A few questions about Rose-Hulman

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
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<p>I'm very interested in Rose-Hulman and am particularly drawn to the small classes taught primarily by professors, focused curriculum, and focus on undergraduate teaching. It seems like a wonderful school to pursue an engineering education at. I have already applied about a month ago, but I just have a few questions.</p>

<p>First of all, what would it be like as a female student? I know that Greek life is big deal there, but if I don't join a sorority, would my chances of making female friend be nil? It seems like people always suggest joining a sorority if you're a female at Rose, and I know that the sororities aren't the stereotypical party/alcohol groups, but if you're still not into Greek life, is it really necessary? I'm not TOO worried about the male-to-female ratio, since the engineering school in the town I currently reside in has a similar ratio, but I still see plenty of girls there. Most of my friends in high school are guys, but I'm not completely sure how I'd feel living 24/7 in such a male-dominated school, especially since my interests don't entirely coincide with male populations.</p>

<p>Second, what is the school's reputation like? From what I've heard, it has a good rep within the engineering circle, but I'm still unsure. I'm much more drawn to small schools, but I'm not sure if a lot of employers would recognize the school's name. I'm mostly curious about the recognition and reputation outside of the midwest, since I'm from Colorado, and practically no one here has heard of Rose-Hulman, even engineering majors.</p>

<p>Finally, my last question is just more of a quick curiosity, but would being a female and ethnic minority help my chances of getting a large merit scholarship?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance to anyone who can help answer these questions!</p>

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<p>Same boat here, except I’m male. Sorry I don’t mean to hijack your thread, but while answering her questions, what would you guys pick, Purdue or Rose-Hulman? What is needed to get into Rose-Hulman?</p>

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<p>I can’t speak to being a female at Rose, but I can speak to this:</p>

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<p>I’m a senior electrical engineering major who just finished up his job search, so I can tell you Rose’s reputation is very good. The first thing I always point to is the career fair [company</a> list](<a href=“404 | Rose-Hulman”>404 | Rose-Hulman). There are companies of all shapes and sizes that come, many of which are outside the midwest.</p>

<p>In my recent job search I was looking on the coasts, and I had opportunities in Oregon, California, Arizona, and New Mexico out west and a couple in the east. …And, this was just in my personal job hunt where I looked in a very specific industry. The majority of students do end up working in the midwest, but there are many students who do not.</p>

<p>What I usually say about reputation is this: Rose-Hulman has a reputation, but not nationwide brand recognition. That is the distinction I make. There aren’t enough Rose grads to blanket the country like there are GT or Purdue grads, so a lot of companies don’t have experience with Rose graduates. But when they do see a Rose grad, they like what they see and they think highly of Rose. So, with Rose you get a great quality of education which feeds into reputation - the graduates are well-regarded - but you don’t get “brand recognition” ala Harvard.</p>

<p>As an example: the last company I interned for didn’t recruit at Rose until recently. Back in 2010 they hired their first (that I know of) Rose-Hulman new grad, and were so impressed with him that they have recruited at Rose since then, and hired multiple Rose interns last year. This is a large, well-respected company on the east coast. Three of us Rose-Hulman interns were rising seniors, and we all received full-time job offers after our internship ended.</p>

<p>The company that I interned for before that, a large F100 on the west coast, made several offers to Rose students…but got rejections because most students wanted to stay around the midwest. Rose doesn’t place many people in that company not because of a poor reputation, but because the midwestern student body doesn’t want to move out west. </p>

<p>Does everyone outside the midwest know about Rose? No. Many smaller companies will likely have no experience with Rose and not have any opinion positive or negative. But, larger companies (think Microsoft, Intel, Amazon) will have experience with Rose-Hulman and respect it. And small companies that have heard of Rose-Hulman will likewise.</p>

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<p>@nauticalblue</p>

<p>gobeavs does a good job of describing the situation here and the outcomes. One thing I will add…less than half of our students join a fraternity or sorority. You will not be in the minority if you choose not to do so as well. Feel free to ask any other questions.</p>

<p>Jared Goulding
Associate Director of Admissions</p>

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<p>Thank you all very much for the responses! You’ve helped a lot.</p>

<p>By the way…
@imscared6: That’s fine! Might as well see if you can get your question answered here too, right?</p>

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<p>Good source for answer to FAQ is in facebook: <a href=“Rose-Hulman Parents' Group | Facebook”>Rose-Hulman Parents' Group | Facebook;