<p>Our Daughter is going for Civil Engineering, and has narrowed it down to three choices. Schools have different characteristics, and our out of pocket costs vary due to merit awards. Looking for different points of view based on the few bits of information listed, and your experience with one or more of the schools.</p>
<p>I would say SU then. It’s likely she will change her major and it sounds like the campus is more of a fit for her. The cost between her final 2 choices isn’t that big, but still not small. It would be hard to say SU at 40K more than Northeastern though. What about travel costs or are those included in the final costs?</p>
<p>travel - yes and no. NEU - 1 hour, RPI - 2.5 hours, SU - 4.5 hours. Our son is attending SU, so they’d have 2 yrs overlap…kind of cancels out the longer trip factor.</p>
<p>We spoke with her about switching majors would be easier at SU (13 colleges), NEU (at least 8). She listened and added if she switches, it would be something technical/math oriented. Without saying “RPI”, she was talking that angle.</p>
<p>No I didn’t ask about the discount. But we have an appointment with the financial aid folks at both upcoming visits to SU and NEU. We did the same at RPI (already visited) and got a boost in merit after supplying other awards. I’ll add that to the list when we visit SU. thanks.</p>
<p>If she does go with civil she will have to sit for a licensing exam. What is the success rate at each school for passing the exam?</p>
<p>RPI is also a quiet campus and is really top notch in all of her areas of interest. It is also close to another college in that town, can’t remember the name, so she would have exposure to non engineering types as well.</p>
<p>RPI’s campus seemed pretty quiet and secluded to me, but I haven’t seen Syracuse. I had a friend whose daughter went to RPI and they ended up giving her even more merit aid after her first year. I agree that if she knows she’ll stay in math or science, worrying about changing majors is probably not a big issue. RPI has a big consortium of colleges they belong to: [Consortium</a> Colleges : Office of the Registrar, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute](<a href=“Academic Planning | RPI INFO”>Academic Planning | RPI INFO)</p>
<p>The students I know who attend Northeastern love it. The campus has quiet areas, and I wonder if she is just not used to a city, but might come to love Boston. Has she spent much time in Boston? Would another visit help?</p>
<p>Is she interested at all in their coop program (5 years to graduate, but lots of great work experience).</p>
<p>Northeastern is kind of up and coming these days, and the honors program would be a good challenge. The honors kids get beautiful new dorms at NEU.</p>
<p>It’s great that she got financial aid. And it is an hour away from home, far enough but not too far, convenient and helpful for many with the transition.</p>
<p>Why does she want to be an engineer? It sounds like she is strong in math and science areas, so perhaps she will stay with it, but since so many don’t, it is nice to have other options.</p>
<p>You would have to ask…but I don’t believe SU offers a “sibling discount”.</p>
<p>NEU is located in a very nice campus area in Boston. The campus itself is in the city…with all the nice amenities of Boston…but is really campus like.</p>
<p>RPI is located in a much smaller city than Boston. The student we know who have been there have loved it.</p>
<p>SU is a school you know. It would certainly be convenient to have both kids in the same spot for a couple of years…but I would not let that be the driving decision maker here…kids are different…and we have known more than one who did NOT want to attend the school their sib attended (even though they applied there…they wanted to really consider the other options).</p>
<p>I think Northeastern has the edge, and not only monetarily. Boston is a fantastic college town. And if she has any interest in things like art and music, it has great resources for them, also. In addition, there is the coop program to consider.</p>
<p>My daughter was a civil engineering major and chose a school not on your list, but she wishes she would have looked harder at Northeastern because of the coop program. My oldest daughter went to Syracuse, not in engineering, and loved everything but the weather (We live in Texas) Congratulations on having some great choices!</p>
<p>Northeastern would be great if she likes the co-op program, but it is a tad urban. Very well rounded and is becoming increasingly selective. RPI is well known for engineering. You can’t go wrong with either one. I don’t know much about Syracuse’s engineering program, but the school overall (besides newhouse) is less prestigious than NEU and RPI, add in the fact that it’s most expensive, I would cross it off. </p>
<p>I think the important thing here will be her impressions after visiting (especially NEU).</p>
<p>I echo RPI. We just returned from a campus visit and my daughter was impressed. They have a top notch engineering program. There is a ton of school pride.lots of kids in their Rensselaer garb (we have not seen this the many campuses we’ve visited)… many very friendly students, lots of interaction between the students. Troy was much nicer than we expected. The students are intellectual and there were posters up for an upcoming student gov election… they were snarky, clever and quite funny! Ben and Jerry’s was having their free cone day so, we stood in line and chatted with alot of students. The school food we had for lunch was quite good. Lastly, my d requested to have lunch with a female student and she met a very helpful young lady who answered ALL of her questions. </p>
<p>Congrats to your d. What a great position she is in to be able to choose between 3 excellent schools! Good luck to her!</p>
<p>Northeastern’s integral co-op should be considered – either she likes it and goes there, or does not like it and crosses it off the list.</p>
<p>Between RPI and Syracuse for engineering, RPI is generally considered better, plus it costs less for you. That seems like an obvious choice, unless she seems likely to change her major to something in the humanities or social studies (which are very limited at RPI).</p>