2018 Senate and House elections suggest that Arizona may not be as conservative as Indiana statewide.
However, in general, people in cities and younger people (including most college students) tend to be somewhat more politically left leaning than the general population of the state that they are in. So the political viewpoints of students at the universities may not necessarily be reliably inferred from statewide politics.
Re: local politics of the state that your child will be attending college in…
By and large, almost every college campus across the US is politically more liberal than the surrounding area or state that the college is located in. Some schools just tend to be a lot more left leaning than others (UC Berkeley, for example).
I live in AZ…well, used to live in Tucson, but now we’re in the Phoenix area. It’s true that in terms of total # of students, ASU is far larger than UofA. ASU does have multiple campuses. But like another person just mentioned, the campuses that aren’t in Tempe are typically for specific majors. Nursing, for example, is primarily at the ASU downtown campus.
Almost all of the majors are at the Tempe campus. I’m pretty sure that your daughter’s prospective major would be at the main campus in Tempe…that info is available on the school’s website.
If your daughter is interested in aerospace or mechanical engineering, Arizona (particularly the Phoenix area) has a LOT of employers in that industry. If she’s doing a campus visit soon as a part of deciding where to go, I’d encourage her to inquire with that department at the school to find out about how students go about getting coops/internships.
The Barrett honors college is basically like a small college experience within a huge larger university. I have some friends whose kids were accepted to universities much higher ranked than ASU, but their kids ended up at ASU because they liked the honors college so much & they felt like they weren’t going to get lost in the crowd. Plus, the huge merit scholarships their kids got from ASU were a big plus. Barrett students are required to live on campus in the honors dorms for 2 years. Plus, the Barrett dining hall is considered much better than the other dining locations on campus.
For WPI Aerospace graduate placement and income, please see https://www.wpi.edu/student-experience/career-development/outcomes. Download the PDF report for the selected year. For 2018, Aerospace is listed on page six. with corporations graduates went to work for and graduates schools attended that year. Take your time. Check other years.
For Aerospace faculty see https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/aerospace-engineering/faculty-staff where you can also read their experience, research and background.by clicking on “view profile.”
WPI is a much smaller university than Purdue. Clearly they do not need as many faculty. Both Universities have a 13:1 student to faculty ratio. Aerospace ranks as WPI’s seventh largest undergraduate major. See https://public.tableau.com/profile/wpi.institutional.research#!/vizhome/IR_DataDashboard-Top10Majors/TopMajors
Purdue has a long and well established aviation history with a very significant graduate school in the field.
An easy choice…RPI…great hockey rivalry with Union.
Check this out, March 26th. It will be live streamed. See https://www.wpi.edu/news/nasa-jfk-wpi-science-space-exploration
I went to WPI and RPI and would recommend WPI over RPI for undergraduate studies, especially for women going into engineering. The students are much more engaged with the faculty at WPI than RPI which is a necessity on the quarter system. The project opportunities are very unique through WPI. WPI’s president has a much better relationship with the students and faculty than RPI’s. Athletics are similar except for RPI’s hockey which is D1 with Union College and has a devoted following. Both have great athletic facilities but the new WPI Athletic center is both convenient to freshman dorms and state if the art. The innovation center at WPI is also a great new space for student project work. The “ratio” is more balanced at WPI with their recent preference for female applicants. Both schools have top notch academic facilities.
WPI has Dunkin Donuts and RPI has Ben and Jerry’s…as much as I like B&J’s, coffee is the fuel of engineering students.
WPI, last I checked, had higher starting salaries, probably skewed by the proximity to Boston area Tech companies and their career center is great (RPI’s is as well.) I recruit at both colleges and haven’t noticed a lack of coop/internship experience at WPI. At both schools the students have a lot of work experience by the time they graduate.
Off campus housing around RPI is pretty sketchy. with a car you can head out Pawling ave and find better options with parking or head to the complexes away from campus. WPI has a lot of reasonable options between campus and Highland street and the apartments across the park from Salisbury Streets. I was surprised that the WPI dorm rooms that used to be all doubles are now triples, but the students that I know there don’t seem bothered. I think RPI has better freshman housing.
RPI’s real strengths are its research and graduate programs - and those can provide opportunities for the undergraduate students.
Purdue and ASU are completely different. My D is majoring in engineering at a biggish public university down south and the school spirit is unmatched by anything in the Northeast. Having gone to two techie schools, I didn’t appreciate how that shapes and unites the campus community. Now that I’ve experienced it, I can help but feel like I missed out on something in my college experience. Definitely something to consider.
I looked at all these for when applying. For me based on prices and preferences, I would highly recommend WPI. It’s practically slanted enough to support co-op and project-based classes without being overly restrictive (co-op is not about working with the same company everywhere - it isn’t at Northeastern for example). It has a great community feel, city access when wanted, and 40K savings compared to Purdue, which would be my #2. IMO ASU is a solid option but isn’t in the same category as the other three. While in a vacuum Purdue has an incredible engineering program, it sounds like the better fit is at WPI who also offers a top program. The only place where the “name” effect will likely be seen is in California, but no degree from any of these schools will restrict post-grad work geography really.
That said, I’m speaking general engineering and I’m not up to speed on how aerospace views these places. Based on a quick glance on US News, it does appear that Purdue is viewed highly in peer reputation, but I wouldn’t split the rankings difference for the others based on a survey that’s completely dependent on how schools rate each other. What you get from that system is a research reputation litmus test for the top 10-15 and then mostly who knows who from other schools, not an indication of things like class offerings to undergrads or teaching quality. Mind you, the rankings are almost exclusively at the graduate level for such a specialty. It also sounds like there are many interests to the point that a general engineering focus for strengths may be better.
Thanks @retiredfarmer - this looks great. My daughter will be tuning in.