<p>I recently got into WPI, but am wondering how good really is it? Is it known just in the Northeast or nationally?</p>
<p>It's pretty good from my personal experience. But the quality of the school is all relative to what you're interested in and what other schools you've gotten offers from. Look at how many faculty your school allocates to your major. Look at if they dedicate an entire building to the program (also take into account the size of the school).</p>
<p>I get the feeling that WPI is only well-known in the Northeast and that those that graduate from WPI are only hired in the Northeast, but I hope I am wrong</p>
<p>Thanks for the comments, I'm interested in electrical engineering or mechanical engineering</p>
<p>
[quote]
I get the feeling that WPI is only well-known in the Northeast and that those that graduate from WPI are only hired in the Northeast, but I hope I am wrong
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Probably not. Among lay people WPI is unknown pretty much everywhere, but it draws strong engineering firms to its career fairs, so it has enough reputation where it counts. </p>
<p>But then again, lay people really don't know about any small schools, other than HYPMS.</p>
<p>I think that the companies that recruit at the school is a pretty impressive list. Starting salaries look very good. And, graduate admissions are also strong. WPI is not a name that the average layman knows but among those who matter, I think it is well regarded.</p>
<p>My hubby and I are both alum's. Now our son is probably going to WPI (after a "small letter" from Olin which was his first choice, but he seems to be over that disappointment and planning, or should I say scheming, with his probable roomate-to-be at WPI...). </p>
<p>I can tell you that WPI is a great school and it also does have a good reputation throughout the country, but as Shelley14 mentioned that is with those who are looking specifically for an engineer who is competent and can think on their feet. General public in the midwest or west doesn't even know how to pronounce it properly...</p>
<p>I can tell you after being dumped into a pool of engineers upon graduation that I was the only one in the group at that time that knew how to manage a project and step back from the minutia to grasp the "big picture". In my engineering pool were those from U of Mich, MIT, VA Tech and Texas A&M. The education has changed a bit, but the focus is still the same - put out competent engineers. The project experiences give you a different dimension than the typical engineer grad. It will get a company's attention upon graduation and is probably why WPI has such a great job placement rate. It is also more FUN to learn through doing and for that reason, if I had it to do all over again (and was going to stay the engineering track), I would choose WPI.</p>
<p>The only issue we're having here in this house is the price of that education... But we'll find a way to make it work. And it will be cool to have a son there as a Freshman during Homecoming's rope pull while we're there celebrating our 25th reunion... "Priceless", as they say...</p>
<p>I was hoping to hear from an Alumni or someone credible, thanks a lot for the response Skit.</p>
<p>S is a Junior at WPI and we are very impressed with the quality of companies that show up at the job fair. I have seen several lists that rank WPI as the 9th best school in the country for getting grads jobs. That is exciting!</p>