California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

Date: Feb 22 2005
Major: Computer Science (This Major's Salary over time)
Well, I mainly just hate the location. It's HOURS from sane civilization. The school teaches you well. The faculty is absolutely horrible, and you are definitely treated like Student #403228-102 instead of (insert your name here)

I really feel like I'm saving lives by people who are reading this and considering this school. It definitely has an edge over other universities, but this is not a university that is for everyone. The education quality is overall great, but once you move here, you realize that the quality of education is not all that matters. You MUST LOVE to live in small, secluded areas because that is exactly what San Luis Obispo is. If you prefer the excitement of a city, you are choosing the wrong place. If you think you are one of those people who can leave the excitement behind and just worry about college stuff, I encourage you to try visiting and definitely consider your options before going here. I personally could not stand the atmosphere, and that seems to have caused me a lot of grief in my schoolwork because I had no social life whatsoever without either going to Los Angeles or San Francisco. I think I would have committed suicide if I hadn't had a car.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't consider this school, but there's no way I could ever recommend it just because of my personality type. I need big cities, excitement, and an abundance of different cultures and ideas. The small town, conservative thing just didn't work out for me. I just consider you to visit and make the right choice for you. There are plenty of great schools, you just have to find the one that's best for you. If you decide later that it's not the school for you, think of how much you have wasted being miserable.

Another thing to mention is—for first time freshman, make sure you know exactly what field you want to go into before applying. Don't just put down anything on the application thinking you can change later. IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO CHANGE MAJORS AT THIS SCHOOL. It's much easier to change within your college (ie. Computer Science --> Computer Engineering), but to change to a major outside of your college (ie. Computer Science --> Graphic Communications) would cost you at least $4,400 (two quarters) of tuition trying to do so because you are required to simultaneously take current major and support classes along with major classes in your requested major. If you cannot complete these successfully (along with a lot of paperwork and advisor chats), you won't be allowed into the new college, and you'll have wasted your time, sweat, and tears.

BE CAREFUL. MAKE A DECISION YOU WON'T REGRET.