<p>I was waitlisted for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, my top choice, so now I'm trying to decide between other schools I got into so far:</p>
<p>Syracuse University: Environmental Engineering
Rochester Institute of Technology: Mechanical Engineering - Energy & Environment Option
Drexel University: Environmental Engineering
University at Buffalo (SUNY) - Computer Engineering</p>
<p>I'm just looking for some opinions on how good their programs are.</p>
<p>I have heard good things about RIT; some of my friends go there and are pretty happy with the program (not that specific program, but CS/Engineering). I am barely familiar with Buffalo and Syracuse in terms of engineering, and all I’ve heard about Drexel is that it has an ugly campus. </p>
<p>Basically, from a superficial standpoint, I would call RIT the “best” of the ones listed. However there may be factors relating to your personal interests and preferences that I am not considering.</p>
<p>I visited Drexel. It doesn’t have a nice lush green campus because it’s in the city. It’s next to UPenn which has a park and everything tho.</p>
<p>Well growing up in NYC I haven’t exactly been surrounded by nature so that’s alright 
and I heard Drexel’s campus was nice. I guess I’ll have to see for myself.</p>
<p>Drexel is a good school since it has CO-OP…but im not sure if it is a tradtional 4 year school.</p>
<p>I’m probably going to Drexel next year, and I was at the engineering orientation a week ago. The campus is pretty big, with a lot of buildings. They are one of the largest private engineering schools. Location is good. But what drew me to that school was their co-op program. They really work hard to get everyone a co-op and job after college…like the statistics was 96% get a co-op.</p>
<p>Yea, that’s what mainly stood out to me about Drexel. RIT is also known for their co-ops. My cousin went to RIT and got a job right after graduating. The only problem with RIT is that it’s SO cold, I could learn to cope with the weather but I don’t know…</p>
<p>RIT is good for getting a job, but I would not recommend it if you wish to attend grad school. I may be wrong, but I don’t believe RIT has many undergrad research opportunities. It is a teaching school, not a research institute. The typical engineering degree takes five years and includes co-ops. Sounds like that might be similar to Drexel, though I’m not sure. </p>
<p>I know Buffalo is a research institute, and therefore has plenty of undergrade research opportunities. I would assume that Syracuse is of a similar caliber, though it is private and more expensive as a result. I was told by a business that I interviewed to reconsider attending UB because companies don’t heavily recruit there, but if you’re going grad school, that isn’t really an issue. </p>
<p>I have several friends at UB, all of whom like, or are at least content with the program. Class sizes are large, and you will most likely not get much time with your professors in the first two years. I’ve got one friend who is transfering out of RIT due to the social activity. </p>
<p>Just a few notes on the schools you mentioned.</p>
<p>from RPI’s website
career = not heavy at research.</p>
<p>however, there were some heavy duty research profs in certain fields… i think optics was big there for a while…</p>
<p>Optics is pretty big at University of Rochester. Not sure if it is at RIT too, or not.</p>
<p>Most engineering grad students (masters) do lug work and dress it up by calling it research. Everyone’s in on the scam but it’s really just a student job that helps pay their fare. Nothing wrong with that except when it is presented as something it is not. But I get the biggest laugh when hearing prospective undergrads talk about wanting to do this thing called “research”. I want to shake them by the shoulders and scream: BUT YOU DON"T KNOW ANYTHING!</p>
<p>Lug work is fun. I did research at my company for a while and hated it. Since I was the prinicpal investigator for the product, I had to budget, schedule, create, invent, and provide direction to techs to do the work. Not my cup of tea.</p>
<p>I thought I’d might be interested in a more research related college but I really do want a job after I graduate. For Drexel, I signed up for a 3 co-op plan which would let me graduate in 5 years instead of 4 because I thought it would give me good real life experience or something. Would co-ops provide a better experience than research opportunities?</p>
<p>
What do you really mean by this, I mean, what is this ‘lug’ work compared to research? Plus, I know many of my peers who have experience with things such as ISEF, and they work with professors on these projects, is this not like research? If it isn’t, then someone please explain it to me, because I’m having a hard time figuring it out (atleast, I thought I had it somewhat figured out).</p>
<p>ah now that financial aid packages have come, cost is becoming another factor. what to do .-.</p>