Cal Poly - Off the Record

The prospective college student’s antidote to the Princeton Review doldrums.

186 pages of real insider information to help you decide if this is the right college for you.

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California Polytechnic State University Students Tell It Like It Is

'California, California, here we come.' If you want to make like Phantom Planet and head to the West Coast for your higher education, consider Cal Poly as one of your options. College Prowler lets Cal Poly students give you the inside scoop on what really goes down at school in the land of tans and sunshine. Prepare yourself; it's not all going to be like the OC.

Fun Facts about San Luis Obispo:

One weekend in April, parking lots, driveways, and the town square downtown are roped off for the annual I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival. Artists gather with colored chalk to paint beautiful masterpieces on concrete.
Every Thursday evening, Higuera, one of the main streets in town, closes down for one of the biggest farmers markets in California. It includes music, produce, crafts, and barbeques.
Every year from October through March, the San Luis area (especially Pismo Beach) is host to thousands of Monarch butterflies, who consider this area to have the perfect climate for wintering in.

'San Luis has a nice, friendly atmosphere since it is a relatively small town with wonderful weather. The beach is only 15 minutes away. The only issue to take caution about is all the homeless people roaming around late at night.'

And of course, college is about more than just atmosphere. Like maybe, umm, academics?

'The teachers at Cal Poly are definitely one of the reasons why I love this school. They're willing to spend extra time on the students and really want to teach and share information. The classes are very interesting, due to the 'Learn by doing' motto.'

Or diversity?

'Not diverse at all. I look around campus seeing the same type of people. I think that campus needs more diversity.'

Get to the truth behind the California hype, straight from the students' mouths.

Visiting campus isn't enough.

Read our Cal Poly insider's guide and discover what it feels like to be on campus for 4 years.

Discover if Cal Poly is Right For You.

The College Prowler Process

While writing our series of college guides, we felt it was critical that our content was unbiased and unaffiliated with any college or university. By hiring current students as authors, we strive to create college guides that truly represent each campus. Our guides cover both the good and the bad, and whether survey responses point to recurring trends or varying opinions, these sentiments are directly and proportionally expressed through our guides.

From the very beginning, student writers gather the most up-to-date stats, facts, and inside information on their colleges. They fill each section with student quotes and summarize the findings in editorial reviews. In addition, each school receives a collection of letter grades (A through F) that reflect student opinion. Once a guide is written, additional college students serve as editors and check for accuracy even more extensively. This same process is applied to all of the 258 colleges and universities College Prowler currently covers. Each guide is the result of endless student contributions, hundreds of pages of research and writing, and countless hours of hard work. All of this has led to the creation of a student information network that stretches across the nation. It’s no easy accomplishment, but it’s the reason that our guides are such a great resource.