Hi, I got a flyer today from WPI and I’m curious to why it’s 67% male. I’m a female and I’m wondering if it’s because they have a bad rep for women or just a coincidence. Anyone know?
I do not think it’s a bad reputation nor coincidence. I think it’s the historical lopsidedness of STEM/tech schools that have attract more males than females. (Kind of similar to how LAC’s have more females than males.) I don’t think WPI’s %'s are that different from other tech schools with the exception of Mudd and MIT that are more balanced. If you research WPI’s fantastic website, you can find more information on how they support women. With the rising tide of interest in STEM fields nationwide, I think there are more females applying to these type of colleges. I would encourage you to not rule WPI out!
@hideinplainsight brings up many good points.
Another way to think about it is that fewer women than men apply to engineering school. It is also true that fewer qualified women apply than qualified men (partly because women are discouraged from engineering in the US). MIT has a wider reach than WPI and has many more interested qualified students than it can accept. Therefore, MIT can design their student body to meet any composition they desire without compromising on quality. WPI does not have this luxury.
Most state or larger private universities have a variety of programs and can therefore have a more balanced composition.
That being said, there are many clubs at WPI that encourage women in engineering such as WECE and WICS. There are > 1000 women at WPI , so you can have many women friends. Many women in WPI do very well and if you otherwise like WPI, don’t let the ratio discourage you from applying. The gender imbalance does have some consequences on campus life, but not that much.
My daughter went to WPI (she graduated in 2014). She studied mechanical engineering. She did enjoy her time at WPI.
It seems as though WPI is trying to get more women to attend but it is just the nature of engineering schools that more men apply than women. From WPI’s latest common data set, there were 7541 men who applied and 2692 women for admission beginning in the fall of 2014. Roughly about half of both the men and women who applied were offered admission. MIT student population is roughly 50/50 but they admit a higher percentage of women than men to achieve that. (not saying that the women are less qualified, just there are fewer who apply)
WPI’s new president is very impressive.
http://www.wpi.edu/offices/president.html
She also happens to be the first woman president of the University in its 150 year history. I would not let the current percentages discourage you from looking at the school.
Maybe she can follow the Maria Klawe model from Harvey Mudd.
My daughter has visited the campus twice in the past 4 months and likes the place. As of now she does not seem to be concerned about the male/female ratio imbalance. I think the hands-on nature of the engineering curriculum and opportunities for getting involved in undergraduate research have appealed to her style of learning and academic interests.
Interestingly, she is also looking at an ivy league university with a small engineering program but a balanced female to male student ratio. I did some research on the place and found out that about half of their engineering students end up changing major (switching to a non-engineering major) by the third year. Although some of this is normal, but about 50% student retention rate is a bit alarming to me.
It seems WPI is on the right track with regard to promoting women in STEM and student retention.
I know a girl who got a full ride at WPI.
She was smart no doubt, but I am sure the desire to improve the
ratio had to be some part of the equation.
Know brilliant boys rejected from MIT, whereas female classmates
were accepted from our HS.
Only way to go engineering and a balanced ratio is at
a more diversified university where engineering is a small
part of the student body. But you would miss out on a great tech school
like WPI.
Very sad when you click on the WPI Website for Women in Robotics - a template page shows up on how to create a webpage. Sad indeed that they should post a link but not have anyone actually post anything. Just goes to show how short they are actually with Women in Robotics.
Are you referring to Women In Robotics Engineering (WIRE) site? This appears to have been organized and run by a group of undergraduate students. I would not hold this directly against WPI. For me, it is a reflection of the level of organization and effort the students are putting into the club. We need to take a closer look at the entire program to better ascertain how, and in what ways, the school is actually promoting women advancement in STEM.
It is in the wpi website
http://wpi.orgsync.com/org/womeninroboticsengineering104688
Women at WPI
Ways to Get Involved
With more than 200 clubs and organizations on campus, there are many ways for WPI women to get involved and have fun. All-women chorus? Musical theater? Fitness and outdoors clubs? Cultural groups? Community service organizations? We’ve got them all…and then some.
Professional groups and associations for women include:
Society of Women Engineers
Women in Electrical & Computer Engineering
Women in Computer Science
Women in Robotics Engineering
When you click on Women in Robotics Engineering you get this message:
Welcome
Welcome to your public website hosted by OrgSync! …This is the default template. It is meant to be simple so that you can get a website up and running quickly. If you would like to customize this template to match your own site, or do something more creative feel free, please be aware though that some HTML and CSS knowledge is required if you really want to make major changes…
emotive, if this website is a reflection of the student body’s involvement in their core majors, then it is very underwhelming. My daughter’s High School Robotics team has a much better website than these college students.
@markab2: Thanks for the link. It seems WPI is providing the portal but it is the students that actually create the site for the club.
Among the three clubs listed at:
https://www.wpi.edu/admissions/undergraduate/perspective/women.html
Women in Electrical & Computer Engineering appears to be better organized.
And although there is no web content for Women in Robotics Engineering there, the club does have a google site: https://sites.google.com/site/wpiw1r3/.
But I do agree with you, the web presence of these clubs does not put them in a positive light.
To be fair, high school FIRST teams have incentives in the awards given to have good websites. I wouldn’t take much away from WPI students just because maybe they would rather work in robots than pretty up their website. I’d ask about the group on a visit, and see if you can get a contact to ask questions. Or email admissions and ask for a student contact in the club.
Also, remember that these students are deep in STEM activities all dayevery day in class. They might be so busy with robotics projects for class that they aren’t doing clubs, too.
@intparent: there may be excuses for this but the only times excuses are brought forward are when there is a shortfall or failure. Clearly having prospective students view an undeveloped website is either a sign of mismanagement or just lack of attention to detail. But have no fear, WPI is my daughter’s first and only choice. When she gets there, she’ll whip them to shape.
Haha… she will be hustling so hard at her coursework that club websites won’t be her concern (I say this with a D at another tech school – I have no vested interest in WPI at all). College is NOT high school, and kids at STEM schools have a lot less time for clubs and ECs in college. If you are so critical of WPI over their website for a student run club, you are in for a rough ride dealing with general administrative issues with the college. A tip – be nicer to the FA office than you are about this if your kid is applying for aid.
I have a son in college right now and we know about administrative hurdles, which for us is nil because we are not helicopter parents. We pay the bills. That is the extent of our involvement. We monitor his progress and so far it’s going very (deans list every semester and one semester ahead of his batch). I think my D will enjoy WPI. When you like what you are doing, you will not have to work a day in your life.
Clearly, there is a significant room for improvement on how colleges present themselves to prospective students and parents. Even MIT and Stanford have a mediocre web presence with regard to undergraduate women in engineering programs. Beside a couple of promotional paragraphs, there is very little web content that paints a reasonably clear picture of learning opportunities and experiences at the said school. One has to dig a bit deeper to find useful information for comparing and contrasting the alternatives.
I agree…mostly. However, MIT and Staford don’t have to attract women. They’re already 50% women. Whether it is through disproportionate admission or handing out more grants; they don’t have to advertise to attract women. WPI has the disproportionate gender distribution and their inability to pay attention to details isn’t helping. If they are relying on throwing $$ to attract women, then it may work but there are other non-monetary ways such as…ahem…having a website that works.
If this is a big concern to you, and it seems like it is, I would discourage your daughter from applying. For what you would be paying (unless she gets a full ride) you should be happy with her education and opportunities. I think you will be very frustrated. If nothing else, you can pass advice on to admissions.
Our experience with admissions at WPI was excellent. Every event we attended was well organized and useful. I’m sure they would want to know that this has made a poor impression on you.
For what it’s worth, my daughter is a freshman there and working her tail off.