Inaugural Rose forum post

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
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<p>Hello, everyone. I thought I'd kick off the Rose discussion forum with a few different ideas and questions/comments.</p>

<p>For anyone who's reading this and doesn't know much about Rose, here's some basic info. Rose is a very small engineering school (somewhere between 1600 and 2000 undergrads total) in Terre Haute, Idiana. It's well-known for its excellent undergraduate engineering teaching...it's been ranked number 1 for six years straight by US News and World Report in undergrad engineering among colleges that offer a BS or MS as their highest engineering degree.</p>

<p>I'm extremely interested in Rose because of its small size, excellent undergrad teaching reputation, and near-100% job placement rate (it's something crazy like 99% +). I applied earlier this year, and, because Rose uses a rolling admission policy, I was notified of being accepted pretty early on (class of 2009 representin'!!). I'm still applying to other places (GaTech, UI, MIT, etc.) because of their similarly excellent reputations.</p>

<p>I have a few questions for anyone who might know more about the school than I do. My main question is this: what exactly is Rose's reputation relative to the heavy-hitters in engineering, such as MIT, Georgia Tech, Cornell, Purdue, etc.? I know that many people think great things of it, but I'm not entirely sure where exactly it stands among the pecking order.</p>

<p>Is anyone here attending Rose, or has anyone graduated from Rose? I'm wondering what exactly the whole experience was like...I'd kinda like an insider's point of view.</p>

<p>And while I'm at it...any other class of 2009-ers here? Looking forward to possibly schooling with ya next year.</p>

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<p>Congrats wizard. Mind sharing your stats ? Rose is the ONLY school like it that D is applying to next year. Did you visit ? What can you tell us about campus feel? On rolling admissions , you've been accepted (I got that) ,but how do they handle the financial aid awards including scholarships ,if any?</p>

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<p>Here are my stats:
SAT I: Math 780, English 750
SAT II: Math IIC: 750, Bio 800, Writing 760
Weighted GPA around an A-</p>

<p>I'm posting from class, so I'll give my other info when I return.</p>

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<p>Crud. Didn't know this bbs doesn't allow editing. As I said, SAT I: 780M, 750V; SAT II: Math IIC = 750 (it was 710 when I sent in my app) Bio = 800, Writing = 760; Weighted GPA of about a 4.45....unweighted is around an A-</p>

<p>ACT: Composite 33, Writing 34, Math 35 (Sci and Reading stunk...I blame it on fatigue that morning ;) )</p>

<p>These stats are a little on the high side for Rose...I think the mean SAT this year was 1300 or thereabouts.</p>

<p>Yes, I did get a chance to visit Rose. It's a pretty neat place. But it's also very different from all the other colleges I visited, so be sure that you take your daughter to visit.</p>

<p>The campus is pretty small...probably the smallest campus of all I visited. The people at Rose were extremely friendly: we took the guided tour with only one other family, and the Civil E student who was doing the guiding was pretty cool...very funny, very kind, and quite enthusiastic about the school. Then we got to meet with one of the admissions people, and she was very helpful.</p>

<p>But Rose didn't feel like your typical college campus. I've visited Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Washington University, and others, and Rose definitely felt different...less like a college than anywhere else in terms of architecture and decoration and the types of activities and people I saw around me. Which brings up another point: a lot of the people there were very similar to me...which is awesome for people who want to really hone in on a specific area and culture.</p>

<p>In terms of financial aid...Rose gives both merit-based and need-based aid, I think...you can check out their web site for more details: <a href="http://www.rose-hulman.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.rose-hulman.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I still don't know whether I'm going...if it turns out that I get some scholarship money, I just may attend. I certainly think it's a great place.</p>

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<p>D is a Jr. and a bit of a math and science geek (affectionate term) . She scored in the top 1% of the PLAN, and scored a 69 on the math section of the PSAT as a freshman. She has a similar weighted GPA to you, and a 4.0 UW. She would be a chemistry-not chem e major, and possibly math. Interestingly she is also a near 6'0" athlete of some quality (two years of varsity ball already) and I would assume Rose has a little trouble fielding a competitive team from looking at their rosters. We have been to their website numerous times. Was the package they proposed to you a good one? They seem light on merit aid, light on grants,heavy on loans.</p>

<p>Your thoughts seem to suggest some of her fears are not without basis in fact. If not collegiate in feel, then what? Military? Hospital, industrial? Corporate? D has no interest in urban campuses and would prefer a rural school of 1000-7500 students with a heavy math, science bias with a substantial opportunity for undergrad research. We are not finding many. Any thoughts?</p>

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<p>I've not yet received my financial aid offer from Rose...that's coming after Christmas sometime. I don't remember what date they've set for it.</p>

<p>Looking at your daughter's stats, I'd imagine that she'll overqualify for Rose. If her PSAT score translates into high SAT I and II scores, and if she keeps those grades up, I doubt she'll have any problems getting in. And her ECs can't hurt. The fact that she's a girl will also help greatly.</p>

<p>In terms of the feel...I think you really just have to visit Rose, if that's an option. I didn't stay overnight, but I'm sure she could find someone who'd be willing to let her stay and get a feel of the place. It's certainly not an urban campus...it's quite isolated, away from the main city (town, really) of Terre Haute. Remember that this is primarily a teaching university, not a research university, and while I'm sure that there are opportunities for some undergrad research, that's not Rose's main goal. But the size is right, the location's right, and I am almost positive that the feel would be right for her, too...you can definitely tell that Rose is an engineering school, with its pretty basic architecture (with the exception of the chapel) and utilitarian facilities, geeky students, laptops strewn all over the place, etc. It's no Vanderbilt or Cornell in terms of a "college feel" by a long shot, but its academics more than make up for its lack of a college feel.</p>

<p>And I think you should also take my review with a large grain of salt...a block of salt, really. First of all, I only went for a campus tour and information session. I visited on a cloudy day. Also, I have a terrible memory for things like this, so I'm sure my recollections are not completely accurate. I think the best thing to do would be to go take a look yourself and see what you think.</p>

<p>If she's interested in other small engineering colleges, take a look at Harvey Mudd and the Olin College of Engineering. They're apparently very comparable to Rose. If she's willing to forfeit the rural campus and small size idea, I'd tell her to give Georgia Tech, University of Illinois, Rice, and Cornell a try. And hey...it's always a good idea to reach for the stars and apply to an MIT or Stanford or UC Berkely (sp?).</p>

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<p>I really appreciate your posts. Rose is a school that D is trying to love. We will visit but I bet the lack of the collegiate feel will be the death knell. The search will go through Terre Haute ,but God only knows where she will end up. She's really quite a bit pickier than I was, but then she will have much better stats ,too. She's really looking for CMU or Case or Rice or JHU but in the boondocks with a traditional residential college feel, not really engineering only- just heavy math and science. Good luck in your search.</p>

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<p>Well, don't let any presuppositions mar her view of Rose when she visits...make sure that she takes the school for what it is, not what she thinks it will be or what some random guy on the Internet said it would be like. Pretty much everyone I've talked to who has gone to Rose has loved it, and it's because the community is EXTREMELY tight-knit, very like-minded, and is much more team-oriented than competition-oriented. </p>

<p>It's a challenging place with an emphasis on engineering, but you can also take minors in a range of subjects. Even if it doesn't have that "college feel," (and I'm SUCH a bad judge about whether it has one or not...don't take my word for it) the positives GREATLY outweigh the negatives for me.</p>

<p>One final word: I'd encourage her to email some girls currently attending Rose to get their take on it. I'm a guy, and my view of the place was probably skewed by my guy-ness.</p>