Arizona State University - Tempe Campus

Greetings From the Campus Of…. Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ!

(Originally written 2/12/09) It’s a beautiful day here, as always, I’m told (300+ sunny days per year). The campus is abuzz about their win over UCLA in basketball last night – the Sun Devils’ school spirit is pervasive. Good thing that the opposing team’s fans didn’t make it up to “paint the A” on the mountain due to the ASU club camping overnight to guard its traditional gold color.

I’ve spent over two hours walking around the Tempe campus, as it is 642 acres huge and bustling with almost 50,000 undergrads. I’d say it’s somewhere between “active” and “comfortably crowded” but there seems to be just enough space for everyone. Many of the required housing freshman dorms are “eclectic-looking” from the outside, but nicely refurbished and large on the inside. Some freshmen dorms are new. New “just off-campus” upperclassmen student apartments are highly desirable.

The new Barrett Honors College (as in Craig “Intel” Barrett) is on track to open this fall – 9 brand new, environmentally friendly classroom/social/residential buildings (for students with an average 3.8 GPA/1320 SAT’s), plus 4-year guaranteed housing and many other perks and scholarships worth looking into. Besides that, ASU is interested in students from CA with an average 3.4 GPA and SAT’s in the 1100’s range (Critical Reading/Math). The full out-of-state cost is about $26k, comparable to the UC’s and less than private schools. With a rolling admissions process, you can find out if you get in early!

Students rave about the many “opportunities” they have at ASU. This includes a Mill Ave District “college town” social scene, hanging out at Tempe Town Lake (a huge man-made lake just off campus with major concerts in the adjacent park), easy access via light rail to Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale for internships, fun nightlife, pro sporting events and golf, as well as classes at the other ASU campuses including West Campus, Polytechnic Campus and Downtown Campus via a shuttle bus.

ASU is definitely worth a look for anyone who doesn’t mind the “warm” Arizona weather. The word “opportunity” best describes this university in terms of majors, internships, research, social life, sports, etc. Overall, students seem very happy.

View my photo album at http://picasaweb.google.com/maritasurace/ArizonaStateUniversityTempeCampus# and please visit my web site at www.CollegeApplicationAdvisors.com

Cal Poly Pomona (CSU)

Greetings From the Campus of .... Cal Poly Pomona, in Pomona, CA

The “mantra” of a Polytechnic school is to “learn by doing.” There is extra emphasis placed on real life projects on campus and internships off-campus. There are 6 polytechnic universities across the U.S. The only two in CA are Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly SLO. Both have great programs in engineering, agriculture, architecture and business.

Cal Poly Pomona has 19,500 undergrads. It is part of the California State University (CSU) system. Current “Impacted” majors include civil engineering, architecture, animal life and health sciences and pre-vet, meaning that applicants need to meet higher standards of admission for these programs.

The University has quite a unique history. It is located on a beautiful ranch donated by W.K. Kellogg (of cereal fame). His mansion and old horse stables are still maintained and used for special events and offices. As part of Kellogg’s ranch deed agreement, the university must maintain his Arabian horses and hold a monthly horse show for the community the first Sunday of each month. Students can also board their own horse on campus for $285/mo. There is an Equine Research Center where students can work.

Cal Poly is also known for continuous participation in the Rose Bowl since 1949 through a shared Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo) float. Anyone can volunteer to work on the float, painstakingly adding each petal and each seed (students work in shifts).

The most popular majors include Civil & Mechanical engineering (16th US ranked Engineering program), business and hotel/restaurant management (85 room Kellogg West hotel and conference center and a student- run fine dining restaurant). There are also unique majors such as the College of Environmental Design and the Lyle Center for (energy/environment) Regenerative Studies. Students who come to Cal Poly Pomona for these top and impacted majors tend to really love the academic programs and the university.

The school tends to “grow on” more local commuter students who attend it as their CSU. The biggest issue for the school is that it is mostly a commuter school (13,000 parking spaces). There are, however, some nice serene areas of campus, such as the rose garden and gazebo, or the Japanese garden, that are quiet study or contemplation spots.

Freshmen housing is not guaranteed, but is highly recommended with 1200 beds, and priority is given to students more than 75 miles away. However, the dorms were built in the 1960’s/70’s. There are also newer residential suites and apartments for upperclassmen – 2300 beds. Most students live off-campus in surrounding cities like West Covina or Chino (10-20 minutes via the freeway) and commute.

Cal Poly Pomona is located in the “Inland Empire” of Southern CA, 15 minutes from the Claremont Colleges, with downtown LA 30 min away, and the beach/mountains are about 1 hour away.

View my photo album at http://picasaweb.google.com/maritasurace/CalPolyPomona#