<p>Need advice - D got accepted at both RPI and WPI. Both gave her merit $$, but
WPI gave her much more than RPI. RPI will cost $10,800 more per year than WPI. Have visited both schools, RPI close to home, WPI a 2 hour drive. D liked both schools, but RPI has such a better name recognition. Everyone says wow RPI thats a great school, what is WPI? Anyway....D is planning to do graduate studies or maybe med school, so we are trying to decide if we should spring for the extra $43K+ at RPI. WPI did seem more friendly than RPI, maybe a tighter knit community because of all of the project-based work? RPI seemed a little cold and impersonal. The WPI administration seemed liked they care more about their students as people. Thoughts.......thanks!</p>
<p>personally, i would attend rpi because of the superior name that it has to wpi. However, i that one of the greatest differences is that wpi so team based and is something that if you like, wpi is a great place. i have not heard of the type of team based projects at rpi, but rpi is a tougher school and has a much better name.</p>
<p>From what I understood when I toured the wpi campus twice, wpi is very focused on coops and large projects. Their abroad programs basically center around doing technology based community service. I am not putting that to shame at all, I think it is great that so many people are interested in getting out and doing that type of stuff. </p>
<p>I chose RPI over WPI because it seemed to me that while WPI focused on projects and coops, RPI was very research based, had a fairly high statistic of graduation and getting into a high paying job/going on to grad school, and was in a larger setting.</p>
<p>I could be completely wrong but I think I will be happy at RPI.</p>
<p>I know 2 people who are going to wpi in the fall and are looking forward to it. I almost applied to wpi but ran out of time. I’m deciding between rpi and rit. I have heard wpi is an excellent school especially for teamwork and co-ops. However, don’t assume rpi doesn’t have a great co-op program because it does for students who take advantage of it. Honestly, both are excellent options and you can’t go wrong with either. I guess one thing I would assess is the personality type of both schools. Both rpi and wpi have high concentrations of nerds (I’m one myself lol). A great question to think about is “can I live with the type of people at rpi/wpi?” While both are nerdy schools, the personality of those nerds differs at both schools.</p>
<p>I agree on that … both nerdy schools, but I also thought that WPI had friendlier nerds 
I guess it all depends what you are looking for. I guess some don’t mind the cold, impersonal feel of RPI because that is not a priority… yet others don’t want the team, buddy-buddy feel of WPI. On another note, my Mom is totally freaked out by Troy, NY and that might be another factor for a girl to consider.</p>
<p>“I guess some don’t mind the cold, impersonal feel of RPI because that is not a priority.”</p>
<p>I never got any sort of cold or impersonal feel at RPI.</p>
<p>I agree with Joshua, everyone I’ve met at rpi was really nice, and they seemed like they do group projects and co-ops. Rpi does have a really fantastic reputation though. If it were me i would pick RPI, whichever school she picks she will find her niche. I might be going there too next year who knows. So that’s one nice (i hope) female nerd that she could know!</p>
<p>Troy is nasty, but the campus is REALLY safe. If you’re going to venture into Troy, go with a group. Actually, I’d feel safer at RPI than IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology). IIT is in the southside of Chicago (if you’re not familiar with Chicago, it’s the bad end of the city. There’s more crime there than in Troy). As long as you’re not going into downtown Troy alone or at night, it’s probably not a huge issue.</p>
<p>S attends WPI (junior) and it is definitely a smaller school than RPI without as much to offer as far as facilities, such as WPI has no skating rink and nowhere near the athletic fields. Worcester is not a prize city either but is nicer than Troy. S has been safe there for 3 years and lived off campus for two of those. However in a recent list put out by Yahoo and in this book which gives inside information on colleges(which I cannot find right now of course so cannot tell you the title) WPI is ranked higher than RPI on income of graduates and in getting jobs after graduation. In fact I believe WPI was ranked 9th in the entire country for graduates getting jobs after graduation - some of the only schools ahead of it were Ivies and MIT. RPI was ranked about 14th or 15th, so still very good. S is getting an excellent education and loves the school. He did not like RPI when he looked - felt is was too big and “cold” whereas D (who is heading off to college next year) applied to RPI due to architecture program (none at WPI) and loved school/campus (not Troy) and was just accepted there. S is in electrical and computer engineering and says " all the engineering jobs are in Boston and the banking jobs are in NY". Maybe that is why the higher job rating for WPI as they are geographically closer to the hub of engineering in the eastern part of the US. I think it is really a personal decision and your child will get a great education at either school so you are blessed with a really great decision to have to make!</p>
<p>I would ask outright at each school what the % of graduates getting accepted into medical school/graduate school is if that is the student’s goal. I’m sure it is high at both schools.</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone who took the time to give me their thoughts on my D’s decision of RPI or WPI. It’s nice to get opinions across the board to help in the process. We are going to RPI’s accepted student day this Saturday…hopefully that will also help. Best to all…</p>
<p>D got accepted at Cornell - will have to wait to see her $$ package. Now it’s RPI/WPI/or Cornell?</p>
<p>I was about to go to WPI, but due to financial reasons, it was impossible 
RPI gave me a really nice financial aid package and made it possible for me to attend so here I am now :O</p>
<p>In all honesty, I preferred WPI over RPI due to the atmosphere and project-based curriculum. However, now that I’m here at RPI, I feel pretty satisfied with the school (with the exception of the administration >:/ ). You really do have to visit the schools before attending.</p>
<p>With regard to RPI vs WPI - doesn’t the latter work on a quarter or trimester system like RIT?</p>
<p>My S did not apply to WPI although I thought it would have been an interesting possibility.
The reasons he gave was that WPI was unheard of (to the potential engineering majors from our hometown near a very popular college for engineering) and because it did not have a semester system. He couldn’t fathom how that would work for engineering.</p>
<p>@Zeronax: can you explain what you don’t like about RPI and its administration?
@Orinox18: what are the differences in the personalities of the students?</p>
<p>and is there really that much of a difference between name-recognition/prestige between RPI and WPI?</p>
<p>It seems that the administration makes its own decisions without consulting the students. Even our student senate is sometimes left out of the loop. This year, there was a lot of tension with the issues of layoffs, housing, RA compensation, and the elimination of language courses. It really ticked everyone off :/</p>
<p>@jack - I can’t speak as much for the student personality type at wpi because I didn’t apply there. I can tell you the two people I know who are going there in the fall are very friendly and extremely nerdy. When I visited RPI I felt most of the students were really nerdy but that’s what drew me towards RPI in the first place. People there seemed friendly and approachable.
@zeronax - what housing issues are you referring to?</p>
<p>Sophomore housing requirements will be in effect for the incoming freshmen class. This means that freshmen and sophomores will have housing priority over the rest of the upperclassmen. Also, squatter’s rights have been eliminated, which means everyone must give up their dorms each year. It seems that the only way for upperclassmen to have good housing is to be invited by sophomores or live off campus.</p>
<p>My S has been accepted at all 3 and they seem similar in many respects. I find this whole experience pretty confusing–so much to think about (yes my first off to college)! The nurturing environment at WPI seems to have an edge for us right now, but it is so expensive and we don’t know where the $ will come from. My S is more quiet and I think he would do better in an environment that was more group-oriented and less outright competitive. Not that they all aren’t competitive to some degree! My son liked RPI when he visited, but then he saw WPI and liked that environment much better. WPI does not have the +/- system to my knowledge (No B- B B+ only B). He also received more $ at WPI (he received good $ at the other 2 also). Is there anyone who has inside information as to the student life at these three schools? Is there a place I can go to find more insider information? I have the Insiders Guide book but I am interested in finding more…Thanks for any advice!</p>
<p>S goes to WPI and very happy there as a junior. Also was accepted at Stevens and RPI. Stevens gave him more money but he did an overnight there and had a bad experience. The kids he stayed with blew off their classes and were quite the party animals (that is not to say they are all that way but it was a bad experience for HIM). WPI seems to be a good fit for him and he has made tons of friends there. Yes there is some partying but overall they are serious students. Yes there are some strange kids with no social skills that play computer games all day but that is not most of them (and I think that is the deal at any “techie” school). He is getting top notch education and has had some great internships for the last two summers and has one lined up for this summer. It is expensive but for us/him it has been worth it!</p>
<p>Judy13, my son is finishing his second year at RPI. He sounds a lot like your son - quiet and enjoys collaborative group projects. Not competitive by nature but he does have high expectations of himself. He has found the academics very challenging and works very hard but has managed to do well (he is a chemical engineering major). He often mentions meeting up with other students to work on assigned group projects. I never sense from him that there is a sense of competitiveness amongst the students. Rather, that they are all in this together and want to achieve good results individually. He has really enjoyed RPI and made wonderful friends there. He enjoys sports and has participated in intramural soccer and ice hockey all four semesters. He also gets off campus once in a while for movies, paintball, laser tag, concerts, eating out etc. But he enjoys just hanging out with friends in the dorm or around campus. I am sure there are aspects of college life that he does not share with me but my sense is that the students there take their academics very seriously and balance it all out while still having fun. </p>
<p>My son had some nice college choices a couple years ago (Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech etc.) but at the end of his Accepted Students Day, he picked up an RPI hooded sweatshirt at the bookstore and handed it to me. That was his decision. He just “knew” and it has been a excellent decision for him. (BTW, our family rule was it was OK to get a t-shirt during any college visit but the only hoodie we would pay for was one from the college he would actually be going to!) So, if your son has a good gut instinct about WPI, he probably knows what’s right for him. Have faith!</p>