<p>We visited WPI for a second time this Saturday (my D will be out of state at a music competition later this week, when WPI is having a big Accepted Students event), and I'm really excited that she's decided she wants to attend WPI.</p>
<p>My son is just torn between WPI and RPI (I think it's down to those two -but even that is unclear though).</p>
<p>We visited on Friday (the day before you). They put together a nice visit for my son. We attended a play there on Thursday night, then we did tour/info session/lunch with a student/sat in on a class (son reported it was "easy")/and a couple of grad students showed him around the ECE department. They sere so nice! </p>
<p>And then we attended the admitted student open house at RPI (which was pretty much a mob scene). Wowed by facilities and breadth of majors...</p>
<p>Personally, I was (rather secretly) pulling of for a more "normal" university - but he doesn't think it matters.</p>
<p>Congratulations on being done!!! :) :)</p>
<p>My D has a good friend at RPI who is fairly neutral about it - she doesn't hate it, but she's not enthusiastic about it. I'm not exactly sure what pushed WPI to the top of the heap for D, but I suspect having Boston not too far away was a factor - tons of her friends are going to school in Boston - and the fact that she can still pursue her interests in music and theater. I swear, when we were there on Saturday, there were points of the day where I felt like we were visiting a conservatory - everyone we talked to was involved in music and/or theater. Our tour guide was a double major of CS and Theater. </p>
<p>I think it was that, and the visit to the robotics lab and CNC machine shop that convinced D.</p>
<p>I think your D's friend's attitude, "doesn't hate it, but she's not enthusiastic about it" seems to be the general opinion about RPI. This is a tough one.</p>
<p>I wonder if the attitude is dependent on the student's major. My daughter was also considering WPI and RPI. She spoke with several female students at RPI and they all loved their experiences there (they were all engineering or EMAC majors). My son is in the School of Science and he is not loving it as much - his classes are too large for his tastes.</p>
<p>Palermo - Did he also consider WPI?</p>
<p>Weenie: No he did not. He originally wanted a small liberal arts college and only applied to RPI since he was a medal recipient. When he revisited the LAC he was disappointed in the lab facilities after seeing those available at RPI. He also did not like the party scene at the LAC. My daughter did apply to both, but really didn't like Worcester (not that Troy is any better) and WPI really doesn't have the focus she wants in her possible major. We have been to RPI several weekends this year and have been impressed by how clean the campus is, even on weekends. I went to a large state university and by Sunday, the dorms were disgusting. His dorm is very clean and quiet and he really hasn't had any complaints about the living arrangements. His biggest disappointment is the size of his classes. He has 200 students in his Chemistry class and 60 in the lab. One of his friends is in the PDI program and most of her classes are very small. I think both schools are excellent choices for a techie-type student.</p>
<p>Thanks palermo. Funny how they don't mention 200-person classes at any of the admissions events. ;) </p>
<p>My son likes that PDI program a lot, but he is still investigating whether or not he can dual major in it with Comp Engineering (as no one has done that before).</p>
<p>I have to say though, that he seems to be leaning towards WPI.</p>
<p>Congratulations to all of you!!! Going to WPI? Good Decision ;)</p>
<p>My son decided on WPI tonight.</p>
<p>Thanks nice, I'll see him there then :-P</p>
<p>I might see you there next year :D</p>