<p>Can someone advise as to the possibility of success for my son at RIT in engineering-- he was accepted into the Engineering Exploration curriculum. With a look at the freshman trimester lineup including 4 courses of calculus in the freshman year through calculus of several variables, I am very concerned. He has no honor classes or calculus in high school, and a 600 on his math SAT. That saying "RIT -- easy school to get into; hard school to stay in" has me concerned. He was also accepted to U Maine and U St. Thomas</p>
<p>There is a cause for concern. Even with former calc experience, RIT's engineering program is rigorous and challenging. A lot of motivation is going to be required to overcome the disadvantage of having no higher level classes in high school.</p>
<p>I think he should go to the most challenging school that accepts him. </p>
<p>RIT's engineering middle 50th percentile is about 1270-1360 (might be a little off though). So while he would be at a disadvantage going into the school, he wouldn't be totally screwed. </p>
<p>But - that said - I've seen lots of math turnarounds. I used to have pretty bad math grades B-C but then got turned around and started taking Calculus/DiffEQ, and I enjoyed the material a lot more. I'm still not a brilliant mathematician, but I take a lot of pleasure in the workload. </p>
<p>Math gets better as you get further a long. It gets more exciting and more intriguing. Sometimes I get the feeling that it's just one big interconnected puzzle that no one's solved, since things seem to tie together in such a bizzare way that often exceeds my comprehension. Totally unrelated concepts draw together in amazing ways. </p>
<p>Does he not like math? If that's the problem, I'd advise trying to get him to take calculus and DiffEQ over the summer at a community college.</p>
<p>Right now, he doesn't mind math; he really likes physics. He just really thinks he wants to be an engineer. I have the impression of engineers as being the guys who catch on really quick to things, and he takes more time.</p>
<p>He is in AP French; I would like him to go into international relations and languages, so I guess he might have that as a fallback at RIT. </p>
<p>But the other thing that concerns me is that kids seem to be so miserable there? Anybody have a first hand experience?</p>
<p>My sister goes to RIT and she's quite happy - although statistics don't necessarily paint that picture. RIT has a retention rate for freshman of about 60%, so people are leaving for some reason. </p>
<p>Engineers have to be able to think about problems and find solutions, although I think that it's much less tied to intelligence than say math. If he likes Physics, he'll probably love engineering - since most engineering is just applying physics to design.</p>
<p>Thanks for the statistic al6200 -- 60% is pretty alarming. I would think that the administration would be working hard to address such a horrific retention rate., although I understand there is not much you can do about awful weather!</p>
<p>The real reason is the quarter system, and the admissions process. RIT admits a lot of students, and their engineering student make-up is statistically less prepared than that of other colleges. </p>
<p>So if a student comes to college, not prepared for the challenge, the quarter system is utterly without mercy. If you flunk the first test, there's no way to get a B/A in the class. </p>
<p>Good thread on the issue: </p>
<p>Also, some kids go on coops, love getting paid, and leave school to work fulltime.</p>
<p>I think your son will have a tough time at ANY engineering program without having calc classes. Calc classes at RIT are very small, which should help your son. I remember taking calc with about 300 students at a large state school and being glad it was basically a refresher class for me (not a great way to learn calculus). Just warn him to get help quickly if he needs it. 10 weeks go by very fast, with exams every couple weeks. RIT has some learning communities for freshman, where small groups of incoming students take 3 classes/qtr together. Makes it easier to form friendships, study groups, etc. Usually grouped by major so there may be one offered to engineering students. My DD was asked to be in one her 1st yr (could have declined) but it turned out to be a good thing. The kids opted to stay in it for 2nd qtr, maybe even 3rd (can't remember).</p>
<p>Thanks for the post jerzgrlmom. I am glad that there is someone with something positive to say about RIT for the "B" student. My son works hard, is self disciplined and regularly goes for help, so I am not concerned that way. However, I am starting to think he might be overwhelmed at RIT in classes with a lot of kids who catch on much faster than he does. </p>
<p>He is an excellent swimmer, and he has been asked to swim for RIT too. Only 9 days before we have to decide... just a little stressful!!!</p>
<p>What other schools are you looking at? </p>
<p>My final choice is RIT vs. WPI</p>
<p>I'm in a similar situation. RIT vs. WPI vs. IIT. My mom and grandparents are driving me insane. They really want me to go to wpi, but they just don't understand that I was waitlisted there and need to pick from IIT, RIT and Clark. I was really considering 3/2 program at Clark, but now I just want to get away from all of them. WPI and Clark are like 5 minutes from my grandparents house and 1 hour from my house. The problem that I have with RIT is that campus life seems boring. I really liked their engineering program, but there just isn't anything to do there. I also didn't like the campus either, with the residential side being way out there. Don't want to walk that far in the winter.</p>
<p>Other schools he is accepted at -- University of Maine - Orono, University of Saint Thomas, Hartwick College, Virginia Tech, Clarkson. Wide disparity of choices but they are all schools that either have NROTC or swimming. (Virginia Tech is a problem because they are too fast in swimming; Clarkson and Hartwick are problems because they have no NROTC; ).. UMaine has a mediocre swim program and St Thomas is too far. Wish we liked RIT better!!</p>
<p>WPI is a very good school. It has better students than RIT and has a much higher graduation rate. The percentage of engineering students at RIT who graduate from engineering (without transferring to a different major) is probably less than 50%.</p>
<p>It's about 50% for computer engineering, btw CollegeHelp do you hate RIT for some reason? Or do you just have a very tier-centric mentality?</p>
<p>al6200-
No I don't hate RIT at all. I like RIT a lot. I am from Rochester and a lot of kids from my town went to RIT...smart kids.</p>
<p>So, I have read a lot about RIT and hear things about it through the grapevine.</p>
<p>I think the 60% is a graduation rate, not a freshman retention rate, btw. Still pretty low but about the same as schools similar to RIT like Drexel and Northeastern. </p>
<p>I just wanted to point out that WPI is better quality. So is IIT better than RIT. Based on SATs. Clarkson has a higher graduation rate than RIT. These things are important to know when you choose a college.</p>
<p>Do you go to RIT?</p>
<p>colleghelp,
your RIT posts are usually negative - I was wondering the same as al6200.</p>
<p>There are many factors which make a school a "better" choice. I think the importance a student places on those factors depends on the unique personality/likes/dislikes of the student involved - so I would disagree that WPI is a better school because SATs are higher or Clarkson is a better school because the grad rate is higher. Clarkson is better for some students, while WPI and RIT are better for others.</p>
<p>My dd just finished her 3rd year at RIT and knows only one student who left RIT - and that was a design student who transferred to RISD. OTOH, she knows numerous students who transferred into RIT. While admittedly not the most social school (RPI and WPI have a similiar rep), she has found more than enough friends to hang out and live with. She and her friends have been able to maintain high GPAs while working and/or playing a sport at RIT. She has many friends in other majors, including engineering. </p>
<p>Although she would much rather be at RIT than CMU or WPI or Clarkson, I wouldn't say RIT is a better school. It's simply a better choice for her. She and her friends didn't settle for RIT. My son won the Rensselaer Medal and the Bausch and Lomb Award from URochester. While he did consider UR, he wouldn't even visit RPI. He simply had no interest in the school - but we still consider it a good school and we know students who are thriving there. We also know students who are enjoying CMU and WPI. </p>
<p>collegehelp, your posts just seem very biased. Information is helpful. Your slant can be misleading to new readers.</p>
<p>No, I go to WPI. But it was a very close choice between WPI, RIT, and Rose Hulman (my first choice was Hopkins, but I got WL there). Just curious, but where did/do you go? </p>
<p>My sister, however, does go to RIT for medical illustration. And when she choose schools, tiers/USNews wasn't a factor. In fact, her other top choice, MICA, was ranked #4 in the country for fine arts grad school, and top 10 for nearly all art-related majors. But she choose RIT because she felt that the program at RIT would prepare her for a real career, as opposed to MICA which would only teacher her the "art" approach. </p>
<p>Even though MICA was much higher tier, and better ranked for her major, she choose RIT because it had her same mindset and approach toward learning. </p>
<p>I honestly agree with you that tiers (what you call quality, which IMO isn't the right word since quality is subjective) are real and significant, but I don't believe that they should be one's primary focus in one's college search. </p>
<p>For example, if someone is an "artist", and has that sort of mindset, RIT is probably a good choice. If someone is excited about optics, RIT has a lot of good research materials, and a generally solid program. </p>
<p>Or, let's say your choice is RPI vs. WPI. RPI is slightly higher tier (about 20 points higher on each SAT section), but WPI still has unique advantages - like the Worcester consortium that gives you access to #30 LAC Holly Cross College, something that you wouldn't get at RPI. </p>
<p>Tiers do give you a general idea of a school's quality, but each person values different things in a school, so money aside tiers often do not give one a sufficient picture to make a decision.</p>
<p>RIT is an excellent school for photography and art. They also have the rather unique school for crafts where you can learn pottery, woodworking, weaving, glass blowing, and so on. I think they have programs in manufacturing. They are building a huge Barnes and Noble on campus.</p>
<p>RIT is a good school. It has grown a lot...lots of construction every time I drive by.</p>
<p>I just want people to make informed decisions and consider alternatives before deciding.</p>
<p>al6200: I don't know if this is true or not, and I was wondering if you could clear this up for me, but what from I heard, WPI kids get screwed when trying to take advantage of the consortium, because of the fact that WPI is on the quarter system and all other colleges in the consortium are on a semester system. I guess that WPI students have to end taking an extra class 1 quarter or something, so they could end up taking 4. Is this true?</p>
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al6200: I don't know if this is true or not, and I was wondering if you could clear this up for me, but what from I heard, WPI kids get screwed when trying to take advantage of the consortium, because of the fact that WPI is on the quarter system and all other colleges in the consortium are on a semester system.
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<p>Well, yeah. The breaks won't line up, and it's a relative hassle to get signed up for a class. But I plan on doing it at least a couple of times at my stay at WPI - the opportunity to take classes at a top liberal arts college is just something that I don't want to pass up. </p>
<p>In light of the scheduling draw backs, only 50 or so kids at WPI (it's a school of 3000 students)</p>
<p>
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I guess that WPI students have to end taking an extra class 1 quarter or something, so they could end up taking 4. Is this true?
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<p>A quarter class at WPI is equivalent to a semester class at Holy Cross (WPI classes meet more frequently, longer hours). </p>
<p>So yes, you'd either have to take two semester classes at the given college, or taken an extra quarter class at WPI.</p>