RPI vs Case Western

College Search & Selection
1

<p>we still have schools to hear from, but for now these are D's 2 acceptances.</p>

<p>Her strong career leaning is to architecture, but still wants to explore. She is good in math and has flirted with an interest in Civil E, though she is creative and artsy for a tech kid, her interest in architecture is more the tech and social/planning side than pure art. She will be graduating from TJ. She is thoughtful, nerdy, somewhat shy (though she has made great strides) but with an entrepreneurial/activist side. She has ADHD-Inattentive, and is considered a "visual spatial learner". She would prefer a school with architecture, engineering AND liberal arts, and not too large. Her number 1 choice is Lehigh, but she has not heard from them yet.</p>

<p>For now, lets leave aside financial aid considerations.</p>

<p>RPI - Pros - Right size, Excellent accredited Arch program, strong engineering. From what we have seen and heard, good for quirky kids, kids with visual spatial learning style, and for ADD kids. Proximity to outdoor recreation</p>

<p>Cons - Hardly any liberal arts courses, no language courses. Would have to go to U Albany for the LA and Language courses she wants. Architecture program demanding to the point of being stressful (but she's coming from TJ, maybe not so much). Needs to be pretty commited to Arch already. Troy - small and not much to do. Tiny Jewish community.</p>

<p>CWRU- Pros - Right size? Excellent engineering (civil?) Full range of liberal arts and languages (but how good?) Serious, studious culture. Cleveland cultural opportunities. Larger jewish community, in the school(?) but esp in the city. </p>

<p>Cons - No Arch dept, only pre-arch major, possible difficulty combining it with Civil. Cleveland crime. Is the school open to silly, quirky, creative nerd types, as opposed to just studious nerds? Class sizes and faculty enthusiasm for teaching undergrads?</p>

2

<p>I would be interested in a comparison here too. Both are on my child’s current and too-long list. My child is also nerdy and a tiny bit shy, and wants a combined computer science and math degree (probably double major). What about safety and housing? I think mine wants to stay in a dorm (and have less to deal with).</p>

3

<p>“Cleveland cultural opportunites” oxymoron</p>

4

<p>mark, from what I can gather, cleveland has art museums that are about as big as the entire city of Troy, NY :)</p>

5

<p>They call Troy the troylet for a reason. Honestly you get a better education at HVCC than at RPI for less than 10% of the cost of RPI.</p>

6

<p>Randy Newman said it best</p>

<p>There’s a red moon rising
On the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake
There’s a red moon rising
ON the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake
There’s an oil barge winding
Down the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake
There’s an oil barge winding
Down the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake
Cleveland, city of light, city of magic
Cleveland, city of light, you’re calling me
Cleveland, even now I can remember
‘Cause the Cuyahoga River
Goes smokin’ through my dreams
Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on
Now the Lord can make you tumble
And the Lord can make you turn
And the Lord can make you overflow
But the Lord can’t make you burn
Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on</p>

7

<p>RPI is an extremely good school but very expensive. Theres not a whole lot to do in troy, there are a few decent bars by the river but other then that troy is very depressing. However, albany is very close so it does not really matter.</p>

8

<p>RPI is an excellent school. They are currently ranked #42 in the nation and their engineering program I believe is #23 in the nation according to USNews.</p>

<p><a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/troy-ny/rpi-2803[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/troy-ny/rpi-2803&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>I would really recommend for your daughter to attend RPI if she can get enough financial aid/scholarships.</p>

<p>I would choose RPI over Lehigh anytime, but again RPI is a pretty expensive school. </p>

<p>About the city of Troy, the fact that it might be boring, don’t use this as a negative. This way you would know that your daughter will have more time to study than to be partying. Boring cities are not actually a bad place to go to college.</p>

<p>Although Lehigh is not that bad of a school is currently ranked #35 in the nation, but their engineering program is not as good as RPI</p>

<p><a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/bethlehem-pa/lehigh-university-3289[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/bethlehem-pa/lehigh-university-3289&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If your daughter got into RPI I am pretty sure she will get into Lehigh as well. Your next step will be how much you will have to pay out of pocket or loans from each of these wonderful schools.</p>

9

<p>Case seemed like a more balanced place. Atmosphere at RPI was not good, seemed very tight. Troy is a dump, while the Cleveland area around Case seemed to offer some very interesting features. RPI is 75% male, Case is about 56% so a little more balanced in that regard as well.</p>

10

<p>University Circle is a relatively safe area, as is nearby Little Italy. Great art museum near the Case campus and a world class symphony orchestra. Access to Bus Rapid Transit and rail link to downtown Cleveland, the Flats area (bars, restaurants, clubs) and R&R Hall of Fame and sports stadiums is good. Cleveland has many more cultural amenities than Troy/Albany. RPI seems to have stronger programs in the areas that your daughter wants to major in but I’d agree that Case has much more balanced offerings. Both are fine schools.</p>

11

<p>Troy is a dump. Albany is a disaster.</p>

12

<p>lol NuclearPakistan1, that made me laugh :P</p>

13

<p>I am currently an engineering student at Case and love it, but Case does not have an architecture program. If that is a high priority, I would recommend RPI instead. Both are good schools, although Case is a bit more “well rounded” and less male dominated, as it is a full university and not a technical school</p>