<p>My son has the choice I describe.
Georgia Tech wins hands down if you look at the rankings, but RPi is a smaller school and seems to be a better fit for him. Advice?</p>
<p>you can get a stellar engineering education at both so I suggest that he goes to the one that is a better fit for him.(aka RPI) somethings you may want to consider is that rpi’s reputation is really only very strong in the northeast as opposed to Georgia tech’s which is very strong everywhere. If you are looking for connections on the west coast or abroad, gt would be better, but if your son plans on staying in the northeast(particularly mass and ny) than rpi wld be better.Both schools consistently put out top notch engineers and are recruited heavily from by top companies so your son cant really go wrong with either choice. I hope this helps (btw im going to gt next year and am only a senior so if any of the above is inaccurate I apologize, but ive gathered that info from various sources)</p>
<p>(I’m a dad who has 25 years in the engineering industry). Both schools have excellent reputations nation-wide in the engineering world. I have worked with very bright and capable engineers from both schools. If he is a better fit at RPI, IMO, that is where he should go.</p>
<p>RPI has a good reputation, but like martini said, that reputation is heavily concentrated in the Northeast. As you move away to places like Chicago, Texas, and California, less and less people will know the school.</p>
<p>That said, you’re right that GT is very easy to transfer into, so that doesn’t completely shut the door if he goes to RPI.</p>
<p>CFB53B is right, RPI has a great reputation in the NE area. </p>
<p>@1214mom: Has your son visited either campus? They are complete opposites of each other! I’d strongly recommend trying to get to see at least one of them before making a decision. I know that I’ve been accepted to both GATech and RPI for this fall as a transfer, and I just don’t think I could live in Troy (but it’s a matter of personal preference)</p>
<p>My son visited both and really liked them both. I like them both also, but I see RPI as a better fit for him. I think the main reason he likes GT is the ranking, and I think they are both outstanding schools. he received close to 25K in scholarship from RPI and NOTHING from GT, so I think it makes sense to start at RPI, and if he hates it to transfer, assuming they let him in. I do worry about Troy vs Atlanta, but it sounds like they get great coops and internships outside of Troy. He also has allergies and I understand Atlanta is tough in that regard.</p>
<p>AT the end of the day, my son chose RPI over Georgia Tech. Thanks to everyone for their input.</p>
<p>1214mom: congrats on his choice. Both are excellent schools and he should goto where he thinks he fits better.</p>