RPI or Syracuse for Engineering?

<p>My son has it narrowed down to Syracuse or RPI, he was accepted into the engineering school at both. He is having a hard time deciding. Some of the factors:</p>

<p>RPI Pros - a bit better facilities, overall a more highly regarded engineering school, great placement program
RPI Cons - M/F ratio, Troy is not quite as nice as Syracuse</p>

<p>Syracuse Pros - M/F ratio is better and more diversity in terms of types of people it attracts since it has many more majors. City is a bit nicer than Troy. Larger school so more to do
Syracuse Cons - not quite as prestigious as RPI for engineering</p>

<p>These pros and cons came directly from my son. Both school have done a nice job of making him feel welcome. RPI is a bit more money but that is not a huge factor. Is there anything else he should be considering? We visited RPI two weeks ago for the third time and we are headed to Syracuse this weekend for the second time. After this weekend, it is time to make the decision</p>

<p>RPI! If he wants engineering, he should go to an engineering school! :)</p>

<p>I turned down RPI (and a generous scholarship) all because of the cons your son noted. It was a tough choice because of how good the school is for engineering. I’m male, but most of my friends are girls and I really worried about being happy there.</p>

<p>As a student at RPI, I have to say that your son is best off following his gut instinct in terms of which campus he liked better, academics, etc… RPI is definitely a better engineering school, so if he is really into engineering, I would recommend coming here. True, RPI does have a pretty bad M/F ratio, but then again it’s a polytechnic institute, and I don’t think many of them have a great ratio. </p>

<p>I was sort of worried about the ratio when I first came, but like I say in most of my posts, it’s really all about the friends you make. My friends are pretty much 50/50 (actually I think more girls than guys) so the ratio in my point of view should not be the deciding factor.</p>

<p>In terms of Troy - true that it is a pretty lousy city, but it’s not as bad as some make it seem, and the campus is very safe. Like any lower class city, it does have it’s problems… but having lived in Ithaca before coming to RPI, I was in Syracuse a lot, and Syracuse has it’s bad parts as well.</p>

<p>Your advice was sound. My son decided on RPI based on the feel he got while on campus. He also like the very strong academic program. He is excited and I am excited for him. Thanks to all who posted</p>