<p>So the May first deadline is creeping up faster than ever, and I am no closer to deciding between these two, does anyone here know how ND's Engineering and CompSci Department compare to Rose Hulman's? In terms of fit and all that, I can happily stay at either. Any help is appreciated.</p>
<p>At first glance, they seem like very different options from one and other. Yet, they’re your final two choices. What attributes did you see in each that warranted inclusion on your list in the first place? In other words, why did you apply to ND? Why did you apply to Rose? </p>
<p>I agree with eyemgh, did you also apply to Purdue? That school would be somewhere in the middle between the two choices you have and geographically similar. Academically, Rose is at least the equal of ND for engineering, don’t know specifically about computer science. Most students at Rose are going to be science/eng’g majors, whereas at ND you will have also have many liberal arts and business majors on campus. Socially, Rose is very, very different- fewer students overall, much smaller percentage of women on campus, D3 sports, campus not anywhere near as gorgeous as ND- how important are these to you? The alumni network of ND is one of the strongest in the nation, hands down- meanwhile, many people have never heard of Rose, even those in the Midwest. What is the cost factor- is one significantly more expensive for you to attend?</p>
<p>Rose is about half the cost of notre dame, I didn’t apply to Purdue but I got into uiuc engineering for a bit less than nd. I liked the campus but I didn’t like the thought of being a number.</p>
<p>Admittedly I only applied to ND because it was recommended that I should but I now have grown to like it. I liked the smallness of rose, and even though it does not have the best name recognition it’s computer science starting salary is better (~20000 more) which I’ve used as the connecting factor for an engineering rank (because their USNWR eng. ranks are on different lists)
The reason why these are my final two choices are exactly why they are completely different, one is better than the other in certain intangibles and vice versa so I end up liking completely different schools.</p>
<p>I think Rose would be a good school if you are more of a nerd who wants to focus on academics and don’t care about socializing, dating or being exposed to other types of people, only 20% women.</p>
<p>Honestly, there are times I get so sick of dealing with Engineering students that I find extremely important and refreshing to be able to socialize with people who are not in Engineering. </p>
<p>I know a guy who graduated from MSOE. He is an EE nerd but all he cared about at the time was academics. He said he had a good experience there because MSOE is a small school like Rose but dating and socializing was very limited.</p>
<p>I guess, it all depends on what kind of person you are.</p>
<p>Based on my coworkers from ND and Rose, I’d take Rose any time over ND, and UIUC any time over Rose. Rose has some seriously smart kids, but name recognition for national or international work is not as high as ND and in turn not like UIUC.</p>
<p>I went to Purdue among other schools and everyone back in my native Elbonia knows 10-20 schools, they know Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, GA Tech, MIT, etc. Of course it’s different now but a big school does help in that aspect.</p>
<p>My son ended up with three very different schools too, Cal Poly, Utah and a WPI. There was a unifying factor, hands on, lab and project learning, starting Freshman year, but otherwise their attractions were good and different.</p>
<p>Reaching out here will unfortunately edify you no further, because you’ve already sorted through the pluses and minuses.</p>
<p>My gut is go with Rose. The teaching is completely undergraduate centric, it’s cheaper and within the industry they have a great name. I could also though fully justify ND. It is more money, but when football comes on 30 years from now, you’ll still care about the Irish, even if they suck. The M:F ratio is much better too. </p>
<p>My guess is that the engineering will be better at Rose, but the full college experience will be FAR better at ND. You have to go with your gut.</p>
<p>In the end, my son chose Cal Poly.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>One of these days I’m going to locate Elbonia on a map.</p>
<p>Well, Elbonia is an impoverished and dysfunctional former communist state in Eastern Europe that has embraced capitalism although North Elbonia remains totalitarian.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!
Eyemgh: you’re right I have overanalyzed these colleges, I just like to hear varying opinions.
Turbo93: So you’d prefer uiuc students over rose because of their skillset or their reputation?</p>
<p>Hey, I did the exact same thing for my son on a different thread that’s still active. There are lots of contributors here with good information, but in the end your reasoning is sound and specific to your needs. It isn’t over analyzed. It is complete, for you. It’s unlikely anyone will add information you haven’t considered. </p>
<p>In your case turbo did, but it’s still very likely that you already know Rose is better for engineering. You’re conflicted due to the non-academic offerings of ND. That’s frequently overlooked on CC and important. No one but you can give it the proper weighting. It’s nice to have affirmation, but in the end your gut will guide you.</p>
<p>With that said, I’d be careful about incurring lots of debt. If your parents are willing and able to pay and are encouraging you to pick the institution you’d be happiest, that’s fine. A huge loan though is something to think hard about. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>To conclude this thread I have ended up choosing rose hulman happily, the big thing that helped me decide was talking to students there, they expressed that the social scene is definitely different, but if you put yourself out there it will be fine.</p>
<p>For anyone looking at this down the road, DO NOT base your decision off of what I did, Rose may be what was best for me, but maybe not for you, and with that thank you guys for all your help!</p>