<p>I am from Barcelona and I am looking for a change, to try something new.
Mechanical Engineering major.
Which one of these universities should I attend?
-RIT: Rochester Institute of Technology
-BU: Boston University
-NU: Northeastern University</p>
<p>I think you would hate the location of RIT - it is not in a city. It is in the suburbs (Henrietta) of Rochester which is not quite as exciting as Barcelona. It isn’t near anything except some chain restaurants and a Target. We visited there when looking at schools for my son.
Either BU or Northeastern would be a much better choice. Northeastern has a slightly better reputation for engineering and is a more selective school. The two schools are only about 1.5 miles apart.</p>
<p>well that’s the thing. I’ve looked at Rochester (city) and I know it isn’t remotely similar to Barcelona. But I am looking for a change. I’ve been living in Barcelona for 12 years and I want to try something less city-like. I know Boston is great and it isn’t as big as Barcelona. But I’ve heard Rochester isn’t that bad. RIT campus is pretty boring, I imagine. But Rochester, must have plenty of things to do. What do you think?
Academically, for engineering, how do these differ?</p>
<p>Rochester is a small city and yes it does have some offerings, but RIT is about 7.5 miles away from it. The winters in Rochester are harsher than Boston, especially with respect to snowfall amounts. Have you considered the University of Rochester? Very respected engineering program, has a pretty campus and has easy access to whatever Rochester has to offer. We visited both and my son preferred U.Rochester over RIT by a huge margin.
I don’t know what your stats are but you could consider Tufts which is a few miles away from Boston. There is easy access to the city, but you don’t feel like you are living in the city. They do have engineering.
I know you said you wanted a change, but maybe you don’t need such an extreme change?
What else have you considered? Why did you pick these three to focus on?</p>
<p>For one part I love skiing. Like winter and snow. Most probably cause I never have those in Barcelona unless I go to the border with France. U of R and Tufts I have looked at but they aren’t considered as good for engineering as Northeastern and RIT. I think RIT is the most risky choice but maybe it is the right choice. Worse case scenario I transfer the following year</p>
<p>Not what I would choose but I am not you!<br>
I suggest you continue to research the schools before you have to commit to one of them. You are just applying now, no?</p>
<p>One other thing: both RIT and Northeastern require co-op programs so it takes longer to graduate with your degree. Someone had pointed out that if you are an international student you may need to find out if that will work for you, would you be able to work at a co-op with whatever your student visa allows? I have no idea, but it is worth checking out.</p>
<p>Tufts is actually a more highly ranked and regarded school than the others, but its engineering program is not as well known as everything else it has. Northeastern, BU and U. Rochester are ranked higher than RIT in rankings. Not that RIT is bad, it is very good. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>Northeastern>>>>BU>>>>RIT</p>
<p>If you want excellent engineering of numerous types in a completely different environment where you can ski to your heart’s content, consider Colorado School of Mines. Despite the name, it is basically the premiere tech school for the state, just as Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are for their states.</p>
<p>I love Boston, and would definitely take Northeastern over RIT (for a foreign student from an urban European environment especially), but it will take you roughly 3+ hours to travel to a good skiing area from Boston and will likely involve renting a car, something that can be difficult for foreign students under 25.</p>
<p>Except that there is a ski club that organizes trips to various ski areas so all you have to do is ride the bus. For the furthest ski areas such as Killington they organize weekend trips.
[NU</a> Downhillers Ski & Snowboard Club - Pray for Snow…](<a href=“http://www.nudownhillers.neu.edu/]NU”>http://www.nudownhillers.neu.edu/)</p>
<p>Colorado School of Mines is a great engineering school! Very well respected and a high placement rate in the oil and gas industries. </p>
<p>In all reality, if you want a change from the big city life then you don’t want to go to Boston. If you are looking to be able to ski and get a great engineering education, you should look at RIT, RPI, and even Lehigh. </p>
<p>Don’t let other people fool you, RIT is not a bad place. You will get a great education and you will have all of the amenities of Rochester (being in barca you are use to public transit and the city runs buses between the campus, malls, and downtown). I haven’t heard of any complaints from people attending RIT–there are a lot of co-ops offered with high job placement rates.</p>
<p>Well if you don’t want a very city like campus, then I wouldn’t choose BU. It’s literally right in the middle of Boston. The “T” (Train) runs straight through the campus actually.
Northeastern is still in Boston, but from the two, NU makes you feel like you’re living in a campus that just so happens to be in the city, not living in the city and going to school there.</p>
<p>I can’t really say much for RIT, so I won’t.</p>
<p>I’m a big fan of Northeastern, particularly the engineering co-op program there. Plenty of high achievers from my HS attended NEU due to scholarship generosity and the reputation of the engineering co-op.</p>