So I just got off the waitlist for case western, and I’m trying to decide if I should stay at RPI, or go to Case. I plan on majoring in computer engineering.
Case: I like case western a lot more as a school, but I don’t really know how CRWU compares to RPI for engineering. CWRU is also more expensive than RPI for me, but the price is not crazy high either, I can afford both. However, the only caveat is that I wasn’t admitted for fall, I was admitted for spring. If I go to Case, my plan is to take prerequisite courses at community college for fall and transfer them over when I go to CWRU in the spring. My parents are not too fond of this idea, they say that sometimes credits can’t be transferred over. The one door policy is also great just in case I decide to change majors.
RPI: It is 10k cheaper than Case. But like I said, both schools are affordable enough for me in that I won’t need to take out unreasonably large amounts of loans for either institution. 30-40k for Case (lower if I take courses at community college for fall so I can graduate 7 semesters at Case vs 8 semesters), and 20-30k for RPI. I honestly don’t like RPI that much as a school, the stuff I’ve seen online has given me significant doubts about going there, but I can’t deny that the education at RPI is top-notch. Troy sucks from what I’ve heard tho, and Cleveland is a much more vibrant city imo. RPI is closer to home(I live in NYC) but that isn’t too much of a factor for me.
Some thoughts would be appreciated. I have until the 21st to decide.
It’s not worth 40k more. Graduation and retention rates are the same at both schools indicating that the issues at RPI are the same as any issue you haven’t heard about at CWRU!
My son was admitted to both and didn’t attend either. Our impression though was that Case would have been the better experience of the two. Troy does suck and in general students didn’t exude the happiness that was palpable at other schools like Cal Poly, WPI and Tufts. The main reason every person we spoke to cited for being at RPI was money. Most of them were Rensselaer Medalists (top science and math student at their school) as was our son. $40k is not chump change, but it needs to be viewed in context of the overall price and how it would impact your family. There’s no right answer here like there is when the difference is $150k and the family had to leverage to get there. My call would be Case on fit, but both degrees are respected. Do well and you’ll be fine either way.
Case the better school. Not RPI. Cleveland is neat vs. Troy.
But starting school in the Spring is a no no. That’s just marketing for Case - they’ve convinced you to be interested in helping them fill an empty spot as they will have graduates or transfers.
Starting in Spring means you lose all potential socializing opportunities. You come in as an outsider - not to mention you have to find something else to do for 6 months. I’d rather be rejected than admitted to Spring.
So to me - even if CWRU might be a better experience, I think you have to go to RPI.
Personally for me, I don’t feel spring admit is that bad. If I go this route, I plan on taking prerequisites at community college and transfer the credits over. This saves me money in the long run and allows me to graduate at the same time as the fall admits. I’ve also spoken to some people from case who were spring admits and none of them said they had any problems wit fitting in after going. I understand your point of view tho and it’s one of the reasons I’m hesitant on going.
It doesn’t sound like you are particularly enthused about RPI in any case.
Case will be able to advise you on what CC courses to take, and surely they have a system in place for socializing and blending the spring transfers. Case is a much more well-rounded university and Cleveland is awesome (and affordable).
Sounds like you’re leaning toward CWRU. Here are a couple of suggestions:
Your parents are right. Colleges don’t always transfer credits from other colleges. Read the CWRU catalogue on this point. There are several restrictions. Why waste your time if they’re not going to be accepted? The simplest approach would be to consult with the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students and get any courses in advance of taking them. If they’re not going to be accepted, you’re wasting whatever money you’ll pay for them and you’re losing the money you could be out earning at a jib instead.
Consider taking courses at CWRU in the fall as a non-matriculated student. CWRU does allow this. Obviously you couldn’t live in a dorm, so you’d have to get off-campus housing. But you’d otherwise be on campus, getting started with all the other freshmen. There would be no question of the credits being accepted when you officially matriculate in the 2nd semester.
But I don’t think of the immediate neighborhood of a college mattering much unless it’s unsafe - with a few exceptions. When you’re in the neighborhood, you’ll mostly on campus. When a student is in a big city, it’s the other things they’ll access around the city that enhance the college experience.
So, I think of Troy more as a neighborhood within the Capitol region where there are other things to do and places to see from Albany to Saratoga. If a kid is outdoorsy, he’s less than a hour from Lake George & the Adirondack Park which offers anything from canoeing, kayaking, and whitewater rafting to hiking, camping, mountain climbing, and skiing. Frankly I’d take that region of NY over northern Ohio in a heartbeat. RPI is also just one of 8 colleges in the greater capital region, so always lots to do by visiting friends and friends of friends at other nearby schools.
I am very active, but I hate the outdoors. More into lifting weights (powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting) things like that, so the nature surrounding RPI I can take it or leave it, it is not a huge factor for me. I am born and raised in NYC, and a lot of my friends are going to SUNYs and stuff so being able to visit them would be nice. But again, location is something I should think about, but it isn’t a huge factor
Academically you should have similar opportunities at either school, but an obvious difference is that RPI is 70% male while CWRU is 54% male. Your choice.
Late to the thread. I would personally vote for Case but RPI is a solid respected name. I view Case and RPI as peer schools and would imagine most future employers would as well. Why not go to one where you will be happiest? Agree with Yonkers6thBoro that Case is a much more well rounded school and could potentially offer a better overall experience. For a reasonably outgoing kid with good social skills who is willing to put in some extra effort meeting people, the Spring start is probably not a big deal. It’s not like OP would be missing all of Freshman year. My only misgiving would be if OP’s transfer credit plan did not work that the Spring start would throw off his graduation date and put him out of sync with the normal recruiting cycle.
Regarding the extra money, I gladly paid an extra 8K a year to get DS into his top choice for fit. Every families finances are different but I consider this some of the best money I ever spent.
Yea… my parents don’t care at all about fit, they only care about finances and reputation of the school. RPI is cheaper for me, and they think RPI has a better reputation because their US news ranking is like 8 places above RPI for engineering or something around there. I personally want to go to Case because it is so much more well-rounded than RPI, but idk how to convince my parents to be on my side. When I mentioned fit, they basically said something along the lines of u go to school to learn not to have fun…
Money is always a factor and if it’s $40K different, that’s a lot. You don’t want debt.
RPI is also cheaper transport wise - a drive vs. a likely flight.
I personally don’t see the Spring thing as good. You say it’s fine - and you are sort of using the logic of your parents - you can deal with it…i.e. you are going to school to learn, not have an experience…basically the same as your parents said. So I can twist your argument on you back to RPI.
Anyway, whoever pays - gets the final say - but if you feel that strongly, make a list of pros and cons - and let them see why CWRU is better for you.
btw - what are you studying again - if you need rankings to bolster, use NIche - CWRU is 40 and RPI 45 - well that’s general engineering.
Is Niche legit? Nope - but neither is US News.
Come up with reasons why CWRU is better for you and how it justifies the $10K - and don’t use this chat as a reference because nearly everyone told you to go to RPI We are like your parents…because we are parents.
In this post, I count 3 for RPI, 3 for Case, one dude who didn’t really side wit either school. So it’s more of a 50/50 split for each school from this post.
In regards to the spring admit part, yea. I did say that. The difference is tho I would be dealing wit it for one semester as opposed to four years or however long it would take me to decide if I hate it there enough to want to transfer out. I might actually like RPI, who knows. But I have a feeling that I would like Case much better.
I don’t see how transport would be an issue as I won’t be visiting my folks unless semester is over and I don’t have other plans or there is a really important holiday anyway regardless of which school I end up attending.
The bottom line is, you go to school to get out. You choose the one that will give you the best odds of graduating and getting a job. You will probably be fine either way, but it’s not great to start with the happiness odds stacked against you. Fit is about finding the right balance that will support you through the rigor in order to succeed.
What eyemgh says - you need to go to the right fit - and if that’s CWRU, then that’s where you should go - IF (and that’s the imprortant word) your parents ultimately agree. If not, where do you get $40K.
The scoreboard doesn’t matter - because we are not you - it’s your college but for the record:
RPI:
CSBound
Momofboiler1
TSBNA44
Case:
eyemgh
Shiprock
So 3-2 Yonkers6Boro and Bill Marsh didn’t give forth an opinion.
Again, I tease - it doesn’t matter - you (and your parents) matter.
We are like your parents…because we are parents.