CalPoly SLO or University of San Francisco (Davis: job market, transfer)

[ltong88]

I am a business major and will most likely do a concentration in Accounting.

I visited both schools and like both schools but Im having a hard time choosing between the two schools. I am Asian and am kinda worrying about the fact that CalPoly is mostly white people. And I living in SF so USF is extremely
convenient to attend.

And I think that they both have good business programs.. Also I am kids worrying about graduating in 4 years at calpoly.. But the cost of attending would be cheaper than USF even if I were to stay at CalPoly for 5 years..

Which school should I choose??

[mayorhaggar]

USF is a private school. I'd avoid being shackled with expensive private school tuition if you can. USF is fairly well known in the Bay Area but it's not really prestigious enough to make that pricey tuition worth it.

I'd ask people who work in accounting, hopefully there are some here. What about schools like SFSU, UC Davis, etc? Cal Poly I think is supposed to be good for some things but it seems like it would be boring being in SLO.

[jade408]

A friend of mine got an MBA there a couple of years ago. She is doing well in here career, with a great job at a big tech company. Her classmates (the onesI have met) are also finding success, in and outside of the Bay Area. She focused on international business. Networking opportunities are very good at USF. I'd choose it over Cal Poly, since the Bay is a much better business climate, and business school is all about networking.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by ltong88

I am a business major and will most likely do a concentration in Accounting.

I visited both schools and like both schools but Im having a hard time choosing between the two schools. I am Asian and am kinda worrying about the fact that CalPoly is mostly white people. And I living in SF so USF is extremely
convenient to attend.

And I think that they both have good business programs.. Also I am kids worrying about graduating in 4 years at calpoly.. But the cost of attending would be cheaper than USF even if I were to stay at CalPoly for 5 years..

Which school should I choose??

I used to attend USF for two years and ALL of my friends with accounting majors found great jobs in a big four accounting firm. It's a lot easier finding an internship as well being in the city. The most important thing is getting good internship(s) during your college career. I'd say it's more important than getting good grades. However, you need good grades to get good internships. I partied too hard my first year in college, which hurt my GPA. Take my advice and study hard too, even during the first year. You might feel like you are wasting your time because all your classes won't have anything to do with your major, but you don't want to end up having to kill yourself bringing your GPA back up to a 3.5 just because you messed around the first year lol. Also, try to maintain a 3.5 GPA, that's the requirement for most good internships. Networking is very important for business majors, which is why living in a small town is generally a poor decision for business majors. The high price of tuition actually can be justified by small class sizes and a small graduating class. I transferred to a large university and you really are just a number. I'd also be worried about more education cuts in the future for public schools. There have been so many improvements since I attended, I'm jealous you're going to get the benefits from my tuition, grrrrr! lol.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by ltong88

I am a business major and will most likely do a concentration in Accounting.

I visited both schools and like both schools but Im having a hard time choosing between the two schools. I am Asian and am kinda worrying about the fact that CalPoly is mostly white people. And I living in SF so USF is extremely
convenient to attend.

And I think that they both have good business programs.. Also I am kids worrying about graduating in 4 years at calpoly.. But the cost of attending would be cheaper than USF even if I were to stay at CalPoly for 5 years..

Which school should I choose??

Considering everything you have mentioned and the accounting interest I would choose USF although, personally I love the overall feel of SLO.

Nita

[Cassino]

I am a Cal Poly alumnus and majored in Business (considered accounting but went with MIS instead). I feel the quality of my education was excellent and was a relative bargain. The class sizes were small, instructors were full of industry related experience and I noticed that the various business concentrations were pretty tight knit between each other and the faculty. This led to a lot of networking opportunities which led to jobs for many, both internships and full time.

I graduated in 2007 and then students from MIS and Accounting were heavily recruited by the Big 4 and many other companies. Not sure how things are now a days but I can't imagine the faculty still doesn't have great relationships with a lot of folks in industry. As an aside, Cal Poly as a whole seems to do a very good job of helping their alumni find jobs.

Also, I had class with numerous Asian students and there are Asian specific social networks on campus that you could utilize.

Not to take anything away from USF because I don't know much about the school at all and I am obviously biased but I encourage you to give SLO a closer look.

[ltong88]

Originally Posted by Cassino

Also, I had class with numerous Asian students and there are Asian specific social networks on campus that you could utilize.

Thanks! That definitely helped me ease some worries.. I have one question, did u manage to graduate in 4 years?? And did u get a job recruit quickly??

[ltong88]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

USF is a private school. I'd avoid being shackled with expensive private school tuition if you can. USF is fairly well known in the Bay Area but it's not really prestigious enough to make that pricey tuition worth it.

I'd ask people who work in accounting, hopefully there are some here. What about schools like SFSU, UC Davis, etc? Cal Poly I think is supposed to be good for some things but it seems like it would be boring being in SLO.

Exactly, USF docent really deserve having such a pricy tuition.. But being in he city, nothings really cheap. I did consider both SFSU and UC Davis but Davis isn't really strong in Business but rather sciences.. And I didn't get in so that's kinda out of my reach. As for State, I'm worrying about getting classes and graduating in four years.

[Cassino]

Originally Posted by ltong88

Thanks! That definitely helped me ease some worries.. I have one question, did u manage to graduate in 4 years?? And did u get a job recruit quickly??

I graduated in 5 years but I also went through a couple of majors, which is a little unheard of at Cal Poly plus I took my sweet time in doing it. I was enjoying SLO a little too much. Graduating in 4 years from the College of Business is quite do-able with a good effort.

I had received a couple of job offers and had a job secured before I graduated but the job market wasn't quite so tight then. You could try contacting Cal Poly's career center to see what information they have about job placement for last year's graduates.

[jade408]

USF has a good sized Asian population, about 25% of the students. So you won't be alone on campus by any stretch of the imagination.