Rose-Hulman, WPI, RPI, RIT - Opinions?

College Search & Selection
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My Senior D is narrowing down her list and only wants to apply to one of these colleges. Any opinions would be welcome.

Our estimated EFC is $15k, so the aid package will be a huge factor.

Intended major: Mechanical Engineering, with hopes for a Biomedical Engineering graduate degree at some point. Co-ops and/or paid internships/research would be a huge plus.

Female, 4.0 UW GPA, rigorous course load (3 APs w/ 5 score, 4 dual credit so far, will get through Calculus III at community college by graduation), 32 ACT (E 35 M 34 R 29 S 30 & taking again in October), will not be taking SAT subject tests, a couple long term ECs but not engineering related.

Personality wise she is liberal, somewhat reserved, and very driven. She is not interested in Greek or a massive party scene, but likes working-out, concerts, good food (vegetarian), and pretty surroundings.

The pros and cons lists are the best we can do without visiting (we live in Hawaii) and none stand out above the others. She is already “for sure” applying to Case Western, Stevens, Northeastern, University of Rochester, USC, and Colorado Mines. Temple is her safety with an automatic full tuition scholarship. Olin is her “dream school.” She just had her admissions interview yesterday and is even more in love now.

Thanks for your help & aloha!

2

Have you run the net price calculator on each school?

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That ACT score is outstanding because the scores for the first two subtests, the only ones that appear to be at all meaningful, are so high. The last two sub-scores only add noise to the composite score (in terms of the validity of the ACTs).
Georgia Tech? Virginia Tech?

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@ucbalumnus, yep. None of them get us all the way to 15k. The financial aid sections of their websites give the impression the aid packages are somewhat holistic beyond the calculator. We are also hoping the desire to increase women and far-flung geographic admits might help. But if you think that is wishful thinking, maybe her best best is to not apply to any of them.

@lostaccount, we looked at both, but my impression was that as public schools, neither would meet OOS need. Drats!

5

Seems like there is embedded merit / preferential packaging in these schools’ financial aid. Under such conditions, it is really hard to guess if there is any chance (and, if so, how much of a chance) that she will get the added financial aid. Public data on merit scholarships is not as helpful as that on admission, and embedded merit / preferential packaging of financial aid is even more opaque.

What may be relevant is how close each school’s NPC is to your affordability limit (your AFC, which may not necessarily be your EFC, plus whatever she can contribute with federal direct loans and work earnings) and how she compares with the typical admit class. If the gap is not that large and the school is a low match for admission only, that may be a more likely chance at the added financial aid than if the gap is large and/or the school is a high match or reach for admission.

Georgia Tech does offer a few competitive full ride merit scholarships, but these should be considered super-reach (12,000 GT early action applicants → 300 semifinalists → video interview → 100 finalists → on-campus interview → 40 scholarships).
http://www.psp.gatech.edu/application-selection
http://www.psp.gatech.edu/faq

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Only 20 of those 40 scholarships are available to OOS
http://psp.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/PSP%20Flyer%20-%202015-16.pdf

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You do have a gender advantage at a number of these schools, that might boost the aid.

Have you looked at South Dakota School of Mines. Best engineering educational value out there.

Goode luck!

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Palm715- If Olin is her dream school, and you still don’t hit the ceiling of your family’s ability to pay with their NPC, sounds like she has a good chance there. Lots and lots and lots of bad weather in winter, FYI, but the girl I know there loves it.

As you mentioned likes pretty surroundings:
My mate says RPI is in a truly old-industrial setting, and (off-campus) the area does not have much to offer in terms of inspirational. WPI, also, is located in a general area that, not counting the school’s grounds and a few blocks around it, can be a little hard on the eye for someone not used to …a sea of cement. Though, mate says, it is located in probably the best looking stretch of its portion of the city.

Others have commented elsewhere that as a student’s job is to study, and there is little time the serious student has to actually spend off-campus, maybe these things will carry no sway.

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^^This may explain why DS, after getting accepted at RPI, got a follow-up letter from the mayor of Troy explaining why his city is a great place to live! LOL. OP, our experience with RPI was that they weren’t generous with aid at all, even with a EFC of $500. But maybe being female will help your family. DS chose a different school that met full need.

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Rensselaer has among the highest SAT scores in the country (36th overall). This should not be overlooked as an indicator of quality. Troy works if she can be satisfied with gritty over gentrified. Personally, I see appeal in the former. Relatively close to Troy are Albany’s State Street, Saratoga Springs, the Adirondacks and the Berkshires, all of which have distinct appeal.

Rose Hulman appears to have an amazing mechanical engineering department.

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Thank you all for painting a picture of the different colleges; the personal experiences really help. I don’t think she realizes how different cold and urban sprawl vs tropical and small town will be. That said, she is mostly looking at the academic experience. It’s me who is worried about all the others ways a college could be a good fit.

@ucbalumnus you did a great job synthesizing it. She should apply to the one where the calculator is the closest to our EFC and her stats place her the highest above the average.

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If this were my D, I would plan some campus visits. Some of these schools she will be in a substantial gender minority, so I would want her to experience that to make sure it would work out.

Good luck!

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Has she considered Illinois Institue of Technology in Chicago? She would be in the running for their full tuition merit scholarships. My D is there and really likes it. We are very happy so far with the education and opportunities she is receiving. It fits most of your daughter’s criteria (I can’t in good conscience rave about the on-campus dining options, but there’s easy access to the city!). The city certainly will be a big adjustment from Hawaii, but my D, with an eye for beauty and a love of the outdoors, has found plenty to like about Chicago.

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Reading your D’s description, I don’t think Olin is a super reach. The fact she is taking Calculus III now as a senior and has a 4.0 UW sort of outweighs a 32 composite. I don’t have data on WPI or RIT but Rose-Hulman gives 34% of students merit aid averaging $9,295/year and RPI gives 23% of students merit aid averaging $17,440. Your D’s ACT is at the top end of their middle 50th percentile so you would think in both cases she would be a strong candidate for merit aid. Rose-Hulman is rural. I’ve driven through Troy and it is not a garden spot but it is also not very far from a lot of nice areas

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merc81: “Relatively close to Troy are Albany’s State Street, Saratoga Springs, the Adirondacks and the Berkshires, all of which have distinct appeal.”

So now I’ve decided we must visit RPI, and make our way to the Hampshire/Amherst/Smith area, and also to Williams. For reasons of affinity with Bethlehem (Pa) mate thought it a great idea, and signed on.

@palm715: You sound well on your way to finding a great place for your daughter. Good luck to you both.

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Troy has its charms. I’ll be up there again for the RPI - U of Rochester football game this month. Hard to beat an RPI education. However, they can be a bit tight with financial aid and in some ways harder to get into than Cornell Engineering.

I second the the recommendation of South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Excellent STEM education and surprisingly a national reputation, A boat load of Mines students come from out-of-state, and not just the mountain west or plains states; I know of SDSM&T students from California, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington State. Best of all, the COA is a great bargain. Last year for OOS it was $22,000. Watch “Why I Go to Mines” on you tube.

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I’m a senior (female) from the Rochester NY area and I’m looking at/ grew up with and visited most of the schools your daughter is considering- U of R, RIT, RPI CWRU, WPI, and Northeastern.

I don’t know much about WPI (yet to visit) and even less about Rose-Hulman (I just get mail from them), but I have visited RPI and done multiple engineering programs at RIT over the last few years. When I visited RPI, I liked it well enough but campus was empty (spring break), so I don’t yet have a good feel of it. So I’m just going to talk about my impressions of RIT: I’ll stray from cold hard data that you can find online.

RIT
PRO’s-
-Co-op program is outstanding: they really emphasized its prevalence when I went on an overnight for prospective female engineering students last winter
-Food: there are definitely vegetarian options available.
-Great workout facilities: they just built a new ice rink and the indoor track is outstanding. There’s DI, DIII, and club sports, so she could get involved for sure. Even if organized sports aren’t her thing, I know there’s a running club/ group that works out and goes on easy runs together.
-Getting around: there’s a relatively extensive tunnel system on the academic side of campus, so once you’re in a building, you don’t have to brave the cold until heading back to your dorm
-Facilities: seem to be great, they keep most everything up to date. Just built a new, LEED platinum bldng
-Students: they’re known for being a little nerdy overall (being a tech school), but I encountered students of all interests and backgrounds. Most seemed genuinely interested in their studies, clubs, and helping with the overnight.
-Professors/ Faculty: the people I encountered were overwhelmingly friendly. They certainly knew their stuff, and were able to eloquently explain it to high school Juniors of varying academic standing. From my experience, they are accessible- I ate lunch with the dean of engineering and two mech e professors. :smiley:

CON’s:
-Winter+Campus= wind tunnel :frowning: It gets bitterly cold in Rochester, and the campus layout doesn’t help. Campus is split into a dorm and academic side, so there’s the notorious ‘quarter mile’ trek to classes and back to dorms.The setup of the buildings/campus location seems to just funnel the wind to walkways, worsening the cold
-Campus Aesthetic: lots of red brick. lots and lots of it. As of 2006, there were 14,673,565 red bricks used on campus. It ties the campus together, but can look drab and depressing during the already grey and colorless winter. That being said, t the new buildings have a modern look that’s complemented by red brick.
-Food: good, not outstanding. I’ve only tried one dining hall though.

I’m sure there’s more,but I’m kinda having a block rn. Good luck with the decision! The colleges she’s already applying to are great choices, so I wouldn’t worry too much about this specific decision!

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More thanks is in order to you all! @SoCcErTrAcK2016 your through review of RIT is awesome, especially the description of the winter wind tunnel. It makes me cold while sitting in my 80 degree living room in Hawaii! :slight_smile: I know you must be a very busy Senior and your willingness share is much appreciated.

D has looked at SD Mines and IIT, but they just didn’t make the cut. So many good options!

We can’t pull off a visit to any colleges before applications, but I’m hoping to hit the top potentials sometime in late Winter so that she knows what she is committing to.

Living so far away from the rest of the country, we really rely on information gleaned from CC. Thanks, again!

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My D is a 3rd year at RIT. She’s a Southern girl, and has adjusted to the fierce winter. She’s not an engineering major, but she has friends who are. Her workload is intense,and the engineering majors undoubtedly have it worse. RIT has a reputation of “easy to get in, hard to stay in.” She loves the friendly, geeky students and has strong relationships with her professors. The school has sent her to professional conferences, and the co-op opportunities are great, even in a small oddball major. She really likes the “hands-on” approach that RIT takes in many classes. RIT is on my son’s college list too (current high school senior).

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RPI can be stingy. However, a female from Hawaii is an outstanding catch in their eyes. RPI made a point in their admissions presentation of stating their desire to attract students from all 50 states. I heard about someone from Hawaii a few years back who received an extremely generous package. Troy has a lot of nice architecture and cool restaurants. Although the Adirondacks are “relatively close” to Troy, that just means you can see the mountains in the background. It’s about an hour’s drive to get to the mountains. Saratoga has a great main street and is about 45 minutes away. The engineering program is very well-repected.

WPI is a very nice campus - if you go all the way to Amherst, I would say go a little further and get a tour of WPI. It’s worth it. My daughter visited WPI twice and had a very good impression of it both times, and ultimately decided to attend. The surrounding area is not so hot; comparable to RPI/Troy. My daughter has not had a lot of free time to explore, so I don’t know much beyond the campus.

University of Rochester has a very pretty campus and there are some great restaurants there, too. College life there really revolves around the campus - most kids stay on campus 4 years. The engineering program is rigorous and tends towards the more theoretical/less hands on, though I would not say there is no opportunity for hands on experience. Very nice school!

Stevens has a pretty, treed campus. I was pleasantly surprised. And Hoboken is the hip place to live. The views from Stevens across the river to NYC are fantastic. The money part of the tour is taking students to the cafeteria. The view is enticing. They have a co-op program. I know kids who have really liked Stevens. They have a strong entrepreneurial bent. I never worked with a Stevens Engineer so I can’t speak to the quality of the program.

You already have some reviews on RIT. I can’t add much. We were very impressed with the facilities; machine shops, 3D printers, etc.

Your daughter could get internships from any of the schools you are looking at. RIT, Drexel, and Northeastern are know for their co-op programs.

Case and WPI were the most generous of the schools my daughter applied to. We were not eligible for FA, but she did get nice merit scholarships. RPI was the least generous. Rochester and Stevens were in the middle. I think of the private schools, RIT would have been the least expensive for us as their tuition is lower than the other schools to begin with. She was offered honors programs/undergraduate research stipend at some of these schools, I’m sure your daughter would receive similar offers, if not better.

I’m sure your daughter will have a lot of great choices!