cal poly SLO vs. Cal Poly Pomona (Los Angeles, San Diego: best schools, university)

[the city]

pros and cons for each

-SLO has better weather
-SLO has clean air
-SLO has better classes
-SLO is closer to the beach
-Pomona has more entertainment
-Pomona's college has more entertainment
-Pomona's more cheap to afford
-Pomona is closer to LA and San Diego

[Adriatica]

They do have some differences in what majors they offer, so that should be the first thing you check. Also, Cal Poly SLO makes you choose a major right away (no undeclareds) so for some people that works well and for others it's a difficult thing to commit to.

Both are great schools. I can say that Cal Poly SLO has a great network of alumni and a wonderful career guidance center and these really help students get jobs.

I also think SLO (both the campus and the town) has tons of etnertainment.

[the city]

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo:
-better weather
-clean air
-better classes
-closer to beach
-has less shopping, but in 17 years will have the stores it lacks (Gottschalks is there right now instead of Macy's)
-has a small arcade
-has a big bowling
-has a book store
-has a good food court

Cal Poly Pomona:
-closer to desert
-there is more entertainment in the city of Pomona
-area has a great enclosed mall
-it's more affordible at Pomona
-it's closer to San Diego and Los Angeles and San Bernardino (20 min. to San Bernardino and hour and half to LA and San Diego)
-has a big arcade
-has a small bowling alley
-has a book store
-has a good food court

To me, it's a matter of which does some one want more. Better education and a slower pace of life or the big city life and easier education.

Pomona appeals to me more since I've grown up in the San Luis Obispo area most of my life and I'm ready for the city life.

[Adriatica]

Originally Posted by the city

Pomona appeals to me more since I've grown up in the San Luis Obispo area most of my life and I'm ready for the city life.

Then there's your answer. It's also important to remember that you commit to any college 1 year at a time, essentially. You can always re-evaluate after your first year.

Are any other schools a possibility?

[the city]

Originally Posted by Adriatica

Then there's your answer. It's also important to remember that you commit to any college 1 year at a time, essentially. You can always re-evaluate after your first year.

Are any other schools a possibility?

another good point for cal poly SLO is I would have been close to home, but then again I have more family in southern california.

i'd have to go to community college if I wanted to get into UC San Diego or UC Davis. And the other choices are cal state northridge, cal state san francisco, and cal state san diego. but cal poly are the best schools in the CSU system. just like how UC Berkeley and UC LA are the best schools in the UC system. and like how stanford is the best private university.

for me, i'd probably go to my classes and then go work. and then at night see a movie, go to a night club, play at the video arcade, and then go to the mall to at the food court and hang out. school, study, work, and then play - ah, the college life

[PecanPie]

I think you will enjoy Cal Poly Pomona since you will be an "away" student. To me it was a big bore because it was just the school I went to because it was a few miles away from my (parent's) house. And right over the hill from it's "sister" school community college Mt. Sac, which I also went to. I had a teacher who used to joke that "Mt. Sac's cows talk to Cal Poly's cows over the fence."

Pomona is more "city" but the school is nice because of the agricultural programs you still get to see cows and horses every day -- it feels a little bit country in the middle of the city.

Bottom line though I think it really should depend on your major and which school is stronger in that area. If that's not all that important to you at this stage, then go for Pomona and get yourself into a new environment and see what's up. I regret that I did not go away to school, I can say that.

[CESpeed]

Pomona Alumni here: First of all, going to Cal Poly Pomona will not put you in the city. It's in the suburbs. It's at least 10 mins in either direction to get to a town. Pomona is dangerous (the only decent parts are right next to the University) Downtown Pomona leaves a lot to be desired. West Covina is a wonderful community. LA is 40 mins away in good traffic. If traffic is backed up, two hours easy. The Pomona campus offers an excellent quality of education, and a wide variety of educational interests.

I haven't been to the SLO campus so I won't comment on it, but I did live in Lompoc and I'll say that both areas where he campuses are, are very similar.

[size17s]

I dont agree that SLO has better classes.
If your not a student at both schools you cant make that assesment, What matters is the ability to get the classes you need at the time you need. Pomona might be better at that. Since they have more classes per major offered when compared to SLO. ALso, Pomona is more racially mixed and has way more international students than SLO. Which is what you want in a university setting.
By the way. im an animal science grad from cal poly pomona....still in mourning of the closing of the cal poly pomona bar a decade ago.

Originally Posted by the city

pros and cons for each

-SLO has better weather
-SLO has clean air
-SLO has better classes
-SLO is closer to the beach
-Pomona has more entertainment
-Pomona's college has more entertainment
-Pomona's more cheap to afford
-Pomona is closer to LA and San Diego

[EclecticEars]

Oh my... I can not believe I found this thread!

I would like to enter urban planning as a field, as well as pursue a graduate degree in it. I've narrowed the choices down to one school in Ohio, two in Texas and three in California. Two of those three in CA are Cal Poly SLO and Cal Poly Pomona (the other is UCLA.)

Before I begin, if any of these assessments are inaccurate, please correct me. By skimming Wikipedia and the information contributed on the Forum, this seems to be what I'm finding:

San Luis Obispo
a. Nearly halfway b/t L.A. and S.F. (200 and 230 miles, respectively.)
b. Much closer proximity to the Pacific coast and PCH--only ten miles away.
c. Speaking of PCH, I'm sure it's great for day drives or a less "beaten path" to get to L.A. or S.F.
d. More immediately nearby diversity in landscapes--coasts, mountains, greenery.
e. A small city--no real metropolitan feel but not dependent on L.A. or S.F., either.
f. Almost out in the "middle of nowhere," meaning that you have to create your own fun (I'm kinda used to that living in the rural South, though.)

Pomona
a. Closer to L.A. (40 miles) and San Diego (100 miles), but then the traffic to get there on a weekend...
b. More expensive COL than the SLO area ($1200/mo. for a good studio in L.A. County.)
c. Probably more ground and air pollution, much due to suburban sprawl.
d. Supposedly gang-ridden and very dangerous central city area (not Compton-esque but still rough,) but at least the campus is detached from all that.
e. Nearby places like West Covina, Chino/Chino Hills and Glendora all seem to be fairly respectable communities. (I wouldn't mind living in Glendale, though, and commuting on the 210, but I guess that might take 90 minutes in bad traffic.)

Anyhow, which area would you recommend most for somebody like me? I'm a 22/single/male conservative (not talking Jerry Falwell or Ann Coulter here, but still...) from Kentucky with a slight Southern accent. Thanks!

[CA central coast]

Forget those two. The University of South Malls. Now that's the place.