A great school, especially for "Learn by Doing"

I enjoyed my tour of the college when I visited, plus I loved the vibe of the college town. Everyone I met there was super friendly, and the college heavily uses the Learn By Doing/hands-on learning approach. My class sizes there would be much smaller than at other California schools, but I would still get affordable California resident tuition. I got full-ride scholarships to two other schools, including research grants, but the people and weather here were incredible, so I turned the scholarships down.

I've been very satisfied with what's I've learned in all my classes. Especially in public health, all the subjects are really interesting and give me an awesome understanding of the field.

My test scores were good enough to get in (ACT: 32, SAT: 1510), and I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in healthcare. Initially, I was in the Biology department, which has incredible labs and lots of research opportunities. I switched to Public Health since it is a new program with very passionate professors and small dedicated class sizes.

There are major job fairs every quarter, and almost everyone I know has graduated with multiple different job offers in their field of study. Many employers are interested specifically in Cal Poly students because of their hands-on experience.

Yes, there are plenty of internships and undergraduate research options. I worked about 4 hours a week for 3 months for my health communications research with a professor and made $12 an hour. It was an amazing opportunity, and I loved working with the faculty and other students. I also work on campus at the children's center for about 12 hours a week, for $12 an hour. That job is also fantastic, but I only was hired because I have prior childcare experience (the job was very competitive).

Tuition for in-state residents is about $3200 per quarter. I didn't receive any loans, and I don't know anything about international scholarships. There are very few actual scholarships available at Cal Poly (like at most CSUs), but loans and grants are available for students who demonstrate financial need.

No

There are one to two midterms in each quarter-long class, and a final at the end of almost every quarter. It's usually taken with the rest of the people in your class.

Faculty-student ratios are really excellent compared to other state colleges. Most of my classes have been about 30-40 students to 1 Ph.D. level professor. There are some larger general ed/intro classes, but the professors are still excellent. The only classes I've had taught by non-doctorate professors or TAs are lab sections or discussion sections.

I lived on campus for two years in apartments, which was expensive but very convenient and included maid service, and now I live in an off-campus apartment, which is also nice. Bus passes are included with tuition, which makes getting around town very easy.