<p>It seems to be a good engineering school. I want to do Chemical Engineering and go somewhere close to home (Illinois). Is this a good college to consider? I also want one without many students.</p>
<p>It is a GREAT college to consider. I work at Rolls-Royce in Indianapolis, and I work with quite a few Rose-Hulman grads, and they definitely keep up with all the Illinois, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Virginia Tech and UVA guys that we have here. The only thing that would hurt it is if you are looking to do any kind of heavy undergraduate research, which I believe they are fairly light on since they only go up to the M.S. level. Other than that, great school IMO!</p>
<p>Highly regarded engineering college, particularly in the engineering community which considers it one the best in the nation. Annually ranked No. 1 in the USNews ranking for engineering colleges that do not have PhD programs. Professors do research and undergrads get opportunities but school focuses on teaching and tenure depends on teaching ability not research. Very nice campus and excellent facilities.</p>
<p>The downside: it is in Terra Haute, IN, a small truly midwest city that is not “hopping” and outside of the city is farmland, forests and tiny towns 50 miles in any direction. Since you are from Illinois, you probably already know something about the area. If you were coming from NYC, it would be true culture shock.</p>
<p>I’ve heard nothing but good things as to their reputation. I’ve also heard it’s pretty hard, but if that scares you away engineering might not be the best major.</p>
<p>haha, thanks everyone. So do you think that the lack of research going on there might hurt my chances at getting into a top engineering school for grad school?</p>
<p>Good question Salve! because I was also thinking about applying to Rose-Hulman (they keep sending me pamphlets), but I wasn’t sure if it was a good school. Even my college counselor hasn’t heard much about the school before, no one has ever applied there from my school. Their SAT standards are a little bit low, I am not sure why. The main thing that worries me is the lack of diversity, 88% Caucasian according to CollegeBoard. I am sorry, being Asian, I would like a little more diversity.</p>
<p>My h’s a graduate of Rose, and he had no trouble getting a job and then going back to the graduate school he wanted, which was Purdue for his Ph.D. A good friend of my S’s is a junior there now, and he’s loving it! He’s come from Florida, and he’s home for a bit to help his dad w/ some stuff after an accident, but I think he can hardly wait to get back. The winters, though, have been an adjustment for him. LOL He and my H tried to get my d to apply there, but she just couldn’t bring herself to go to a school that small or that far away from home. She’ll be at UF, instead. 
H still feels that rose has one of the best undergrad teaching programs for engineers as undergrads are their focus.</p>
<p>zebes</p>
<p>zebes, that was what I was thinking. I mean, wouldn’t Rose’s undergrad program be top-notch if that is all that they do (except some masters)?
Redsox, I’m caucasian, but Asian people are probably my favorite race. I understand though that diversity might be an issue. I was actually considering a 3+2 program at Benedictine and something that made me consider it even more was Asian was the second highest percentage there, haha.</p>
<p>I know people at work who went from Rose as an undergrad to places like Maryland to get a Ph.D. afterwards. It really shouldn’t be a problem getting into top grad schools as long as your application is strong. Keep in mind that there IS still research that goes on there, just not nearly as much as the UIUCs and UMichs of the country.</p>
<p>I just graduated from Rose, so hopefully I can help answer some questions:</p>
<p>Salve:</p>
<p>Rose’s reputation is strong in industry and among academics. When I was touring prospective colleges in high school, I talked to a professor at Cornell and the dean of the engineering school at UIUC. Both thought Rose was a great place. It doesn’t quite have the rep of MIT/Caltech, but it’s well-regarded. I will note that its reputation in industry is stronger in nearby regions than in places like the East Coast or Cali…but I know a number of people who got jobs outside of the Midwest.</p>
<p>If you want a small school, Rose is ideal. Compared to UIUC, it’s microscopic. This can be good. For instance, I felt a strong rapport with the majority of the people graduating with me in my major. However, it has its downsides. I oftentimes became tired of seeing the same faces over and over.</p>
<p>The lack of cutting-edge research is not a problem in terms of admission to grad programs. You’ll just need to work a bit harder finding ways to do it. Many professors do have some projects they need help with, and some students do in fact perform research during the school year (especially the science kids). All you need to do is ask faculty if they’ll take you on. You can also gain research experience by doing an REU during the summer, which MORE than makes up for not doing it during the school year. Plus, even if you don’t do a lot of research, doing well in school will make up for this. I am going to be a Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech this fall, and I didn’t do really intense research during undergrad. I got good grades, good GRE, did internships, and wrote good essays (plus a faculty connection), and that was all it took.</p>
<p>drusba:</p>
<p>You’re right that Terre Haute can sometimes be a drag. I was tired of the town after living there for so long. But I knew many students who were so busy with fraternities, extracurriculars, and intramurals that they didn’t even notice that the town lacked a big city’s amenities. Most students are quite content and spend a lot of time diverting themselves on or near campus.</p>
<p>Redsox:</p>
<p>Yeah, the lack of diversity is still an issue. The administration has noted this and are working very hard to increase campus diversity, but in my opinion there’s still a long way to go. The low SAT standard could be due to a number of factors: preference for class rank in admissions decisions, geographical unattractiveness of the area to out-of-staters, etc. But what matters is the quality of teaching, and most people believe that Rose does quite a good job at that.</p>
<p>Thank you y2kwizard!!</p>
<p>Thank you y2kwizard, I do hope Rose-Hulman does become more diversified soon!</p>
<p>Also, do you think it’s a better option to apply to RHIT instead of Worcester Polytechnic Institute? My school only allows you to apply to 8 schools maximum, so I was thinking about switching WPI for RHIT. I’m not very sure though, so any input would be great! I want to major in Computer Engineering by the way.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I can’t really provide much input as to whether you should switch to Rose. I only know one person who went to WPI, and I haven’t talked with her enough about the school to say which would be better. It sounded like we had pretty similar experiences.</p>
<p>I checked out their ECE course offerings and compared them to my experience at Rose (I’m a EE). Their offerings are quite similar. I’d need to have a lot more contact with the program and the people it created to give you a better idea. Sorry!</p>