[veganxmuffin]

anyone go there? as an architect major maybe.
i just got accepted and was wondering about people's experiences.
is it an overall good school?

[veganxmuffin]

BUMP~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[switchlanez]

i got a lot i can tell you about this school. the good, the bad, and the ugly. i'm an electrical engineer (you're bound to run into engineers, they are the biggest major). but i do have some architecture friends at this school, and judging from what i see and hear about their work, i say GO FOR IT!! academically, it's strong... socially can be another story depending on what kind of person you are. but, personally, i don't think it's really that bad.

[veganxmuffin]

reply sent~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[switchlanez]

reply sent~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

socially, well... when i was in my first year, there weren't very many minorities. coming into college, it was easy for me to associate with people of color. but as the college years came and went, i became accustomed to associating with a diverse pool of personalities, regardless of skin color. that's the social situation i was talking about. it may be different for you.

in my fifth year, i would say cal poly has come a long way in terms of diversifying. the trend is that it gets more and more diverse every year, but for this year in particular there is a larger influx of asians (koreans and chinese) in the freshman class. i would say coming to poly right now would be the best time in terms of establishing that common ground with your chosen group of minorities. it's big enough to make you feel like you're part of a community and not part of an outnumbered minority, but small enough to foster closer bonds unlike being a spec in a large crowd where you blend more into the anonymous.

if you're an engineer, there's another issue with gender diversity (in my engineering classes, there are between 0 to 3 females in a class of 32 people. but business, graphic communications, and architecture majors have cute girls (many asians in the last two), so i guess it balances out.

if you choose to go greek, there are three asian socail frats as well. in a stereotype: one is strictly "azn", one was hardcore asian but is now diversifying, and one is a more gentlemanly, diverese group of asians. i see these groups as a way to establish a network of brotherhood while serving the community and a way to socialize with the counterpart asian sororities. i'm not in any of those frats but haven't had a problem in being involved in all of those same aspects. though i may not be qualified as a greek to advertise or downplay any of them, i've had friends in all three frats and can give you my neutral insight from the outside looking in.

there are also cultural clubs: filipino, thai, vietnamese, chinese, (Korean has been quiet the past few years and japanese is small as well). i think all it takes for the latter two to thrive is a driven individual (or group) to spark the interest. there is a community service co-ed frat that is predominantly asian. there are a few christian clubs that are asian (one is mostly filipino, another has many koreans (but a good mix of chinese in there), and one is mostly chinese.

lately, i've been seeing large numbers of asians studying in the library and chilling in the university union. this is what i know of in terms of the social situation with asians in general.

there are like 5 chinese restaurants and 5 sushi places (run by koreans), one sush place run by japanese, and indian place, and like 3 thai places. no korean restaurants. no boba places. one chinese buffet place serves pho. there's much more i could tell you and much that i'm missing and could never tell you, especially if you ask me branch out beyond the asian scene.

if you are one who is wanting to go out, have fun, be adventurous, slo is not a place to do so. unlike being in nor*cal or so*cal, big city nightlife is non-existent here. you're just going to have to have your wild time in a house party. that's one thing i disliked about this place. but that can be a good thing if you need an environment conducive to learning. a universtiy is a big network and i know i wasn't able to immerse myself in every social aspect of it. but if there is anything in particular you were interested in or wondering about, i'll be glad to give you my input.

[bLiSSfUL<3]

^ after reading that... I don't wanna go now

[veganxmuffin]

so basically partying doesn't really exist.
studying seems to be nice.
are asians seen as geeks there?
its also nice to know more asians are becoming a part of SLO.
i heard SLO was predominantly white.

[switchlanez]

yeah it sucks, i know. but the social factor shouldn't be the dominating factor. this is the least public school in california, but it's still pretty diverse when compared to the rest of the nation because it's IN CALIFORNIA. blissful <3, you don't wanna go now, but you won't regret it when you get job offers upon graduation while your friends at other schools are still job hunting! well, it depends on your intended major. i know our architecture students are among the best in the nation. companies really like cal poly's "learn by doing" approach. employers travel from all over california and come here just to recruit.

think about it: are you going to college to study or to socialize? you'll still definitely be able to do both. i've only known one girl who couldn't bear the situation of being in a small, conservative town and she ended up transferring out. other people i know who couldn't bear this town got by because of the friends they've made. we're all in this together and when you find your circle of friends, you will be fine. plus this town is easy access to so*cal and nor*cal and i've been on a few road trips to both ends because of its central location. i'm from san diego, but because of cal poly, i've been able to go snowboarding up north and down south, worked at co-ops and internships up north and down south, and made friends from all over california. i've partied in santa barbara, la, san jose, san franciso, san diego. basically when you're from cal poly, you're not so*cal or nor*cal... you're all*cal.

i don't think asians are stereotyped here. since many of the people are white and well off, many people are very friendly. and you see all stereotypes of asians here... from the very studious and quiet to the very outspoken party-types. singers, dancers, breakers, wannabe thugs, religious, ricers, HK, "FOBs", whitewashed. they're all here, just fewer in number than, say, uc irvine.

facebook me: http://www.facebook.com/p/Andrew_Lanez/6402781

[veganxmuffin]

what do you mean that it is the least public school in california?
and also when you put things that way things dont seem really bad.
can you tell me a little bit more about the way dorms work?
also, sorry to tell you but i dont use facebook.
thanks alot for your help.

[switchlanez]

what do you mean that it is the least public school in california?
and also when you put things that way things dont seem really bad.
can you tell me a little bit more about the way dorms work?
also, sorry to tell you but i dont use facebook.
thanks alot for your help.

sorry i meant to say least diverse public school in CA.

since there are more freshman than available dorm rooms, many freshman (not the majority, but many) end up living in off-campus housing... which are apartments where you will usually find other freshman and upperclassmen. dorms halls are divided by major... so a whole bldg would be architecture majors or another would be engineering. you can request to live with a certain person (which doubles your chances of getting on-campus housing since both of your names will be in the lottery and only one of you would need to be chosen so both can get in). if you don't request to live with someone you know, you will be placed with someone randomly... most likely a white person. if you live on-campus, you will be required to purchase a meal plan... which is around like $300 a quarter and pays for on-campus dining. halls are co-ed, and of course you share a room with a guy. no drinking, smoking, making noise past 10 in the dorms. there are resident advisors (RAs) who basically enforce rules. halls have different events depending on what the RAs organize. there's a study lounge on each floor, a big screen tv, ping pong, pool table, and other fun stuff on the bottom floor to take a break from studying.

i highly recommend programs like "jumpstart" or "summer institute." it lets you start classes the summer after you graduate high school and get ahead. do a search on calpoly.edu for info on those two programs. jumpstart is generally for people who want to take summer classes early and meet other incoming freshman. summer institute is geared for minorities on EOP, but it's for anybody really. you don't get as many classes done in SI, but i think you get a closer bond with the people. i've been living with the people i met from SI for the past 5 years. i still keep in touch with most of them even though we don't see each other in any classes. also, definitely at least do Week of Welcome (WOW), which is one week before Fall quarter starts. here, they give you a week of going out around SLO with about 10 people in the dorm you will live with for the rest of the year. it's a good way to get to know your neighbors and stuff to do around slo (kayaking, mineral springs, beaching, dining, farmer's market, etc.). cal poly's WOW has always been boasted as the largest WOW when compared to other schools in the nation that do WOW. i still remember A LOT of what i did that week 5 years ago and still go to the places in town that were introduced to me during WOW.

if you don't use facebook now, no biggie. i don't see its use if you're coming outta high school. as i've discovered, it's become quite a useful tool for me in terms of networking. it helps in keeping in touch with long distance friends, spreading info on important events for groups/clubs, find books, housing for working at other cities, study buddies, and useful info from other knowledgeable people on facebook, and much, much more. i hear employers even look you up on facebook and i have my professors as friends. you can just as well call me 619 890 6367, but please do it during reasonable day hours. name's andrew and i'll be glad to answer whatever irks you.

[Kpianist]

for english class, a guy who is in his first year of obispo talked to the whole class about the college and he said he loves it. the reason why he went was the program for his major (something engineering probably) is good and the campus is verryyy beautiful.

hope that helped you.

[switchlanez]

hey daniel, is this you on the right?:

[veganxmuffin]

hey daniel, is this you on the right?:

lol dude that is so not me.

[maktakalak]

no way...someone ELSE from SLO is registered to SOOMPI?

wierdddd. i thought there were only white people in SLO!

[switchlanez]

lol dude that is so not me.

i saw the pic on someone's facebook and it said the guy's name was daniel. and ur profile pic is blurry, so i can't even make out ur face.... i just know you and this other guy have similar build and hair waay longer than mine. heh, my bad.

[P crew]

Polycultural Weekend! haha. hey andrew, did you host anyone? that's loan in the pic! small world

[switchlanez]

Polycultural Weekend! haha. hey andrew, did you host anyone? that's loan in the pic! small world

no i didn't host anyone. i'm a super senior hiding in a shell this year. wait P crew... i never got your name. so you're in tvsa?