I’d go with Pitt. Solid school, good price, kids like it. Not sure about Fiske but we know kids there and they like it. Did you check career outcomes for engineers? I can’t speak to that part.
WPI is something I never heard of before looking at colleges this year (I am in technology field) but it does seem to have a good reputation and I have a coworker with two kids there who really enjoy it. But For 20K more a year…? I’d check career outcomes again but seems like your kid already narrowed it to these two and doesn’t have a strong preference and one will be a lot cheaper so I’d lean towards Pitt.
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I don’t think one will offer any more or better options than the other. They will just be different. How he will be educated and what his day to day experience as a college student will be will also be different.
I don’t know anything about Pitt other than it’s respected, and has a good honors program. It offers two things the rest don’t, big time athletics if that’s an important part of what he wants to experience in college, and the best value if that’s important to you.
Case and Cleveland both exceeded our expectations.
WPI was the one though that stole my son’s heart. He didn’t end up there, but he agonized until just before the deadline. The way they educate engineers is unique. The terms are short and much of the lab experience is replaced by collaborative big projects. It’s like having two, or even three senior projects. Those are valuable experiences when looking for a job. If study abroad is important to him, no one does it better for engineers than WPI. They have projects all around the world that they drop students into. The mental health issue is a concern, but it is very new, probably related to Covid. It was not an issue at all when our son was vetting schools. In fact, quite the opposite. Students seems upbeat and palpably happy. Maybe it’s because their curriculum is so hands on that the pandemic disrupted their experience more than most. I’d certainly clarify with the school though as a concerned parent.
If they answer to your satisfaction, WPI would get my vote. There’s no wrong answer though, except Lehigh based on cost.
As for Civil vs. ME, that’s usually an easy one. Does he want to work on things that move or things that don’t? If he says he’s intrigued by both, then he’ll still have time to decide.
Congrats to him and you!
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I can completely relate to the concern about what happens at WPI if he decides he doesn’t want to study engineering. My son is down to Case (with 31.5k merit - so probably a similar cost to you - and just over the budget we set - in theory he’s eligible for the “$1000 - $2000” NMF but I’m not sure how that works with stacking at Case) and Purdue (probably will come in at 41k - NMF is $500 per year) and the concern at Purdue is similar. Not that Purdue doesn’t offer these options - but that reputation, etc. might not be that strong. We have taken a deep dive into placement for jobs, reputation of Purdue and feel confident about it for engineers and feel that the FYE program is right for my son as he’s also not sure - leaning toward mechanical, maybe aero, and has a first love of civil (but knows it’s a less lucrative choice). I know you’ve ruled out Purdue, but I put this to show what we’ve been looking at, researching.
Case allows so much access to non-engineering classes, including allowing dual majors and minors. We are heading back to Case next week and I can report back more about the specifics with engineering, etc. What I do like about Case is the levels of support built in - there are three different mentors, including the “navigator.” On paper I feel comfortable that my student’s needs would be met, particularly as he’s not the best self advocate, but he doesn’t have an IEP and I haven’t looked into supportive services. I remember that the intro. engineering classes are in the largest room and can be up to a couple hundred kids. I’ll pay more attention next week when we’re there. It’s interesting that there’s something intangible telling your son CWRU isn’t right. We’ve been seeing a lot of things where it shows that it’s hard to find a party, the kids are kind of curmudgeons, Case wasn’t their first choice, etc. For my quiet kid socializing will be hard enough even with so many options for fun (like at Purdue) so that worries us. I think my son is looking at our trip next week as a way to study the other admitted students - to see if he feels he’d be comfortable among them. I do know the freshman dorms leave a bit to be desired (and it’s hard to compare when the honors freshman dorm at Purdue is brand new and beautiful and air conditioned). Not the end of the world, but we’ll be looking out. If I forget to report back - remind me!
A good friend’s daughter is at WPI and is thriving. But her world feels a little small. She’s a runner and on the team and spends ALL her time with runners. She moved off campus with a teammate for her sophomore year. They cook for themselves, etc. She’s happy and experiencing success as an athlete. She’s in STEM but not an engineer - she’s pre-vet. She has felt like she’s had good access to professors and while it took a moment to adjust to the pace, has enjoyed the 7 week terms.
Another friend’s daughter, biomedical engineer, is super excited about Pitt, but hasn’t started yet so I don’t have much to add, except there’s definitely a buzz here among my son’s peers in NY that Pitt is up and coming and will be a super exciting place to be. We walked through it when we visited Carnegie Mellon and it was impressive. It’s definitely urban. For my son honors is really an important factor - particularly a residential option and potentially access to smaller classes. I’d dig into Pitt and what honors gets you. It sounds like a strong option. I’m sorry I don’t have more info.
I wish I had more to add and help. Keep us posted!
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Congratulations to your S on his acceptances.
I lean Pitt as well, and wouldn’t have another thought about the Fiske star rating. It has the most school spirit of the schools on the list, in a good city, and lots of potential majors should engineering not be his thing, or he wants to take on a minor.
I would encourage your S to listen to his gut about CWRU, it’s ok to eliminate schools that way when you have other choices that meet your criteria. I would drop Lehigh because of cost (BTW Men’s crew is not an NCAA sanctioned sport, so it works differently wrt scholarships. Yes some schools still give scholarships for men’s crew, but it’s a hard get.)
For WPI, I understand his concerns that there is less non-Stem breadth, and of course many are concerned about the recent suicide cluster there, so it’s normal to have that in one’s mind when considering all factors.
Good luck, he will do great no matter what school he chooses!
I think Pitt sounds like your best option. Great city, nice urban campus, big time sports,good academics, best price. Did your son end up declining VT’s waitlist? If he didn’t and he gets off the waitlist, I would consider taking another look at Virginia Tech. Maybe it would
grow on him once accepted! Good luck with the decision!
My honest guess is that the 2 star QOL rating is a typo. Fiske says on page xxiv that if any school gets less than a 3 in a category, the reason will be obvious and clearly spelled out in the narrative description. Yet their narrative of Pitt contains almost nothing but praise! The narrative does mention that a very problematic dorm access shortage of the past has been fixed. It makes me wonder if an old edition gave them 2 stars in QOL due to that shortage, but that after Pitt fixed the problem, Fiske updated the narrative but overlooked fixing the stars. A new edition comes out this summer, and we shall see. Seriously though, I would not worry about it; I know some very happy Pitt grads.
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Everyone I know at Pitt loves it there. My vote based on what’s still in the running would also be Pitt but your son should follow his gut. You can’t go wrong with any of these schools.
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The very most important advice for any student searching for a school.
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Congrats @OctoberKate! Your son has some amazing options!! Agree with the others, it looks like he really can’t go wrong - yay!! 
We haven’t visited (my D was waitlisted), but I would’ve thought Case was your son’s best match based on all I’ve read about the school, virtual sessions etc. However, I totally agree that:
So if it really was something about the school overall and not just, say, that he wasn’t as impressed with the crew on your visit that is “telling him it’s not right,” then it sounds like it should come off the list. If he can’t articulate something specific that you can determine is or is not a specific concern you can discuss/consider, it may be something about the overall vibe that’s just off to him, and that to me would be reason enough not to go.
Of the remaining schools, I’d put Lehigh at the top of the list (assuming merit comes through) based on how you described your son’s feelings for it. When he appeals the merit, maybe mentioning that it is his top choice will help? And even if it is known as a party school (I don’t know if it is), I imagine the engineering/STEM kids keep their noses in their books enough that I wouldn’t be too concerned. In fact, I’d view having kids who are into partying as giving the school a good balance so that it’s not a total grind all the time.
It’s that kind of larger, more well-rounded student body that I think may be missing from WPI and what is giving me hesitation about WPI for my D too. I’d read so many amazing things about WPI and how so many kids finally found their people there, but wonder if that might contribute to the current mental health concerns. I’m totally speculating, but if everyone is always serious about academics and there aren’t enough who aren’t willing to just blow things off now and then, will the climate be too intense? I honestly have no idea, and we will be visiting WPI next month to get a better sense of what’s going on there.
The other issue with WPI as you mentioned is the potential lack of non-STEM options if he decides not to go into engineering. I’ve mentioned before that my D is very similar in that she’s pretty confident she wants do to something in STEM (right now it’s CS), but she is very interested in social sciences, humanities, etc, and might want to minor in one if not switch entirely. She’s reviewing schools she was accepted into to see which schools offer or don’t offer the other majors she’s currently interested in.
WPI and other tech schools she’s considering don’t offer neuroscience or astronomy or a ton of non-STEM offerings overall, so she may decide she won’t have enough options for her future self there. When we visit, I’m looking for her to say she really needs to attend, can’t imagine going somewhere else, etc. If not, I will encourage her to go where her options are broader.
So if Lehigh doesn’t work out, I’d think your best bet is Pitt. We are visiting next month in part because it seems like a really happy school (regardless of what Fiske rates – I agree, maybe it’s a typo?!) that ticks off so many needs/wants. Your son already seems to like it, the club team, school spirit, etc. Like your son, my D likes that it has a real breadth of possible areas of study, and they can try out random classes and possibly discover an interest they didn’t know they had. My D is waitlisted for Honors but I understand it’s very flexible and your son can decide to do as much or little of the Honors program as he wants.
At this point, if he still doesn’t have a clear winner, I’d suggest he just live with each option for a day or two. Tell himself “I’ve decided Im going to Pitt” and live with the “decision” for a few days. Then try a different school. See if he feels any regrets or excitement about each option.
Or if he still can’t decide, tell him you’ll rank them by cost and see how he reacts. If he still has no clear winner, then I’d go with the least expensive option. 
Again, congrats on the great possibilities!
Lehigh does list Case as a peer. You might be able to leverage his Case merit with them as a result.
https://confluence.cc.lehigh.edu/display/LTSHD/Lehigh+comparable+and+aspirational+peers
As for the breadth of majors at WPI, a student conflicted between civil and mechanical isn’t at all like @chrisntine’s student. There are many engineers that just know. My son knew when he was 13 or so when he decided conservatory wasn’t going to be the route. He settled on ME his junior year in HS. The only other major even in the running was particle physics. Don’t make the breadth of majors at WPI a problem if it really isn’t.
I think if this was an issue it would have presented itself long before Covid. It did at plenty of schools like MIT, Caltech, Mines, Cornell, HMC, etc., but it was never an issue at WPI until now.
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Good point, although I did think OP’s son was concerned about non-engineering options. But I also now remember your advice to me earlier that might also apply to OP-- the non-STEM interests don’t have to be learned or dabbled in via the WPI course catalog. There will likely be other opportunities to learn and stretch himself, including extracurriculars, online options on his own, even courses through the HECCMA consortium (although as noted, the WPI schedule won’t match the other schools so that may be tough).
Yeah, I’m not sure and was totally speculating. But I do read the WPI subreddit and WPI parent Facebook page and my sense is there were some issues bubbling under the surface pre-Covid that just really came to a head this past year. For some the intensity created a stress culture, for others it allowed them to thrive. I am so glad they are talking openly about mental health and work-life balance now and with a new admin hopefully the environment will improve for all students.
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That’s a great idea, and they list Pitt and RPI as peers too! (How do you find these lists? I’ve never seen one before).
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This is the case for men’s rowing at ALL schools. It is not an NCAA sponsored sport. Some schools do give ‘athletic scholarships’ but they are outside the athletic department NCAA budget. Some teams also have private scholarships for rowers.
My daughter went to a d2 school and the rowers had scholarships. The athletic director was the rowing coach so they got a LOT of benefits (better equipment, locker rooms, uniforms) other teams didn’t get.
WPI largely has a reputation as one of the least stressful engineering programs. The curriculum is designed to be very practical and they essentially don’t let students fail classes. The way I understand it, they won’t put a grade worse than C on a transcript. That’s what makes this recent development so surprising. I had a hard time wrapping my head around it. Definitely worth further investigation.
All that said, engineering is hard, everywhere. At some places it’s even harder simply based on the volume foist upon the students.
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Thank you everyone for taking the time to (a) read my rather long update and (b) give me such on point detailed responses!
He’s had a few more days of thinking since I posted, and it feels like his thoughts are coming together. He still really wants Lehigh - but only if we can get the cost down to where WPI or CWRU are (I mean, less would be better, but that’s not going to happen). So he wrote a solid letter last night asking for additional aid, and he included the aid packages that he’d received from CWRU, RPI and WPI since those seemed the most comparable in terms of college type. We’ll see if anything comes of that. The rowing coach at Lehigh has also reached out again to congratulate him on admittance - he had been pretty upfront with the coach during our summer visit about the need for merit aid, so he let him know how excited he is about the offer of admittance, but that he really does need some funding to make it feasible.
Other than that, it’s feeling like he’s starting to lean towards WPI. I told him not to tell CWRU no yet, even though it’s feeling dark-horse, because I want him to take some time to sit with each decision (as someone above noted). Frankly, given how much he is interested in Lehigh, I’m not sure I understand why CWRU has fallen so low on his list, as many of the pros of one are applicable to the other.
Regardless of whether he makes up his mind in the very near future, I think we are going to hold on until closer to the end of April - that will be somewhat anxiety inducing, but I’m still hoping that (a) some of the private scholarships he’s applied to may come through, which could affect this calculus and (b) if we wait until closer to the end, maybe he will get a bit more merit aid.
It is really unfortunate that he just can’t do accepted students visits with his rowing schedule this spring. He was so disappointed with the cancellation of his sophomore year (COVID) and the weird truncated junior year (again COVID) season, that he doesn’t want to miss a minute of his senior year season. We could do one visit, on Saturday April 9th, if we can basically get to the school and home between 8:00 Friday night and bed time on Saturday (his spring break starts Sunday, and it’s a week long Crew training camp out of state).
Anyway, thank you all so much as you’ve helped me noodle through this. I am trying to focus on the fact that these are all great options, and that he’ll likely be happy at any of them, so it’s really just trying to pick what fits him best all around.
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Subtle things can make a difference. I gave up trying to understand it when my so was looking, and just trusted that his gut would lead him in a decent direction in the end. Lehigh is more compact, and has a more classic, east coast campus feel. It has a lot of mature trees. It may simply be that.
My son waited until 2 days before the deadline to decide! I wanted to know just for closure, so the anticipation was tough. It was a good problem though as he’d been admitted to his top choices under budget.
Congrats on this good problem to have!
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Just my 2 cents, but I’d skip senior rowing events and go to admitted student days. I just got back from one over the weekend and the school was very different than I had envisioned after extensive research. Senior year will soon be a memory- you know how it is, it feels really important until you move on to the next stage of life.
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Congrats on the great options. Sometime in April there will be a moment of clarity and they just decide. I thought we would be at the end of April, but she made up her mind a few weeks earlier and did not want to discuss anymore pros and cons. Told us to stay on the highway when we were driving by one of the schools that had been on her list. Good luck!
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I wouldn’t do that. What if he goes to an admitted student weekend and hates the school AND has missed fun with his friends rowing at an out of town camp?
Back in the dark ages, we didn’t have accepted student weekends. We just went to college. it all worked out.
He has so many good options that he’ll find a good place AND enjoy a great week at rowing camp.
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I agree. Visiting after accepted is really not necessary if the student visited before applying. Setting foot on campus at some time though is very important in my eyes. I can’t remember from upthread if he has or not.
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