often, it would be a lot cheaper, not as fast paced, would be able to drive around, more relaxed. Pomona has one of the best engineering programs around.
Cons of Pomona: not as prestigious as UCLA. less job opportunities compared to ucla?
Pros of UCLA: It's UCLA
Cons of UCLA: its a lot more expensive. she would not be driving, but instead would have to take the bus home on weekends which would be 1 and a half hour trip. Most likely she wont return often since the trip is so long.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Oh and any advice on maintaining relationships between different colleges would be appreciated as well ^^.
 
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If she wants to specialize in a specific field I would say go to Cal Poly. The possibility that she would find a job is rather easy if she went to Cal Poly. The obvious benefits of Cal Poly would be the cost and the fact she would have her friend and boyfriend there is always an instant plus.
If she is looking for convenience then UCLA would be the easier option. Sure your guys' relationship may strain, but thats life in a nutshell. It's hard to make strong opinion on maintaining your guys relationship since we don't know you. It will be tough thats for sure. You shouldn't pressure her into going Cal Poly just because you and her friend are there. This will give her an opportunity to develop her character and what not and meet new friends.
I live in Riverside by the way.
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They say engineering at cal poly is more "practical" where as engineering in other schools is theoretical. What ever she chooses, she can find a job if she graduates from Cal Poly. I believe cal poly is ranked pretty high for the engineering program, so most job oppurtunities will know where she came from. also most professors at cal poly KNOW for a fact that more people who graduate from Cal Poly get recognized for it in future job efforts.
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With California colleges the way they are, im impressed that she has a decision to make between two great schools.
Wish I had a problem like that from time to time :p
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UCLA is the way to go. If you are being accepted into one of the best schools, you might as well go there. A LARGE amount of college students end up changing majors anyways, so UCLA is probably safer for that route as well.
Is the price really that much higher? I know that UC's have increased by like 30% but still it should be about 8k a semester max if she is a resident of California. Since she is smart enough to get into UCLA, I can also guarantee you that she will be way too smart for the other students at Cal Poly in her G.E classes, and that's no fun.
Go with prestige :D
p.s one more thing, I know you guys are having a relationship now, and I hope it will last as long as it possibly can, but NEVER factor in a relationship when choosing a college. Shit happens that you don't expect so NEVER NEVER let it be one of the variables in choosing. And just to reiterate, I hope you guys are happy together for as long as possible 
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Hey,
I actually don't go to neither UCLA or Pomona, but I think I can help you guys out with the situation...
So for a little introduction of myself, I am currently a fourth year mechanical engineering student at UCSD. I will be coming back to school next year (cuz I have two senior design classes left), but I am almost at the end of the line, and am getting ready for the "real" world; I just got hired as a reader (kind of like a TA) for one of my major classes I took and almost have an internship lined up for next quarter.
When I was in high school, I also wanted to go to UCLA for its "prestigious" reputation. Unfortunately then, I didn't get into UCLA, so I went to my second choice school UCSD. Looking back now, you don't know how glad I am that I ended up in UCSD. This is because no disrespect to UCLA, but UCSD offered me a much better engineering program (although at graduate level, the Mechanical Engineering program here is ranked as 10th in the nation).I guess what I am trying to say is that a better engineering school IS better for an engineer period. If the school has respectful engineering program, the companies or others within the engineering field WILL know that; it doesn't really matter how prestigious the school is outside of engineering because why should it if it's not related to engineering?
Job opportunities... adding on to what I was saying earlier, I don't think going to UCLA will necessarily give more job opportunities; it's still a PUBLIC school. Speaking from experience, job opportunities are solely on YOU. If you don't try, you probably won't get hired.
I want to comment on certain things about pros and cons you've listed:
- Being able to be with your significant other is definitely a plus, but I personally don't think it should affect that much into making a choice for the future like going to college. But, I guess it comes down to how serious the relationship is...
-Don't settle for less and step up to the challenge! Telling yourself that I want to go to a school more "relaxed" than "fast faced" is a definite NO NO. You really shouldn't have that kind of attitude. I can tell you now that college is hard and I struggled a crap ton when I first got here. But without those struggles and overcoming them, I won't be here right now as who I am.
-UCLA being prestigious... I already mentioned it earlier regarding to engineering
-Tuition cost shouldn't tie one down from going to better school. I am not saying this is applicable in this case, but just saying that there's always a way to pay for school such as financial aid and student loans. I've been paying for tuition with the help of financial aid and loans. Over the years, the loans unfortunately kind of piled up, but it definitely was worth it for the trade-off of the education I received.
-About being able to drive or not thing, this is more towards you guys' relationship? It comes down to whether you guys can make it work or not, but like I said, I don't think it should tie her down from making such an important choice in life.
All in all, I think she should go to Ponoma ONLY IF she's SURE that civil engineering is what she wants to do. But the pros and cons you've suggested makes me feel a little bit iffy about how certain she is about pursuing an engineering education. Heck, I had no idea what I wanted to do even after almost two years in college. My biggest concern is that what if she goes to Ponoma then decides that engineering is not what she wants to pursue? Then what?? Then it would have been much better off if she decided to go to UCLA because UCLA is an awesome school for a lot of majors.
To be an engineer, it's a no brainer that she should go to Pamona. Conveniently, things will also look pretty good if everything goes with the plan. She'll be close with you and friends, will be receiving great and inexpensive (compared to UCLA) education, and everything will be good! However, if she decides she doesn't like engineering then she'd be missing out on "prestigious" UCLA. It seems apparent to me that you guys want to be together and are a little worried about long distance relationship. If you guys are really meant for each other, then it'll work. Seeing each other every one or two weekend doesn't seem that bad, I've seen friends who make once or twice a year work.
So, I hope my rambling about nothing can help. Once again, I think she should go to Pomona only if she's very certain about doing engineering. Otherwise, you should support her to go to UCLA. If you guys have more questions regarding to pursuing engineering or job opportunities stuff, feel free to shoot me an email (PM me for my email address). Keep in mind that I have finals coming up so I might not respond that fast...Cya and gL!
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I go to UCLA and I can answer more specific questions regarding the school. My recommendation is to go with what feels right. She should definitely visit both schools, and honestly (as much as you don't want to hear it) make the best decision for herself, not for her family, for you, or for anyone else. She needs to think about herself. It's a big decision.
Myself, I love UCLA. The weather is perfect, the campus is beautiful, and it's quickly becoming one of the most prestigious universities in the nation. With 57,000 applicants for 4,000 spots, it's definitely a privilege to go to this school, and one I cherish a lot.
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Seeing that I applied to both those schools too, I might be able to give some insight.
Cal Poly Pomona is practically known for its majors and programs in engineering while UCLA is more known for psychology/economics, but also has a fairly good engineering program.
Judging from what you've said about the pros and cons, it seems like it'd be better for her to go to Pomona.
My 2 cents.
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I would go with UCLA as long as the financial troubles aren't huge.
I don't think people can be completely sure of what they want to do, and choosing a school that is only really good at one area vs a school that is just as good at that area (or better) and also excels in other areas doesn't make sense.
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Maybe go halvsies and go to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo? Not sure where you are is going.
edit: I like it here.
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I don't go to UCLA, nor do I go to Cal Poly Pomona, but my girlfriend goes to UCLA and I go to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. So hear me out:
Does your girlfriend recieve any financial aid? If she does, then UCLA would be a great choice because she won't have to pay as much for school. If she doesn't then price is more of a factor and she should weigh both options more carefully.
What type of campus does your girlfriend prefer? UCLA has an awesome night life and a city atmosphere, while Cal Poly is more of a quiet college town at night. There are still parties, but you won't find many people walking around at 2 AM like you would at UCLA. She should definitely check both campuses out to see if she likes it.
Are you sure Cal Poly Pomona's engineering program is stronger than UCLAs? I know for sure that Cal Poly San Luis Obispo consistently ranks top for undergraduate engineering, but I'm not too sure about Pomona. UCLA might actually be better than Pomona for engineering. I would definitely do some more research on that.
Some comments:
The food at UCLA is awesome. And I speak from experience, having visited my girlfriend a couple of times. Even though it's sometimes crowded, it's all you can eat and it's very good; there is a ton of variety.
A long distance relationship is hard, but it's actually pretty common and is definitely possible, as long as you have long term goals together. I know you probably won't need me to say this, but stay in touch with your girlfriend and plan on seeing her when you can. You have to make sacrifices to make it work; but what relationship doesn't involve making sacrifices?
An hour and a half trip is NOTHING. Some people make an hour and a half commutes to work every day. I wish my girlfriend was only an hour and a half away. I would visit her a lot more often.
I have so much more advice to tell you, you can send me a PM if you want. I'll try my best to answer any questions you and your girlfriend might have.
But my advice would be to go to UCLA.
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I go to UCLA.
Prestige means nothing. Employers are going to care very little about what college you get your degree from or which engineering program is supposedly "better." It's all about your experiences and resume.
What matters more is that you actually enjoy your undergraduate experience, because these are going to be the only 4 years of your life where you'll be surrounded by so many peers and have so much freedom. She should visit both campuses and get the feel of each and see which one she likes better. It's all about the people.
To be honest I feel like UCLA's going downhill with all the budget cuts, the construction, ridiculously large class sizes, cutting of foreign language classes, etc. It's also such a large student body that it's really easy to get "lost," which is how I felt my first two years here. But at the same time, because it's so diverse there will be a group out there you can click with - you just have to find them.
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On March 13 2010 21:55 Silverflame wrote:
To be honest I feel like UCLA's going downhill with all the budget cuts, the construction, ridiculously large class sizes, cutting of foreign language classes, etc. It's also such a large student body that it's really easy to get "lost," which is how I felt my first two years here. But at the same time, because it's so diverse there will be a group out there you can click with - you just have to find them.
Every state-funded school, including Cal Poly, is going to feel the same pains. The state schools (like Cal Poly) probably feel less of it, considering their overall smaller size, but it's my firm belief that UCLA is on its way up, not down. Admissions are getting more competitive; I wouldn't be able to get into UCLA now if I applied. And I don't know why you're complaining about construction...most of it is to open up more dormitories for more students to be able to live on campus.
I did feel pretty lost my first year. I hate Los Angeles. I'm from San Francisco (the greatest city in the world) and there's so much about this city I despise. UCLA though, is a breath of fresh air in what I believe might be the most terrible city in the world. In the end though, I don't ever regret my decision because UCLA is a great school, a great environment, and a great place to be.
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I can say from experience that being comfortable is much more important. Engineering is not an easy path, any kind of pressure can make you drop it halfway in.
1.5 hour trips once a week is not too bad. I used to have 3 hour trips every day; however, money can easily become overwhelming. I really recommend to choose the most comfortable option, all things considered.
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Thank you guys very much! I love the teamliquid community! You guys always provide insightful answers and really seem to care <3 .
After reading these responses I think i will support my girlfriend's decision to go to UCLA since it seems like the only thing holding her back was the long travel time. However as you guys have mentioned 1 and a half hour is not ridiculously far.
I myself plan to go to UCSD, which would put me about 2 hours driving distance away D: . Could be worse i suppose at least i can still see her from time to time ^^ .
Once again thank you team liquid!
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lol I was about to rage at you guys for saying UCLA was more prestigious than Pomona.
Then I saw the "Cal Poly" part, nice reading comprehension fail on my part.
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Sweet come to UCSD op
We'll welcome you here! There are a lot of actives members from TL and we also have a pretty big CSL team.
What major and what college?
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Economics major in Warren College!
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EPT
