I've just got my RA room assignment. I was wondering if anyone has any insight into what the Red Bricks are like, and specifically Muir Hall.

Also, if I should bring anything specific when moving in. I know it gets very hot, so fans, but is there anything else I should know?

since everything is on a hill is it easier to be active? any tips of healthy but filling food to get would be great!

For anyone else that is in the temporary PCV housing situation, I asked if there was any way we could opt out of it, and I got this in response: "Students who prefer not to participate in the temporary assignment may cancel their housing through their Housing Portal." Interesting.

Hello everyone!

I am an undergraduate student at Boston University (Advisor: Dr. Jessica Simes, Sociology) studying how students interact with and perceive campus police, including direct and indirect experiences, and how police are perceived in the maintenance of campus space. I am looking for students aged 18+ who attend a California college or university in-person, including CalPoly SLO, to participate in a one time interview about their perceptions and experiences.

Participants will receive a $25 Visa gift card as a thank you for volunteering 45 minutes to one hour of their time.  

To participate, please contact me (Ada Sussman) at [email protected].

As an incoming freshman afraid of starving to death due to everyone saying the Cal Poly food is mediocre to horrible, what are ways you guys found to avoid starving? I'm genuinely saying this as someone who is willing to go buy groceries and learn to cook to avoid it.

EDIT: thank you guys, you're all amazing. 🫶

Hi guys I’m an incoming aerospace engineer transfer and I was just wondering how other transfers liked calpoly? Living off campus and coming in 2 years later I wanted to see what everyone thought of just meeting people and enjoying your time there?

probably a dumb question but I can't find a straight answer.

when I register, classes are listed as 1, 2, 3, or 4 units. I know units matter for full time status and tuition. what I don't know is whether the number tells me anything about how hard the class will be. is a 1 unit class really four times easier than a 4 unit class?

reason I'm asking is there's a 1 unit class on my list that has weekly readings and assignments. it's the smallest number on my schedule but it doesn't look small.

so when you plan a semester, what do you go by? total units, number of classes, or do you just kind of eyeball each one? five classes is five sets of deadlines even if the units are low, but I also don't want to overload on units and die.

anyone have a rule they use?

Essentially just the title. A couple of friends and I have a final on Thursday and I've never been out to a bar since turning 21, so we wanted to celebrate the night afterwards. None of us have much expertise with this and we're guessing most places will be closed or empty due to the timing, so I was hoping someone had recommendations.

Waiting for Friday is not an option, one of us is leaving town. Thanks!

Hi guys so I went to cc for 3 years applied to slo and got rejected. I ended up going to cal poly Pomona and I hate it lol. I’m suppose to start my last year and graduate next spring but I’m honestly miserable there. I’m 22 years old and (Ik this sounds stupid) I feel like I’m running out of time. All my friends graduated this year spring 2026 and I lowkey want to go Cuesta and then reapply to cal poly slo but I don’t want the judgement of my friends and family also what if I don’t get into slo and just wasted more time. Any thought? Is it bad if I go back to cc (move to slo for Cuesta) and then try again. My gpa was lowkey so bad when i first applied im pretty sure i had a 2.7 and my major is business. Is there anybody else that has had a similar experience?

Hi, I’m an incoming Engineering student and was wondering what devices you guys would recommend I buy. I obviously need a strong pc (ideally a laptop) that can run apps like solidworks, but I also have been told that I should get a device that I can take notes on like an iPad. Are there any devices that fit both of these criteria or am I better off buying 2 separate devices. Regardless do you guys have any recommendations for either of these scenarios?

From my understanding, plug-in LED lights are officially prohibited, though from what I've read almost no one actually enforces it as long as they're plugged into a surge protector and aren't damaging the wall paint.

My question is, if one hypothetically plugged these lights into a large battery pack that could itself be recharged, could that be counted as being "battery powered" and thus permitted by the guidelines. Again, I understand it's not generally enforced anyways, but just to be safe.

And, sort of an addendum to that, while I understand they want surge protectors for all things plugged in and say not to bring extension cables, are said extension cables fine if plugged into the surge protector?

Help! I can’t find the link to the virtual SLO day meeting on 7/21, despite it being tomorrow. I checked my student email and my personal email but it wasn’t there, even though it should have been there yesterday.

If anybody did Virtual Slo Days, do you have to sit through the six hours? Because I have work.
Thank you.

i got a room in cerro vista i was wondering if i could get any insight, some pros and cons? i didnt really expect this i thought id get one of the dorms this caught me by surprise

Hey I’m an incoming student but my freshman semester looks like no fun. I have calc 1, Gen Chem structure and property. Also general physics 1 (lab too). Two other classes that are specific for my major.

Where are my electives :(

We will be moving into Red Bricks (3rd floor). We saw that there are move-in helpers. Do they help unload the car since we only have 15 minutes, or help with moving into the dorm rooms too? Is it safe to leave the carts at the bottom of the stairs, or should someone stay with the carts? We are trying to figure out logistics for the day.

Hi I’m a rising senior who’s planning on apply to cal poly soon. I really love the school and want to go. I am stuck between applying as a nutrition or kinesiology major, and I would be totally happy as either of them. I know that nutrition is supposed to be way less impacted, but the issue is I have multiple dual enrollment courses which cover multiple classes in the kinesiology major, but don’t apply to nutrition science. Would I still have a better chance applying as nutrition science or do you think the DE courses matter a lot to cal poly?

Interested in cosplay and coming to cal poly and am wondering if there is a group that does that type shit. Anime or Fantasy or Superhero or Games don’t care.

I'm an incoming CPE transfer looking for off campus housing and was wondering if there are any good resources for finding roommates with similar majors/interests as me. Currently facebook groups haven't been much help.

I’m an incoming freshman at Cal Poly and thinking of switching from Biomedical Engineering to Mechanical Engineering. I just recieved my schedule and was wondering if I switched my major, would I have to retake the classes in my schedule currently? Would it put me behind other mech E’s?

Thanks!!

first-years, i know you're nervous but every post has the same question and same answers.

"is this my final schedule?"

they aren't finalized until august 5th. until then, changes could be made by the registrars office or whoever does that.

"my schedule is missing a class"

theres still two weeks that your schedule could be changed. after schedules are finalized, if you are still missing a necessary class, first-years are able to add/drop/swap classes

"my class is so early"

grow up, everyone has to take an early class eventually. if you really hate it you can try to switch it out later after schedules are finalized.

you're going to love your time at cal poly, it's an incredible school in a beautiful place. you don't need to worry too much right now, nothing is final, and if something really is wrong later you can change it.

Hi,

I’m an incoming freshman who has -1500 sai, in EOP,pell grant, cal grant as well as other SLO specific grants.

When I calculated, even just with tuition + housing + meal fees( not including overestimated transportation/misc fees the school calculates for you) I still am expected to pay over $12k per year after subtracting aid and I’m getting quite concerned. I saw a few posts recently with situations similar to mine but I wanted to post my specific numbers to see if my circumstances are similar, or if the amount of aid I got is really concerning and if I should reach out to the financial aid office.

any advice would be great!!

Hi , I’m incoming Materials transfer and was wondering how many hours a week professors expect you to commit to their lab. I’m hoping I can fit in federal work study and research but would give priority research. I was also wondering if anyone knew which professors are seeking students for their lab this upcoming fall. I went through the mechanical and materials directory but only saw research interests listed on their profile but no link to their lab group website or current projects. Do I just assume all the professors who list research interest on their faculty profile , are actively doing research? I’m thinking of reaching out to professors at the end of this month.

I was thinking of reaching out to Thale Smith because of his interest in materials at extreme environments and metallurgy but he’s not on the class schedule, is he on sabbatical? Leaning towards composite research as well.