@eyemgh My son definitely would choose CP over GT. My son can get pretty stressed. I think CP or WPI is much more of a psychological fit for him. He is a project based thinker.
@RoboticsWidow you might consider flying into Providence, RI; 39 mi away. Peter Pan busline offers service which appears pretty direct given elapsed time estimate.
For Boston, you could take the T to South Station, then take commuter rail to Worcester; about 1.5 hours. Greyhound shows an hour ride by bus (more of a straight shot with likely fewer stops).
@“Idaho Father” Good tips! I’ll check flight cost difference for Boston vs Providence.
@“Idaho Father” ok here’s a funny one! Alaska air recommends I fly from San Diego to Seattle, then down to LAX and from there to Providence… um something’s wrong here.
There must be some other parents who are also engineers on this board and can weigh in about the quality of the grads they’ve worked with. I’ve worked on both coasts - NJ and LA - and have not worked with any WPI grads at the big aerospace companies I’ve worked for. I asked my husband and he doesn’t recall working with any WPI grads, either. He is from Massachusetts and didn’t even apply there when he was considering colleges. His sister is an engineer, too, and didn’t apply there. Cal Poly has a great reputation on the west coast. Purdue is a top 10 program and has a national reputation. Moreover, I loved everything I heard from them when I attended presentation with my son - they were very practical and job-oriented, unlike the great majority of schools who were busy telling us about their abroad programs, not how they’re going to get our kids a job. Unless WPI is giving you a big discount, I’d stick with Purdue and Cal Poly as your main options (I haven’t read through that thoroughly as to where else your child was admitted to). My son goes to Cal Poly now and I love that he has small classes and a very hands on education. Every engineering class he takes has a lab component. My husband (and sister) went to RPI and they had a similar polytechnic hands-on education and they are both very successful engineers. Part of decision making process with our son two years ago was thinking about the quality of the co-workers we had from the schools he got accepted to and the Cal Poly grads we’ve worked with are very highly thought of and solid engineers. I know both Boeing and HP consider it a target school they recruit from.
@ocmom1000, @HPuck35 would have a good perspective on each. He had a child at each, both now graduated and gainfully employed, and is an engineer himself.
My younger daughter (CalPoly freshman) agonized between the three schools you mention (WPI, Purdue and CalPoly). Purdue is indeed well run and prestigious, the downside is that it is cold and getting into a major is competitive I believe. They are working hard to shake off their “weed out classes for freshmen” reputation. WPI and CalPoly are very similar and to my daughter WPI was by far the cheapest due to generous merit aid. WPI might be the easiest academically due to the way they structure their semesters. However, the west coast location was the ultimate factor in the decision for my daughter and she loves it.
To answer your question I worked closely with graduates from all three and they were all good. I am currently working with a top notch WPI Software engineering manager and he is one of my favorite people to work with (he only did his masters there though). I would say though that I have seen more CalPoly and Purdue graduates than WPI on the west coast.
And in fact that might be the better determining factor to you. Graduates are more likely to find internships and employment closer to their schools. If you care about that stuff have your kid pick the school that is closer to where they want to live after graduation. I think these days there might be more aero space opportunities on the west coast.
Don’t worry, these are good problems to have, no matter what school they pick they will be happy. Go visit, go with the flow and enjoy whatever you chose 
@iulianc
" WPI might be the easiest academically due to the way they structure their semesters."
Good to hear… I think!
Just curious, how did you conclude that? The Undergraduate terms are equivalent to nine semester hours of work every seven weeks. This works out to 18 semester hours every semester. The system was developed to offer greater scheduling flexibility so the project activities could fit into a busy schedule. We are used to hearing complaints about drinking out of a fire hose, BUT I am glad to hear that.
I never went for the “boot camp” approach to engineering! If your having a good time learning, the workload should seem lighter.
WPI '67
The only complaint I hear from people on CC about WPI is that the easy grade forgiveness policy (basically you cannot get a grade lower than a C) leads to so many high GPAs that hiring engineers can’t sort the superstars out. In ME at CP for example, 10% of the given grades are F. A high GPA there is truly useful as a differentiator. I’m not sure that I personally agree with that perspective. The policy has big advantages, mainly allowing students to backfill knowledge gaps that created to poor grade in the first place. Otherwise, it’s all been glowing.
@retiredfarmer , what @eyemgh said. They break the semester in two distinct periods with one week breaks in between, give you unlimited chances to redo stuff, etc. They really want you to succeed, which has pros and cons as outlined by @eyemgh
My daughter so far has been admitted to Texas A&M Engineering Academy at Blinn/Bryan(dual enrollment), U of Utah, Cal Poly Pomona, Embry Riddle AZ all for Mech Eng. she is still waiting on SLO! She is really leaning toward TAMU as she loves the campus. I think she is an Aggie in spirit.
I have looked over the requirements for her to remain in major, they are manageable, and the two years of dual enrollment will really offset OOS costs.
Anyhow, just wondering with her stats if she will be offered admission at SLO. I don’t know her score: but she was in band leadership junior and senior year, so many hours of EC’s in marching, Pep, and jazz band.
SAT: 1340 math 700
GPA UW: 3.9, W 4.2
She visited SLO for an engineering overnight sponsored by WIE.
In addition to heavy EC load, community service
What do y’all think? Does she have a reasonable shot at SLO?
@rockmom21, go to the link below and calculate her MCA score using the GPA she submitted on her app (not hr HS weighted GPA, but rather her CSU weighted GPA 9-11). The ME threshold had been around 4700 for ME, but last year there were MCAs just above that waitlisted and ultimately denied. The thing is, we never know how strong the applicant pool is. Judging by her GPA and SAT, I’m thinking it will be a reach. The good news is, she has lots of GREAT options!
@eyemgh thanks!! I will calculate, to get a better feel for her chances.
@RoboticsWidow - there is a limo/shuttle that travels between Worcester and Logan Airport. It’s easy to schedule and they are reliable. My daughter has used the service. If you are sharing the limo, then there is a wait sometimes if someone’s flight is late. Boston traffic is what it is.
@eyemgh Should a 4749 MCA for Industrial Engineering by sufficient?
@Riversi if the MCA is calculated correctly and if they still use it chances are good. My daughter was admitted last year with a lower MCA to IE. We are OOS, not sure it matters. Good luck!
I’m a software engineer and I have been working with some really smart people from CP SLO, POMONA, and Cal State Fullerton. All computer science majors. Working with them made me feel that those colleges definitely do some good job preparing the students for the work force.
@VMT Would you happen to remember the shuttle company name?
Worcester Airport Limousine
https://wlimo.hudsonltd.net/res?USERIDENTRY=WPI&LOGON=GO
I picked her up once at the limo drop off point. It was a van. They drop off at various locations around Worcester, including next to freshman dorms.
Our S is a first year ME student at CP, but U of U was a VERY close second. Sometimes he thinks he’s missing out on “big sports” and “school spirit” at CPSLO, and that he should have gone to UU. Your daughter can’t go wrong…beach or mountains; surfing or skiing? These are important considerations. We live in northern Nevada, so plenty of snow and world renown skiing in our back yard. Our S decided that a stint near the beach would be a nice change of scenery. Good luck!!