Help! Son choosing between WPI and RIT for Early Decision School

[vwlizard]

@Bromfield2 - when did you work there? We live nearby and know lots of kids that love Worcester as a college town. I hadn’t really spent time there in years and recently visited with a friend. We were both shocked at how much there was to do and made plans to come back.

[trjeannette]

He decided to apply ED to WPI. He spent the day making a pro/con list about what he liked about each school, and the WPI list dwarfed the RIT list. But mostly it came down to a gut feeling. He really liked both schools when he visited, and i think he could be happy at both (and we’re keeping RIT as our ED2 school). But WPI just checked off so many boxes for him, especially in terms of the flexibility of the curriculum. RIT pretty much dictates what you will take each semester, which means he would have to take a number of art and web interface classes in which he has very little interest. Also, although Rochester was a nicer city, he preferred the immediate surrounding area around WPI, with small restaurants in walking distance of the school. And finally, I think the threat of snow six months a year was pretty daunting for him. It was a tough choice, but he felt really good about it. And I’m just relieved our ED and EAs are in!

[trjeannette]

Thanks so much for your thoughts. We did visit Clark, and while I liked it, my son didn’t vibe there as much. I think it was too liberal art focused for him.

Totally agree about the RIT food. The WPI food is also rumored to be pretty horrendous, even as college food goes! Thankfully he would only have to survive one year on the meal plan.

[happy1]

Thanks for the follow-up. Sounds like a thoughtful and wonderful choice. Wishing your S the best.

[MYOS1634]

Thabk you for the follow up and the reasoning -it’ll be very useful to future applicants pondering the same choices. Best of luck to him!

[DadTwoGirls]

@trjeannette

But mostly it came down to a gut feeling.

I think that this is the right way to make a choice. The student rationally compares the plusses and minuses, then just does whatever feels right. I do not think that there is any wrong choice here, just two right choices and the need to pick one.

Best wishes and hoping and expecting this will come out well one way or another.

[ColdWombat]

Thanks for updating us. That sounds like a great way to make a decision and I’m glad he feels good about it. In the event that he gets cold feet or changes his mind, don’t forget that he can always convert his application to ED2 or RD in the next month. Perhaps that will help him feel even more relaxed about his decision. Good luck and I hope you give us another update when he gets his admission in December.

[shmom41]

My S22 applied to both RIT and WPI - neither in the ED round. Got about the same merit from both leaving the COA very similar. I do remember thinking that even with good merit both schools were pretty expensive.
As far as the city of Worcester, I thought WPI was in a better area than Clark (Clark in a very scary area). And while I loved Holy Cross (truly a stunning campus), the campus was isolated on a hill with little to no places to walk. WPI definitely had the advantage with being in a better part of town and with walkable restaurants and stores .