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[quote=Anonymous]I went to Cal Poly (business major) and my son goes to Virginia Tech (data science major). I still have college friends in SLO so have visited regularly over the years with my kids and, based on those visits, Cal Poly was DS's ideal of a college.  But, he didn't apply because he didn't have the grades to be competitive and the hassle of getting there was a barrier. He's been very happy at VT.

I agree with the comment that the main factor should be where does he want to end up after college. VT is more mid-Atlantic focused in network and recruiting. CPSLO is more CA focused. Of course, you can go anywhere from either school but you will find a whole lot more alums in their regions.

I don't think the comment about no internships in SLO is relevant. It's not like Blacksburg has a lot of internship options. In both cases, the focus would be on internships during summer. CPSLO intergrates a coop into their program and much more of an explicit "learn by doing" focus. However, DS has had great "learn by doing" opportunities at VT.

CPSLO is more undergrad focused and not as large as VT. To me, the closest personality in VA was JMU.

SLO is a better college town than Blacksburg (in my perhaps biased opinion) but if you like a rah-rah sports culture, that's not CPSLO (unless it has changed dramatically).

Getting there from DC is a PITA. It does have an airport but no direct flights. Be sure you are factoring in the travel expense when comparing costs. Also, investigate how often student graduate in 4 years (or 4 years + coop terms). I've heard it's gotten better but when I went there, 4 years was unheard of. 5 years was the norm (I took 5 years including a summer/fall co-op). So, it might cost more than you think. VT had a clear flow chart of how to complete in 4 years and all of DS's friends are graduating on time, with the exception of someone who transferred from another school.

Ultimately, they both have a lot of good points and I don't think you can go wrong. I'd mainly decide on where you think you want to live after college. [/quote]

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