California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo Top Questions

What is your overall opinion of this school?

Kim

That you entered it wrong; I typed Cal Poly Pomona.

Natasha

its off the chain lots of white people weather is amazing gym is amazing pool is amazing

Yanina

I think this school is awesome! the best part is the " learn by doing" , I am learning a lot, with help by doing all in groups and by myself.

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Courtney

My overall opinion of Cal Poly is very high and respected. The best things about Cal Poly are its location and Week Of Welcome (WOW). San Luis Obispo is absolutely gorgeous with amazing beaches, rolling green hills, and a lovely downtown area. WOW is our orientation program that I participated in as a "wowie" my freshman year, and lead my own WOW group this year as a sophomore. The program acquaints new students with the campus and surrounding community with fun activities from hikes and kayaking to unique tours of campus and downtown. Our academic reputation is unbeatable and our brand new recreation center is incredible. Cal Poly is all around a fantastic university.

Jessica

Cal Poly is amazing. The quarter system is definitely fun, but that doesn't mean that there isn't enough time to have fun. Cal Poly has so many clubs that always have something going on. There are always shows to watch, activities to do, and people to meet. In addition, it is located in such a beautiful location. The beach is not too far away, there's plenty of places to hike, and lots of places to shop and eat at downtown. The classes are smaller than a UC and therefore the teachers know you better. They really care for you and want you to graduate on time with the best education possible. The students and faculty are very friendly too!

Jessica

Cal Poly is amazing. The quarter system is definitely fun, but that doesn't mean that there isn't enough time to have fun. Cal Poly has so many clubs that always have something going on. There are always shows to watch, activities to do, and people to meet. In addition, it is located in such a beautiful location. The beach is not too far away, there's plenty of places to hike, and lots of places to shop and eat at downtown. The classes are smaller than a UC and therefore the teachers know you better. They really care for you and want you to graduate on time with the best education possible. The students and faculty are very friendly too!

gabrielle

Cal Poly is awesome. It has great aspects that are unique to SLO. Mostly everyone finds something that he/she loves to do ie hiking or partying. It's a big outdoor community so many people explore in Montana de Oro or hike Bishops. You can also camp out at the beach in Pismo or have a bonfire at Avila. The school is big and you see new people everyday but most everyone is friendly and helpful.

Emily

The food here is TERRIBLE. It's expensive, unhealthy and gets old really fast. The best thing about the school would be the teachers. Most of the teachers I've had so far are really willing to help out and genuinely want you to succeed. I spend most of my time in the Robert Kennedy Library. This is the BEST place to study. San Luis Obispo's population consists of Cal Poly students and old retired people. So the downtown and get kind of boring, and unfortunately there's not much else around nearby. There's no big urban area that is within 2-3 hour driving distance, unless you count Santa Barbara. It's pretty much a small beach town. There's not a lot of school pride in my opinion. Though our Athletic department is decent, a lot of kids don't go out to games, which makes it no fun.

Kristina

What I really enjoy about Cal Poly is our school spirit and the overall love for this school. A very large majority of the school enjoys attending our school. This makes for happy students, which allows us all to be happy. I also love the school spirit. Every person wears something "Cal Poly" or green multiple times a week to class. It is also a very safe campus. I never worry for my personal safety when I am on campus. Another plus of Cal Poly is the size. I really enjoy the fact we aren't a giant UC where the teachers don't interact with the students and where the campus is insanely large. I love the size and learn by doing atmosphere Cal Poly provides. I have loved every second at Cal Poly.

Sam

The best part about Cal Poly is its location on the beautiful central coast and the college town feel of San Luis Obispo. The faculty here can be hit or miss but the students are hard working and really make the college excel. Unfortunately I spend most of my time on campus in the library but it makes it easier to get all my work done on campus so that I can relax at school. I've always gotten positive comments on my Cal Poly sweatshirt when I go back home or travel (unless it's to Santa Barbara). I will always remember charging the soccer field after beating our rival Santa Barbara and the intense comeback victories our basketball team would piece together freshman year. I would say overall the size of the school is just right

Thomas

My overall opinion of Cal Poly is that it is a very good school. Academically, Cal Poly ranks quite high for most of its majors on many college ranking websites as well as magazine and newspaper rankings. Cal Poly is great because not only do students excel academically, but there is also a lot of fun to be had both around campus and in San Luis Obispo. San Luis Obispo is a beautiful beach town surrounded by mountains. There are always outdoors activities to do, and the weather is almost always beautiful so the beach is often an option as well. Altogether, Cal Poly is an awesome place to live and go to school.

Anna

I love Cal Poly. So much. By far the best thing about it is the pride we have in our school and our community. San Luis Obispo is pretty much the ultimate college town – it's not a big city and Poly's almost 20,000 students make up a large part of the population, so it pretty much feels like OUR town. Many cafés, stores, venues and other businesses cater especially to college students, and everyone here seems to really appreciate the relaxed lifestyle and beautiful surroundings of SLO. Returning here after summer truly felt like coming home, and I cannot imagine spending my college years in any other place. The one frustrating thing about being here is that it's an impacted campus, making it very hard to get classes and stay on track to graduate in four years. I am lucky to not be in an impacted major so hopefully I will be able to complete my degree on time, but class registration is always an incredibly stressful time of year for everyone on campus. In addition, California's state schools are in a lot of trouble financially which unfortunately affects us students in the form of tuition hikes.

Leah

Cal Poly has a great "learn by doing" philosophy. As an engineer, our classes had us designing and building since day one. The teachers are also extremely involved, the classes are generally small (about 30 students) and the teachers get to know students on a personal level. Teachers also dedicate several hours a week to "office hours", or time that the teachers have set aside for students to reach them and ask questions. The school size is fairly small, but I think it is just about right. It is not crazy crowded everywhere but there is enough going on to keep the students busy. The town itself is not too large either and mostly consists of college students. The towns people are very welcoming to college students and the town is very student friendly. Parking tickets are the only downside to San Luis Obispo. Parking is monitored on and all around campus, as well as downtown and some neighborhoods. Parking passes are fairly reasonably priced, but a major pain.

Leah

Cal Poly has a great "learn by doing" philosophy. As an engineer, our classes had us designing and building since day one. The teachers are also extremely involved, the classes are generally small (about 30 students) and the teachers get to know students on a personal level. Teachers also dedicate several hours a week to "office hours", or time that the teachers have set aside for students to reach them and ask questions. The school size is fairly small, but I think it is just about right. It is not crazy crowded everywhere but there is enough going on to keep the students busy. The town itself is not too large either and mostly consists of college students. The towns people are very welcoming to college students and the town is very student friendly. Parking tickets are the only downside to San Luis Obispo. Parking is monitored on and all around campus, as well as downtown and some neighborhoods. Parking passes are fairly reasonably priced, but a major pain.

Jazz

Cal Poly is really a great school in every aspect. First off the location, San Luis Obispo, is pretty flawless. We are only a few minutes from the beach and have tons of activities going on all the time (whether you like to hike, shop, see movies, etc); there is always stuff to do. The school itself has amazing professors (at least in the Civil Engineering dept); all of my teachers really care about my success and every teacher I have had has always been able to recognize me outside of class. The school offers plenty of classes and has nearly any amenities that you need. One of the largest complaints is that it is hard to get classes; although this is true for Cal Poly, it is also true for pretty much every other school. Nearly every school has had their budget issues but the school tries to accomodate the students as much as possible (if one class had a huge demand they will add another so more students can fit).

Marian

Cal Poly's definitely a college town - students make up about 1/2 of the city population. There's a lot of school pride, especially at sporting events, and you can't go a day without seeing someone in a Cal Poly shirt/hat/sweatshirt, etc. We've got a few quirks on campus, for one: never expect to be able to drive anywhere on campus at the top of the hour. It's impossible. Classes get out at either 30 past the hour, or at the top of it, so that's when foot traffic is at it's highest. Another to do with driving parking: finding a spot to park in on campus is virtually impossible as well; permits are expensive, and spots are limited and generally not close to where you'd like to be anyway - it's really much easier to bike or walk anywhere you need to go.