RIT vs WPI?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello all,

So, I know that a similar thread was already posted on CC; however, this was back in 2017 and I was hoping to get some more up-to-date feedback on the two schools. :slight_smile:

I got into both RIT and WPI for biomedical engineering and am struggling to choose between the two schools, especially because the COA for both is pretty much identical. I feel that both schools have many advantages, so I am just not entirely sure which one will fit better.

What I enjoy about the schools:

RIT: the co-op programs, the Engineering Management and Sustainability minors seem very interesting, seems to be close to Rochester (?), possibly many job opportunities (for during undergrad)

WPI: the very interactive teaching and learning style, project-based curriculum, the campus seems very nice, not too far away from Boston (?)

Unfortunately, I never got the chance to visit the campuses, so I have to base most things off from their websites and virtual tours. Overall, I feel that I am leaning a little towards WPI; however, I am a little hesitant, due to the 7-week schedule that they have.

My other interests include: basketball, Engineering Without Borders (or a similar service project), international/cultural events, open maker-spaces, being a part of a LLC (eg. for STEM, Engineering).

I am also planning on completing pre-med courses alongside my BME major.

I would love to hear some of your input! Thank you!

2

We visited both and my son was accepted to both so I can give you my/our impressions. (He is enrolling for Computer Science/Game Development however.)

RIT is much much bigger, has more of a sports culture for your basketball interest, the campus is fairly ugly with mainly square brick buildings although it has a great new ā€œMagicā€ building for media arts. I thought the freshman dorms at RIT were petty awful. The one we saw did not have any kind of welcoming common area which I thought would be important in such a cold location. There are tunnels underground that students use to get between buildings in cold weather that have cool murals and house the laundry facilities, etc. It is not far from Rochester (10 min-ish) and I think there is a shuttle. The surrounding area is VERY boring though - car dealerships, chain restaurants, nothing to walk to really. The program for my son and coop program seemed great but we were a little underwhelmed by the atmosphere and it is larger than my son prefers. Also there are no direct flights to Rochester from our city which would be stressful - check that depending on where you are from.

WPI is about 1/4 the size. We liked that there is a focus on how to apply technology to world issues and that nearly all students spend a quarter abroad (included in the cost too). Every student we met told us about their study abroad experience as one of the highlights of their time there. Students seem to really like the quarter system but I do hear that it is fast-paced and you canā€™t really miss a class or youā€™ll get behind. One thing we liked is that there are no class prerequisites. My son is already pretty advanced in computer programming languages so this will allow him to skip the basics without having to test out. The campus is pretty with a mixture of traditional New England buildings and some industrial-contemporary spaces. There is some fun lore around the Gompei the Goat statue at the center. Their career center is ranked very highly with many students doing internships/coops as well and the starting salaries for graduates are excellent. WPI is an hour from Boston, so I donā€™t think you would realistically go there too often, but there is a train that seems convenient. The Worcester area seems to have a lot to offer as well though. There are tons of restaurants, coffee shops, museums, etc in the area. There is a student-run bike sharing program on campus. We didnā€™t get to visit dorms based on the date of our tour. I hear they are inviting but cramped. We learned that many students live in apartments beginning Sophomore year which are more affordable than on campus and very close. My son was accepted to a few other schools as well that he is still considering but will likely attend WPI.

In general, I think WPI has a quirkier nerdier feel whereas RIT had more of a traditional larger university feel to me. Both are great schools with very similar (strong) post-college career opportunities. Someone who visited both and now attends one now can probably be of more help, but I hope that helps a little!

3

I canā€™t comment on RIT, but my son loved WPI. He ended up at Cal Poly, but not before agonizing, like you are, between two schools, both with great, but different opportunities. Remember, short terms, but only three classes, and one of them is usually not a technical class.

If medical school is on your radar, Iā€™d call and ask how many of their BMEs actually get in. Engineering is a tough road into medical school for many reasons, primarily though, because engineering is so difficult. The most challenging class any other pre-med will take (assuming they arenā€™t Chem majors and have to take P Chem) will be Organic Chemistry. That stacks up to your average engineering class, and youā€™ll have lots of them.

Good luck and congrats.

4

This assertion by a poster above is difficult to accept:

That Organic Chemistry ā€œstacks up to your average engineering class.ā€

5

@Publisher, you must not be an engineer or have any family members who are. I have a full year of O Chem under my belt. I come from a long lineage of engineers (parent, uncle, sibs, and a child). My father is an MIT BS/MS engineer. Heā€™s also a physician. He will straight up tell you that engineering is substantially harder. Advanced Fluids, Dynamics and Thermodynamics are all on par with the very hardest chemistry class, Physical Chemistry. It is substantially more complex that O Chem, because it combines physics and chemistry. Thereā€™s a popular bumper sticker ā€œHonk if you passed P Chem.ā€ Most pre-meds donā€™t have to take P Chem unless they are Chem or Biochem majors. Plus, depending on concentration, engineering gets harder, Continuum Mechanics uses maths most people have never even heard of (Tensor Calculus). This of course can be variable. Some students like my son have a great facility with math. That makes those courses less challenging. Most donā€™t.

6

I am not an engineer, but I have over a dozen family members who are.

My impression is that Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Computer Engineering are difficult & demanding majors.

Mechanical engineering a bit less.

Then Aerospace & Biomedical.

But to assert that all engineering courses equal or exceed Organic Chemistry in difficulty seems to be a bit of an exaggeration.

P.S. @eyemgh I did not realize that you are still an undergradā€“is that correct ? My impression was that you are a parent practicing in an engineering field.

P.P.S. Also, the engineers in my family tend to look down upon those with other degrees, although none made any real money until earning part-time MBAs from non-top MBA programs & leaving the field of engineering (into sales, data analytics, & consulting).

7

What I find interesting & disconcerting about the engineering field is how easily engineers are discarded & replaced.

8

ā€œI am also planning on completing pre-med courses alongside my BME major.ā€

Yes, organic chemistry is very demanding and so is BME. See how it fits you. Admission to a top medical school is very competitive and, I understand, they are very grade focused in med school admissions.

A BS in biomedical has two advantages:
1. Much better employment options than a traditional pre-med program if you change you mind or you do not gain admission to an Ivy med school;
2. You will likely help more people with your medical applications as one Biomedical Engineer than you are likely to impact as one MD.

As an MD/BME you will be super-person!

Do visit the WPI campus. It is a different environment.

WPI '67 who worked at WPI for ten years.

9

In my first year at WPI one classmates in the next room went on to Harvard for his MD and on to HBS for his MBA. He went on to make a ton of money with a chain of medical operations in Washington State. His roommate went on to become a veterinarian.

I donā€™t know that one was happier than the other by their 50th reunion!

I studied economic modeling and learned later that most people are motivated by money until they reach a level of strong fiscal security.

Money is important, but not the only measure.

Some less well paid individuals even teach!

Either of these paths will yield fiscal fruit,

10

See https://www.wpi.edu/academics/undergraduate/pre-professional/pre-health

11

@Publisher, no, Iā€™m 57 and an optometrist. :wink:

Some of the very most complicated and yet to be solved engineering problems are fluids problems (aerodynamics and turbulence), the purview of ME and AE. On the engineering forum, there are often ā€œwhich is hardestā€ threads. They usually shut down quickly as every engineer out there says you canā€™t unequivocally rank them, as it depends on the facility individuals have with different topics.

As for O Chem, both my father and son are engineers that have taken O Chem. Neither found it terribly challenging.

12

I too am an optimist.

You have experience with both so your opinion is important, but I think that it probably varies by individual talents & interests.

Almost all of my relatives are Georgia Tech EE grads.

13

Getting back to the original point though, engineering of any type is hard. Itā€™s hard to get a high GPA and that paramount for a medical school application. Check placement rates.

14

An optimist?

15

@merc81, that was tongue in cheek. :wink:

16

@Ricegirl92 Thank you so much for this! Given the current circumstances surrounding the COVID-19, I cannot attend the accepted students day, so it was really interesting to hear your perspective on the respective campuses, in particular.

Quick question though, what do you mean by the atmosphere at RIT being ā€˜underwhelmingā€™? Also, do you have any other impressions about the campuses, student culture, and programs at RIT and WPI that you maybe didnā€™t mention?

Thank you so much again!

17

@eyemgh Hmm. Thatā€™s an interesting point! I will definitely consider that.

Also, if I may ask: What was your impression of the two schools? Could you possibly comment on the campus atmosphere and the academic opportunities at RIT and WPI?

18

My son wasnā€™t interested in RIT, so we didnā€™t visit. He was intrigued by the hands on nature of WPI.* We all liked the campus, the community, the facilities and the students all seemed happy. It really boiled down to wanting to stay on the west coast in the sun (we are from Oregon).

  • He ultimately chose the prototype school for that paradigm, Cal Poly. Learn by Doing has been their ethos since the early 1900's. The have over 80 labs in the College of Engineering alone.
19

My son was accepted to both schools. Electrical Engineering w. Robotics option at RIT and Electrical Engineering (Robotics) at WPI. He wants to focus on robotics and heā€™s not sure which school is better for ā€œproject based educationā€ and robotics. RIT offered him a great financial package that is making it hard to say noā€¦but robotics is his passion.

Which school is better?

20

Which school is ā€œbetterā€ can only be determined by the participant BUT

WPI is arguably an epicenter for project based learning. They are continually studying and adjusting the entire project process with an ongoing, well funded research center and have been for decades. They even have a summer school for faculty from other universities.

COOP has been around for decades, but is not the basis of the WPI system. Project learning at WPI is in the control of WPI faculty, not the employers. Corporations, faculty and students research real problems together. Students have options available for work/study, but this is not the heart of the program,. WPI wants to control the level of the student experienceā€¦ they are not just employees.

Olin college is also working very hard to evolve this same issue, i.e. the level and quality of the problems students are working on.

There are two very different WPI projects required of each student. The MQP is concentrated in the student major while a second (IQP) is focused on interdisciplinary issues.

See https://www.wpi.edu/project-based-learning