<p>My son has been accepted to Purdue, WPI, Pitt, and Maryland for mechanical engineering. Living in New York, we are confused as to which college would be the best choice. </p>
<p>Any feedback would be helpful.</p>
<p>WPI is a lot different from the others, so fit to the student’s learning style and preference can make it much better or much worse than the others.</p>
<p>The other major factor to consider is net price after financial aid and scholarships, and how much debt (if any) will be needed. Does he have other acceptances or pending decisions (including SUNYs)?</p>
<p>Have you visited each school? If not, you should.</p>
<p>If you have, then what were the pros and cons of each one…not just in regards to eng’g, but with the entire campus vibe, surroundings, etc?</p>
<p>And, importantly, if you’re willing to pay all costs, then that’s not an issue, but if you’re needing a good bit of aid, then that could be a problem. If money is a concern, have you run the Net Price Calculators on each site?</p>
<p>Going out to Purdue in a few weeks. He did a summer program at WPI and loves the intimacy and 7 wk semesters, but loves the vibe at a school like Pitt (football, city, etc). Only school so far to “show me the money” is WPI, so as of now the cost factor is the same. Waiting for proposals from other schools. He got into Binghamton too, but would appreciate an “out of NY” experience. Travel to Purdue is a bit of a pain (a negative), but the prestige and amazing program make it an attractive choice.</p>
<p>Sounds like he has conflicting desires - “the intimacy” of WPI versus the more exciting vibe of much bigger schools. That’s a tough conflict to reconcile, but not uncommon. Hopefully the campus visits will help. Purdue is the most highly ranked, but I would go with fit including financial fit! If he wants the big sports atmosphere where everyone goes to the big football game on Saturday, then WPI might not cut it, though it is pretty cool when they beat MIT!
My son chose WPI over a bunch of others but none as the big as the schools you listed (except for the in-state publics), so the final choice was easier for him. He preferred small-medium sized schools.</p>
<p>How about the University of Dayton. They have an excellent engineering program and really try to help out with financial aid.</p>
<p>Only school so far to “show me the money” is WPI, so as of now the cost factor is the same. Waiting for proposals from other schools</p>
<p>Aren’t Purdue’s merit scholarships listed on their website? If so, can you determine what he might get? </p>
<p>What is his GPA? What are his ACT and SAT scores? (M+CR is usually what’s used for merit consideration)</p>
<p>Are you willing to be full pay at Purdue, or do you have a max budget in mind? </p>
<p>UDayton does give merit scholarships, but I don’t know if their deadline has passed. You’d have to check. They have a scholarship grid on their website for certain stats.</p>
<p>Here is the scholarship grid. [Apply:</a> Undergraduate : University of Dayton, Ohio](<a href=“Apply Today : University of Dayton, Ohio”>Apply Today : University of Dayton, Ohio) Also,
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<p>We loved WPI on our visit. The students we met on campus were great ambassadors. Good feel. Compact and tidy campus felt intimate. Worcester is not a metropolis like Pittsburgh but it is a busy college town.</p>
<p>Skip Binghamtom. Not highly regarded for engineering. SB or UB should have been his SUNYs for this major.</p>
<p>Good luck Your son has great schools to choose from.</p>
<p>Dad - It’s great that you want to help him with this . . . but isn’t it time for him to start asking these questions himself? Wherever he ends up, he has to know it was HIS decision! He got himself admitted . . . he needs to figure it out.</p>
<p>Excuseme. is very responsible and is figuring it outhimself. However, as a parent who cares, I posted this on my own to get some feedback. By the way, he was accepted to SB and waiting on Buffalo.</p>
<p>robotboysdad;</p>
<p>My son will be graduating from UB this May (and had applied to and was accepted at all 15 schools he had applied to as a HS senior). Double major in Aerospance and Mechanical engineering and got a great education at UB. Summer internships (paid) as well as paid research on campus. Engineering club. etc… Three job offers upon graduation to which he accepted one already and they started him on a paid interhsip this Spring. Great Intership/Job fair each Fall on campus. </p>
<p>If your son is interested in UB, feel free to contact me with any questions or post on the SUNY UB thread. UB is known for great engineering and health science programs. </p>
<p>Good luck to your son.</p>
<p>Thanks. appreciate the offer</p>
<p>I would not be so quick to disregard Binghamton. Its engineering reputation is growing rapidly. My son chose it over UB (despite very generous merit scholarships from both the university and the engineering department at Buffalo) and has been very happy there. He is a junior now and has already had two paid internships. He is choosing between multiple internship offers for this summer and I have no doubt that he will field a variety of job offers upon graduation.</p>