<p>My son has been accepted to WPI with a GPA = 3.4 and ACT = 32. He is leaning towards attending WPI in the Fall of 2014. He did not have a strong freshman year in HS but grades have consistently improved. He also attends a HS that is rated one of the top in our state. </p>
<p>I am concerned about the difficulty of the courses at WPI. I hope he is not taking on more than he can handle. I know they have a very high retention rate of 96% which is excellent.</p>
<p>I would like to know how difficult you or your child found the course load at WPI?</p>
<p>This is such a hard question to answer since everyone has a different experience. There are a lot of variables including major, use of AP credits, study habits, etc. My daughter is a sophomore and did very well adjusting to the workload. The 4 terms are nice in a way because students generally only take 3 courses at a time. The flip side of that is that the courses are taught at an accelerated pace, so if a student is prone to procrastination, they may have more difficulty. </p>
<p>If you are concerned about the transition to freshman year in college, I would think carefully about whether or not to use AP credits. The curriculum is set up so that students can start in calc 1, chem 1, physics 1, etc and still graduate on time. My daughter ended up using AP credit in math but not in the sciences, feeling that if the courses were easy and mostly reviewed things she already knew, it would make her transition to college that much easier. </p>
<p>There is also help available for students. The tutoring center is well staffed by students who go through a surprisingly challenging application process. Professors have office hours and are genuinely helpful and happy to see students (this is how my daughter not only passed her first programming class, but managed to get an A!). Other students are also helpful - it’s a very collaborative environment. From the sounds of it, there are many formal and informal study groups going on all the time. </p>
<p>Most students who a) start with intro level classes rather than using a lot of AP credit, b) develop good study habits and don’t procrastinate and c) make use of the resources offered, end up doing just fine. </p>
<p>Good luck to your son!</p>
<p>Parents of sons know that study habits are difficult to instill, and procrastination is a given. I’ve had the same questions as the OP.</p>
<p>My daughter is a senior and she has always been a big procrastinator. She has done well with the 7 week terms as, from a parent’s perspective, as the accelerated pace doesn’t allow for much procrastination. You always seem like something is coming due. She did have many a late night (early morning!!!) finishing her assignments, but that to me is just a right of passage thing for all college students.</p>
<p>She found that WPI was a mostly easy transition from high school. Like most colleges, they do take it easy at first on the incoming freshmen. Right from the start, she had a roommate that was taking similar program and they took a lot of classes together. That helped her form a study group with her and a few others, which is the best way to approach taking classes in college.</p>
<p>@snowdog Oh trust me, I know. I have a son who is a senior in high school and may very well be joining the WPI class of 2018. He is a big time procrastinator and lacks the organizational skills that his sisters have. WPI will either teach him to stop putting things off so much or he will become the master of the all nighter. </p>