HELP! Professional and intelligent opinions needed desperately!!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Almost every school to which I applied accepted me. However, I'm planning to attend either two of the 11 schools in total: Rochester Institute of Technology or Clarkson University. Going to either school is fine with me, so it all comes down to campus life, financial assistance, etc. Clarkson has a lot to offer in terms of money; basically, with the financial aid package I've received, I can use it all to cover all expenses for one whole year at the school. RIT, on the other hand, has much less to offer; total expenses exceed total financial award by about $5,000 excluding the estimated net annual charge (which is another $5,000 - roughly $2,000 more than that in Clarkson). My family isn't that fortunate - both of my parents make $30,000-$40,000 together annually (forgot exact amount) - so one thing I'm sure of is that I should really consider the costs of attending each school.</p>

<p>I've read dozens of reviews throughout this past week. Some say that it is very dull and boring in Clarkson due to the cold weather, pointing out that entertainment is essential to success. Others say that Clarkson has an excellent study program, and the most interesting is that statistics at Clarkson's website show that over the recent years, a very high percentage of graduating students got a job or went to a graduate school within 6 months of graduation. As for RIT, people, most of whom know both Clarkson and RIT and their differences well, have said that they'd prefer RIT over Clarkson because, apparently according to them, RIT offers better classes and a higher campus quality.</p>

<p>Clarkson ranked No. 124 among the best undergrad schools in a national ranking by US news. RIT was ranked No. 8 as one of the best graduate schools in the Northeast. In addition, according to a foreign source (which apparently was in English) that my parents found in the Internet, RIT was ranked much higher than Clarkson as an Engineering school (my major is Software Engineering) - MIT was #1 in the list, if you were curious.</p>

<p>With all of that said, I need your sincerest, most honest, intelligent, and detailed opinion on the matter. Which school would you recommend me to go? If you have any personal experience, I'd be very glad if you could share it with me. Thank you for spending a little bit of your time trying to help out a troubled high school senior.</p>

<h2>EDIT: I forgot to mention that one of the reviews I read pointed out that the library in Clarkson is lame and so it's not really worth going there.</h2>

2

<p>Dear poster: It sounds to me as though cost/finances are an important issue with you, and that Clarkson has an advantage in this regard. If this is so, I would not hesitate to go to Clarkson.<br>
From the point of view of at-large reputation, the two schools are very similar. I have been in engineering for about 25 years, and the company I work for hires from both schools, but probably tends to hire more Clarkson graduates. From my observation, Clarkson grads tend to be well-trained, do very well in industry, and (depending on their INDIVIDUAL capabilities) are accepted to and do very well in top graduate programs. One distinguishing feature of RIT vs. Clarkson is that RIT seems more focused on practical career preparation right out of undergrad school, while Clarkson is more "middle of the road" in that regard (i.e., immediate employment vs. grad school are not emphasized one way or the other).<br>
Quality of life is an individual thing. I have heard that the Clarkson campus has shortcomings, in terms of the library, dining facilities, etc. On the other hand, Clarkson grads I have actually talked to don't really complain much about it. Potsdam is relatively isolated and cold. Some people would go stir-crazy there, I guess. But my son is now a junior at SUNY Potsdam (5 minutes away from Clarkson), and I think he is having a very good time in Potsdam. He doesn't mind the cold, the town has everything he needs, and there are lots of on-campus activities to get involved with (I am sure this is also true at Clarkson). (For that matter, many activities at SUNY Potsdam are also available to Clarskon students as well, so you almost have 2-for-1 if you are considering things for students to do).
My further advice, particularly in this case, is to forget published rankings. I am actually out here in the working world, and as I have said, neither school has any significant advantage in terms of "rep", and in any case interviewers for engineering jobs are going to be looking at the individual (grades, activities, how well they interview) more than where they went to school. the son of a colleague of mine is a sophomore in Computer Engineering at Clarkson right now, and he is already being recruited by companies (hard even for me to believe, but true).
So to summarize, either school will probably be a good choice, but with the money issue to consider I would not hesitate to go to Clarkson.</p>

3

<p>Thank you very much weldon for your opinion!! Thanks to your honesty, I am really considering going to Clarkson. It was very alleviating to know your son and your colleague's son's experience at Potsdam. Again, thank you! Your help is highly appreciated!!</p>

4

<p>Wait, you mentioned that the financial aid package covered almost a full year for Clarkson. What about future years of college? Are there any provisions for financial aid beyond your freshman year?</p>

5

<p>They haven't mentioned anything about financial aid in the future years... and I didn't take the time to ask them. But yeah, the financial aid package from Clarkson basically covered all my expenses for a full year.</p>

6

<p>I'd... ask them about that. If you have to pay for the other three years, would it really be less expensive than the other option, which, if I'm reading this correctly, would pay less money for all four years?</p>

7

<p>My guess is that similar financial aid would be available to you for four years (no school wants to leave a student high-and-dry financially in the middle of their college years), but I agree you would be wise to check the details. Generally, need-based aid would be available as long as your academic standing remains acceptable; on the other hand, a lot of merit-based aid will require that you meet a higher standard, such as a minimum GPA.<br>
Once you've sorted everything out and made you choice, post your decision and let us know- I for one would be interested to hear.</p>

8

<p>Hi! Sorry for posting my reply late. I've decided to visit Clarkson before making a decision. I'll be leaving NYC tomorrow at very early in the morning and I won't be back in the city until late evening on the following day. I didn't think it was necessary to check out Clarkson's campus before deciding, but my parents kept pressuring me to do so because, apparently, they are a bit skeptical about my preferring Clarkson over RIT (They were convinced by their co-workers that RIT is essentially "better" than Clarkson). And I still haven't asked for information regarding my expenses and financial awards in the following years. I'm thinking in doing that later when I visit Clarkson. Thanks both of you for helping me out!! :)</p>