@travelfamily ,
No need to be nervous about WPI. It is a very good college. Classes are taught by professors, not TAs. There are plenty of students who like the quarter system (as opposed to a semester system). My best friend and her husband graduated from WPI, four of my neighbors did. My niece and nephew both did. They all love it. If your child likes that system, he/she will do well and be happy there.
It is in a good part of the city. There are two parks nearby, Elm Park and Institute Park. Worcester is the second largest city in New England. Like any large city, there are good sections and bad ones. I work in this city.
Just wanted to weigh in on WPI. I visited with my daughter two years ago. We thought the campus was beautiful. That area of Worcester is just fine. And the students we spoke with after the tour were super friendly, down to earth, and seemed quite passionate about the school and classes. We’re touring again with my son in a few weeks, so it will be interesting to see if we feel the same vibe.
@shuttlebus and @rphcfb We did our WPI visit today. My daughter decided she didn’t want to pursue WPI any further. She did not feel that the quarter system was something she could embrace and she did not like the project based learning- which are their 2 biggest things. I can see where the school would be great for some. We had a nice tour guide, but the focus of discussion was robotics all morning and it just didn’t spark her interest. So, next weekend we will be visiting Stevens Institute in Hoboken and again will report back!
@travelfamily ,
Glad that your daughter had the opportunity to check it out and make a decision based on her preference. Hope she will find a college that she likes and is a good fit for her.
Be aware that WPI has its own version of the quarter system. Other colleges on the quarter system have 13 week quarters: 11 weeks of class, a week of exams and a week off.
@TomSrOfBoston - I believe that most (all?) of the colleges on the quarter system in CA – including all of the UCs, save Berkeley and Merced, some of the Cal States, and Stanford – have 10 weeks of classes, followed by a week of exams.
Generally, the academic year starts in late September and ends mid-June, with a 2-3 week break between fall and winter quarters and a 1-2 week break between winter and spring quarters.
Hamilton went way up on my D20’s list. I thought she wouldn’t like it because it is very rural, but she loved it. She especially liked the open curriculum (she is undecided on major but knows she wants to study multiple languages). The language immersion study abroad programs, especially in Paris and Beijing, really appealed to her, and the ability to double major was also a draw. She said she thought she could feel comfortable there.
Her likes and dislikes seem to be changing. Originally she wanted schools in or near a big city, and colleges with a strict core curriculum didn’t turn her off, but it looks like her tastes are crystallizing, so we’ll see what direction this goes. This certainly is a learning experience!
Barnard went up. Very well-spoken guide, good admissions presentation, energetic vibe to the campus. Visited a class that had a great prof. The only school we have visited where the tour guides have wireless microphone headsets so the whole group can easily hear them. Hopefully there are other schools that do this but we haven’t encountered it on our other tours. How many group tours have you been on where you can’t clearly hear the guide? D had already walked around campus on a previous visit to NYC and was predisposed to Barnard but this visit enhanced her view of it.
Oberlin up. First visit. Met students that she felt that were similar to her. In advance, I thought the social justice activism vibe might be too strong for her but it was not. Also, given her stated preference for an urban school, she didn’t even comment on the small town environment.
Ohio State down. Too much football talk: how much student tickets cost, how you get them… She went to a summer program for a week and worked with great profs and grad students but couldn’t imagine being an undergrad in such a massive system.
As it relates to Ohio State and the like (Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan, etc.), something prospective freshman need to realize if the football or basketball is a big draw…not all students get tickets to all games. This doesn’t mean that it’s still not fun to be a major fan at these schools if that’s what you are looking for, but I think it’s important to ask the question.
We recently toured Villanova and the tour guide pointed out that not everyone gets tickets to games BUT those without tickets often get together and watch on TV and that can be a lot of fun also.
We had high hopes for Bard our tour was tough. The campus is pretty run down and there are weeds and cigarette butts everywhere. They flat out refuse to show dorms. My kid likes schools where the professors are accessible and perhaps even have dinners and study sessions occasionally outside of class. According to our tour guide that is not a thing at Bard. I was surprised by this given the school’s intellectual vibe. She is still keen on the school but I’m left wondering about it.
There is no way I’d get over the cigarette butt thing. It means the students are smokers, which is bad enough, but also litterbugs who have no respect for their school. The school should pick up the trash, but shouldn’t HAVE to pick up litter every day.
I know of someone who prefers a little “scuz” when she tours schools. For example, she toured Wash U and thought it was so pristine it was a turn off. Prefers the more “organic” feel of a school like Penn, at which you will occasionally see a cigarette butt on the floor. Certainly clean enough, but not pristine like some schools.
I think the cigarettes can also be a sign of a more international crowd.
Duke is so highly manicured it wierded me out a bit, I have to say. Its gothic architecture is patterned after Yale’s. But Yale looks and feels lived in with even – gasp – some bare spots on the quads. That never happens at Duke; I think they have people pop up out of manholes like at Disney to take care of anything not right!
Boston College is also pristine. But it wasn’t in the 80’s when I was there. My oldest is there now and it has that Disney feel as well. Harvard definitely has that more lived in look as well…I imagine they get so many visitors it’s hard to keep it perfect. Still very pretty, of course.
@JenniferClint - Have you seen their new food hall? It’s over top. I found it awesome (as in yummy!) and yet ridiculous at the same time. That place prints money!
@AlmostThere2018, I’ve seen pictures but I haven’t visited. Definitely a little over the top but the kids these days are accustomed to such extravagances.
If I was President Price, I would spend more money recruiting Nobel caliber researchers and less on dining halls/football stadiums but I guess it’s not a zero sum game. Duke (and its peers) coddle students as much as they educate them. That’s the nature of the beast…
