<p>I would love some feedback about what I am calling "Tier Two" engineering schools. My son is considering mechanical engineering but because of learning/processing issues we feel that he will do better at a second tier school. He is an honors student, all A's, ranked 7th in his class (out of 150), takes AP and honors math and science classes, is involved in robotics, an engineering explorer program at BAE Systems, is a volunteer with the local middle school's Lego League program, etc, etc.</p>
<p>Right now we are looking at smaller schools where he will hopefully be able to get to know his professors better (and vice versa). Our list is as follows. We would love any feedback/comparisons on any of them. Or any other suggestions. We live in the New England area but he says he is open to going to any area of the country. Anyway, the current list is as follows:</p>
<p>Lafayette
Worcester Polytech
Rose Hulman
University of Rochester
Rensselaer
Florida Tech
Emory Riddle (FL)</p>
<p>I’m not quite sure how you decided that these were “Tier Two”, but RPI has an absolutely outstanding reputation. RHIT is supposed to be very good too, although it has a little less name recognition.</p>
<p>Rose Hulman is supposed to be a quite excellent school. Everyone I know who went there really liked it. It doesn’t have the big name recognition because it does not focus on research, however I’m sure the quality of an undergraduate education there is at least as good as, if not better than, top tier schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for getting back to me… I am calling them Tier Two just because they aren’t as “prestigious” as the well know names (MIT, Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Purdue, etc), other than maybe RPI. He could possibly get into some of the more well known schools but we worry that he may be overwhelmed. We are really just wondering if he would be at a disadvantage by not having a big name school under his belt… </p>
<p>RHIT? Is that Rochester Institute of Technology?</p>
<p>RHIT is Rose-Hulman. RIT is Rochester Institute of Technology. Speaking of which: U of R, WPI, RPI, and Rose-Hulman are extraordinary schools in engineering. Any of them will probably net you the same job opportunities. I wouldn’t apply to a school just for a mechanical engineering program. I personally know grads from each school who are quite happy with the engineering programs there. </p>
<p>These schools ARE big names. People on the board have definitely heard of the schools I have listed - so no you won’t have a disadvantage. </p>
<p>Look on the campuses of the four schools I mentioned and see which one he likes best and that would probably be the best engineering school for him. The other schools are also pretty good, but I haven’t heard enough from them to tell you much.</p>
<p>The Univ. of Rochester is not a Tier 2 school. It is on par with Carnegie Mellon. Newsweek Magazine named both Rochester and CMU “new Ivies” in 2007. Rochester Institute of Technology is slightly lesser in ranking, but from what I’ve heard, expect the kids to work hard…WPI has a robotics program, I think…and they have a reputation for being extremely hands on with different learning styles…have you considered Western New England college? That would be slightly lower in ranking, but may be smaller and give your son merit money(?)</p>
<p>I looked at all the schools you listed and decided to apply to RHIT. RHIT has generally smaller classes (even at the intro levels) and more of a focus on teaching. they seem to take a genuine interest in doing everything they can to help each student succeed. It is worth looking at more closely. (I’m also applying to LACs but if I go the engineering route it will be at Rose-Hulman)</p>
<p>Thanks again everyone… Any info anyone has is greatly appreciated : ) To clarify though, we are very happy with that list of schools. I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t something else we should factor in when we look at those schools (employment rate at graduation vs some of the more “well known” schools, how competive these schools are, how accessible the professors are, how hands on it is, etc, etc)…</p>
<p>And yes, now that we have this list, we are checking the schools out to see which fits him best. On the top if his list right now are WPI because of the Robotics program, Rose Hulman because if its size and reputation (does it matter if a school is less research oriented? - RH seems to have the kids work on lots of hands on projects - how does the research aspect differ?), Lafayette in Pennsylvania (again because of its size and reputation - ranked #21 in US News for undergrad engineering schools), and University of Rochester because of its reputation and its unique cluster program which would let him dable in a few other things. Plus, we toured that school and just love it (well, I do anyway - everyone there was great, friendly, upbeat!). Really liked it… I do know it is considered a “new Ivie” though…</p>
<p>I have heard that RPI is harder to get into plus I have also heard that it is very competitive, so it is not at the top of our list, although that could change. We need to look into that one further. FIT and Emory are backups… </p>
<p>And we have considered looking into Western New England but haven’t as of yet. We should probably add that to our list. Just wasn’t sure if getting an engineering degree from there would give him the impact he would need to get a job. But maybe that doesn’t matter. That is what is driving us crazy!</p>
<p>Anyway, any other info anyone has is greatly appreciated. Thanks again!</p>
<p>A few things I think you should keep an eye on:</p>
<p>Many schools have an office that assists students with any kind of learning issue. Depending on what his issue is, and whether or not you can provide any documentation, he may qualify for either assistance or allowances. A friend of mine was severely dyslexic and was allowed extra time on tests, and in some cases to have an aide with him during the test to help him read it. My wife worked in that same office for a few years and I know arranged assistance for people with much milder issues.</p>
<p>When you are looking at schools, I would pay attention both to their corporate recruiting events and their graduate programs. While not a major issue, the corporate recruiting events do give you an idea of who in industry likes the school and therefore serves as an easy reference for how good the school is at preparing professional engineers. I would pay attention to the grad program primarily in case your son wants to go to grad school - if he does, he will greatly benefit from some undergraduate research experience, and that is often hard to find in schools that lack a solid graduate program. Please note that this is mostly a grad program issue - if he is set on industry, the research matters a lot less.</p>
<p>The student body at R.P.I. is of the same class as Gtech, CMU, Cal Berkeley, UIUC, Michigan, etc. I found the academics there to be very challenging and would not recommend it as a place that is less rigorous than the top programs. It is a top program. </p>
<p>I don’t think any school outside of MIT/Caltech could have given me a better engineering education.</p>
<p>I’m no engineer but I understand that RPI, WPI and U of Rochester are excellent schools that provide a superior engineering education in all respects. An alumnus with engineering degree from one of those schools typically faces little difficulty in getting a good job (at least in the east, and not during a recession).</p>
<p>Smraff, my nephew, a good student with ADD, is a junior at Rochester Institute of Technology and has been very happy there. He is in the computer game design program and has found the work rewarding and challenging. They have outstanding internship opportunities. There seem to be quite a number of deaf students in attendance–in his freshman year, my nephew was on a hall with a whole bunch of deaf kids, though he and his roommate were both hearing. That might suggest an awareness of learning differences on the part of the school.</p>
<p>Superior as compared to what? You can’t use comparative adjectives without having something to compare to. It doesn’t make sense. Sorry, pet peeve.</p>
<p>But alas, the schools are good and offer a high quality education in an environment that is different from the big state schools (if those just don’t do it for you).</p>
<p>RIT includes the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the world’s largest tech school for deaf students. That explains the noticeable number of deaf students there. Really adds an interesting dynamic to the college experience. </p>
<p>I was very impressed with my recent visit to RIT. Most programs are 5 years including at least 1 year of co-op work. These are basically paid internships with hundreds of major companies around the US, often leading to job offers with those very companies. Even if not, students graduate with a year or more of real world experience on their resumes. I have to believe that gives them a leg up in job interviews or grad school applications. I would certainly include RIT on your list.</p>
<p>I would also add Lehigh. Great reputation for engineering.</p>
<p>RPI has a longstanding reputation as a leading engineering school, it probably has significant out-of-region recruiting, the others probably have good regional recruiting. That’s just my guess.</p>
<p>Definitely include Villanova on your list. They have a well-respected engineering school and when we visited they stressed close relationships between teachers & students and have rather small class sizes.</p>
<p>another thing about RPI…i’m pretty sure their workload is comparable to that of MIT…i went to RPI and it’s freakin’ hard…some terms aren’t too bad…some are pretty bad…a couple were unbearable…and back in HS, i was the best math student in my grade (got an 800 on my math SAT…won AMC 12 in my grade…had A’s in math and physics)…i graduated RPI with a 3.2…</p>
<p>reason i say it’s comparable to MIT is that i’ve noticed that MIT students are 25% stronger than RPI students…so like if you’re at the 75th percentile at RPI…you’d be around dead average at MIT…one of my friends went to MIT and he said average test grades are usually in the 70s…at RPI, the average test grades were usually in the 60s (sometimes lower, sometimes higher)…so that’s my basis…</p>
<p>anyways…enough defending RPI as tier 1 (it ****es me off when people who do not know any better call it tier 2)…but i think for your son, Lehigh is another great option…:)</p>