Purdue, RPI, Villanova, Bucknell

College Search & Selection
1

It’s almost decision time. My D is going to be studying engineering next year… somewhere! Right now Purdue, RPI, Villanova and Bucknell are probably the top of the list of choices based on where she’s gotten into (we only have to hear from 1-2 more schools). She’s an excellent student (3.9UW GPA, 34 ACT) and person, just didn’t get into any of the really tough schools. It happens.

She’s most interested in computer engineering / computer science, but being a kid that really likes math and science, isn’t 100% certain she wants to just code. Purdue’s FYE program is appealing in that way as it gives the students a chance to figure things out before moving into the major. But it’s far from the NY area where we are, and much bigger than the other 3 schools. Every school seems to have some ‘drawback’ and none are standing out as ‘the’ choice, yet.

Then of course there’s the financial portion of the equation. Assuming we get nothing for merit from Villanova and Bucknell (I’ll edit once we know) then Purdue and RPI (thanks to scholarship) are ~$25k/yr cheaper. While we can make it work, we have to send 2 more kids to college. We’re talking about over $100k difference over the 4 years. Not chump change even for those that can afford it.

Would love to hear any opinions from anyone going through similar decisions or any thoughts on the schools. I’ll update this as we go through our thought process as well. Perhaps we can help others in a similar situation.

2

In this case, it’s important to look into how easy it is to change majors. At some schools there are secondary processes that are competitive and can mean not studying the major you prefer. I believe that’s the case for Purdue, but research this for all of them.

All of these options are great options for CS/Engineering. If she’s confident on CS, RPI would be my academic recommendation. In terms of engineering, all of these are pretty close. Pending the incoming financial packages, RPI sounds like the best deal here with major flexibility as far as I’m aware.

3

RPI hands down is the best choice, especially at $25K/yr cheaper! Purdue would be my 2nd choice.

4

After the latest round of visits I think RPI is coming out on top. She was actually accepted into CS there and would like to try that and possibly use CSE as the fallback. We went to the accepted students day and the professors were so open that she felt at home. The CS professor told her exactly how to set herself up in the first year to travel down both tracks. It would allow her to double major or to stick with CS or switch to CSE. That flexibility is what she needed (to easily switch among majors), along with some students that are just like her. Hopefully we can make the decision final soon!