Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Next up on the college tour is the San Carlos favorite, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. As part of the CSU system, Cal Poly is the hardest CSU to get into. With about 21K undergrads, the most popular majors are agriculture, business and engineering; they also have a solid liberal arts curriculum. Cal Poly’s motto is “learn by doing”. From the school’s website, learn by doing means, “from day one, students acquire knowledge and skills through active engagement and self-reflection inside the classroom and beyond it.”

The school is career-oriented and incorporates training and applied learning into teaching methods. Cal Poly has a strong alumni network in the bay area and there are great career opportunities in the business and engineering fields. Agriculture majors will find plenty of connections to local businesses given Cal Poly’s location.

Location, location, location…San Luis Obispo is truly a gem of a town, and I’m not just talking about their incredible farmers market. SLO is an ideal college town with plenty of restaurants and bars and also access to lots of outdoor activities. With access to 80 miles of beaches, there are plenty of outdoor activities and bike riding, hiking and surfing are all popular with students. Cal Poly is a DI-FCS school, sports are a big (but not too big) part of life. About 20% of students join sororities or fraternities.

The last take away about SLO is that students generally seem happy. I’ve visited the school several times and I’m always struck by the smiling students and generally content atmosphere. Students take their studies seriously but don’t seem overly stressed out or unhappy.