cal poly SLO vs. Cal Poly Pomona (Riverside, Irvine: houses, dorms)

[CESpeed]

Originally Posted by Dean Trails

In my opinion I would go for SLO. Pomona is out in the desert! You will miss the weather!
But, as I recall you want MORE MALLS?
So then go for Pomona!!

Pomona is no where near the desert. Because it's in the San Gabriel Valley it does get very hot in the summer, but it's not even close to the desert.

And Living is absolutely right: the campus is far enough away from downtown Pomona that the crime that is prevalent in the area doesn't affect the campus. In fact the campus is in a very affluent area.

[MisterDuke]

Yes, if anyone picks a college based on its annual rainfall, they will be very disappointed in Cal Poly Pomona.

[EclecticEars]

Alright, I plan on visiting California in late April/early May to check out these areas. The more I look into the community of and university at Pomona, the less interested I become. I'm sure CP-Pomona is a fine academic institution, but there doesn't appear to be much for the college-age crowd going on near campus.

The more I look into CP-San Luis Obispo, the more I really like it. It might not be in a huge urban area with urban issues, but practically any California metro is more urban/metropolitan than anything Kentucky has. Furthermore, the urban planning program's influence from the university's strong architecture program and the proximity to the Bay and L.A. areas don't hurt matters at all.

Any other input is welcome. Meanwhile, thanks to all on this board and through PMs for the help I've received.

[BRinSM]

Pomona would be a crummy school to go to if you are interested in any kind of "college lifestyle". It is nearly 100% commuter and is located in a secluded little valley surrounded by freeways. Unless it's the only place you get accepted to, I would go somewhere else. Then again, I am the person who went to college to get a degree and party. I didn't care where I went as long as I had a good time and passed all my classes. C's get degrees!

[CA central coast]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

Alright, I plan on visiting California in late April/early May to check out these areas. The more I look into the community of and university at Pomona, the less interested I become. I'm sure CP-Pomona is a fine academic institution, but there doesn't appear to be much for the college-age crowd going on near campus.

The more I look into CP-San Luis Obispo, the more I really like it. It might not be in a huge urban area with urban issues, but practically any California metro is more urban/metropolitan than anything Kentucky has. Furthermore, the urban planning program's influence from the university's strong architecture program and the proximity to the Bay and L.A. areas don't hurt matters at all.

Any other input is welcome. Meanwhile, thanks to all on this board and through PMs for the help I've received.

That's easy. Cal Poly-SLO is one of the most respected universities in the nation and San Luis Obispo is one of the nicest places to live ANYWHERE. For certain, the city may be the nicest place to live in the United States, IMO.

[Adriatica]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

Alright, I plan on visiting California in late April/early May to check out these areas. The more I look into the community of and university at Pomona, the less interested I become. I'm sure CP-Pomona is a fine academic institution, but there doesn't appear to be much for the college-age crowd going on near campus.

The more I look into CP-San Luis Obispo, the more I really like it. It might not be in a huge urban area with urban issues, but practically any California metro is more urban/metropolitan than anything Kentucky has. Furthermore, the urban planning program's influence from the university's strong architecture program and the proximity to the Bay and L.A. areas don't hurt matters at all.

Any other input is welcome. Meanwhile, thanks to all on this board and through PMs for the help I've received.

I graduated from the CRP program at Cal Poly and I can't say enough about how good my experience was there. Great faculty, a well-respected degree, good alumni connections, etc.

Also, SLO's CRP students work with municipalities all over CA on their planning problems and issues (as student projects) so you will be exposed to a range of planning concepts from rural to inner-city.

[MIKEETC]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

Pomona would be a crummy school to go to if you are interested in any kind of "college lifestyle". It is nearly 100% commuter and is located in a secluded little valley surrounded by freeways. Unless it's the only place you get accepted to, I would go somewhere else. Then again, I am the person who went to college to get a degree and party. I didn't care where I went as long as I had a good time and passed all my classes. C's get degrees!

Agreed.

Unfortunately for me (and probably countless others who went to that school), there's not a whole lot to do. I usually went straight home (I lived with my Mom about 10 miles away) after the last class of the day because:

a) on campus it is fairly boring (this may have changed since I was a student 9 years ago).

b) most other students went home, too. What's worst, because of the size of the LA metro area, it was not unusual for fellow students to live and commute from various distant locations - arranging get-togethers was near impossible.

c) There's nothing nearby that motivates one to stick around - everything and anything worth doing, seeing, etc. is far from the campus.

d) the city of Pomona itself is not what I would call a prototypical college town - nothing there caters to the college student's lifestyle. Even if you weren't a college student there, but were college aged, you'd be hard pressed to find a club, bar, etc. in Pomona. And if that wasn't your scene but you just wanted to hang out, good luck finding a decent coffee shop, book store, or other similar 'bookish' place. Pomona is not happening...

e) Cal Poly Pomona does not have a football team or other major organized sports that you could rally around, watch on game days at the campus, and follow to various games.

With all that said, Cal Poly Pomona is a really good school. But "college life" at Cal Poly was not...

~Mike (Cal Poly Pomona, '00)

p.s. Most of the people I work with here (at the city I work for) and in surrounding cities are Cal Poly Pomona graduates. Cal Poly Pomona has a good reputation...

[drunk on kool aid]

My info is a few years out of date, but Pomona and neighboring Claremont had an active punk/underground music scene. KSPC (88.7), located in the Claremont Colleges, is a very good college station. I think there is also a small art scene.

I don't know anything about SLO so this isn't meant to be a contrast; just a counter to the notion that Pomona has "no life." Of course, if music isn't a big deal for you, then this will be no help.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

Pomona would be a crummy school to go to if you are interested in any kind of "college lifestyle". It is nearly 100% commuter and is located in a secluded little valley surrounded by freeways. Unless it's the only place you get accepted to, I would go somewhere else.

Well, I went to a heavily commuter univ. for my undergrad. Only 16-18% of residents lived on campus; the rest commuted to elsewhere in Louisville or, in my case, surrounding counties. Very little to speak of in the way of campus life and neighborhood life around campus.

Wild parties don't interest me. I've never been a wild party guy. I might go to 3-4 parties a year, have a shot or two, and call it quits.

On the other hand, I want a place with a more active and diverse array of campus life options. I can't help but imagine that it would make a campus seem friendlier and more "open." SLO seems to have that going for it. (UCLA and USC do too, I'm sure, but SLO seems to attract more of the middle class, "everyday folk" type of people, which is what I'm more of.)

Originally Posted by CA central coast

That's easy. Cal Poly-SLO is one of the most respected universities in the nation and San Luis Obispo is one of the nicest places to live ANYWHERE. For certain, the city may be the nicest place to live in the United States, IMO.

That may be why the COL is rather high for a small town. I did, though, come across a studio apt. online for $625/mo., all utilities paid, but I'm sure it's near "frat row" or run down or both.

Originally Posted by Adriatica

I graduated from the CRP program at Cal Poly and I can't say enough about how good my experience was there. Great faculty, a well-respected degree, good alumni connections, etc.

Also, SLO's CRP students work with municipalities all over CA on their planning problems and issues (as student projects) so you will be exposed to a range of planning concepts from rural to inner-city.

Cool!

Originally Posted by MIKEETC

Agreed.

Unfortunately for me (and probably countless others who went to that school), there's not a whole lot to do. I usually went straight home (I lived with my Mom about 10 miles away) after the last class of the day because:

a) on campus it is fairly boring (this may have changed since I was a student 9 years ago).

b) most other students went home, too. What's worst, because of the size of the LA metro area, it was not unusual for fellow students to live and commute from various distant locations - arranging get-togethers was near impossible.

c) There's nothing nearby that motivates one to stick around - everything and anything worth doing, seeing, etc. is far from the campus.

d) the city of Pomona itself is not what I would call a prototypical college town - nothing there caters to the college student's lifestyle. Even if you weren't a college student there, but were college aged, you'd be hard pressed to find a club, bar, etc. in Pomona. And if that wasn't your scene but you just wanted to hang out, good luck finding a decent coffee shop, book store, or other similar 'bookish' place. Pomona is not happening...

e) Cal Poly Pomona does not have a football team or other major organized sports that you could rally around, watch on game days at the campus, and follow to various games.

With all that said, Cal Poly Pomona is a really good school. But "college life" at Cal Poly was not...

~Mike (Cal Poly Pomona, '00)

p.s. Most of the people I work with here (at the city I work for) and in surrounding cities are Cal Poly Pomona graduates. Cal Poly Pomona has a good reputation...

Thanks for a (seemingly) unbiased take on CP-P.

Originally Posted by drunk on kool aid

My info is a few years out of date, but Pomona and neighboring Claremont had an active punk/underground music scene. KSPC (88.7), located in the Claremont Colleges, is a very good college station. I think there is also a small art scene.

I don't know anything about SLO so this isn't meant to be a contrast; just a counter to the notion that Pomona has "no life." Of course, if music isn't a big deal for you, then this will be no help.

I like live music. Jazz, blues, rock, or just plain acoustic, but pleeeeease no country. (Yes, I'm from Kentucky and even talk with a bit of the accent but I don't like country music.) But yeah, I'd much rather listen to music than watch TV.

Once again, so many options here...

[CA central coast]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

That may be why the COL is rather high for a small town. I did, though, come across a studio apt. online for $625/mo., all utilities paid, but I'm sure it's near "frat row" or run down or both.


...

Even run down here isn't bad. You can also look into Los Osos and Morro Bay. They're two towns by the ocean, about a 10-15 min. drive to the Poly campus. Los Osos may be a bit closer and cheaper.