Rpi vs Northeastern

@j4yxson

Yeah sure, first off I’m Hispanic
32 ACT took it once
790 Mbio
780 Math 2
98.8/100 GPA upward trend
Several AP/SUPA/College level classes including a self study for AP world history and got a 5
Captain of Varsity Team
President of an Honor Society
Tutor for community service
And participation in other minor activities
Only national award is AP scholar

@j4yxson

And good luck for Thursday!

Son picked RPI over NEU after attending both admitted student days. I found myself leaning to NEU based on location, facilities, and great Coop program, but son loved RPI campus and feel and seemed influenced by friends and older brother who convinced him RPI was better choice. Both seem like great options and we are happy for him. Campus visit super helpful in getting him excited about the school and over his disappointment when his MIT hopes were crushed.

Mine went to RPI accepted student day also. RPI has been number one from the beginning. For engineering I’d pick RPI over NEU.

Thank heavens for deadlines. Thought son decided on RPI after visiting days despite being initially in favor of NEU, but waited for deadline to make decision/deposit and flipped back to NEU in the end. Tough decision for him and think it was about liking the thought of college in Boston, the M/F ratio, the condition of the facilities/dorms, and the idea of city apartment options after freshman year required Honors dorm living at NEU. Both were great nearly equal academic options for him and we tried not to influence, but must admit we as parents are pleased as we felt the NEU computer science program and the school in general are on an upward trajectory.

My son decided against RPI at the last minute also! They have to go with their gut. Good luck

@BostonDadof2 @LIParent101 I guess it’s 3 for 3. My son chose NEU over RPI, but a close call. Co-op, Boston, male/female ratio and a great financial pkg from NEU sealed the deal. Good luck to all of you.

For those who chose NEU over RPI - just wonder what you intended majors are – my DS is graduating 2017 & considering these schools too - interested in Elec. Eng. & CS. thanks.

Just a note about asking for a college to meet or beat another college’s financial offer-
It’s rare that many do, but if they do and you decide to sign up remember that this doesn’t garauntee 4 years.
In other words, when they’ve caught you into their web you are stuck for the long haul and good luck trying to haggle the following 3 years.
By going with their original price, you can be sure that the following 3 years will be near to their original cost.
Just 2 pennies from someone with no college experience though, so take with a grain of sugar.

I’d like to disagree with the above. Most awards from RPI are guaranteed for four years and the rest of the aid is done by the government so that’ll only change if there’s an adverse change in income. I believe the same is true for northeastern.

RPI does not have a GPA requirement for their merit awards. My son would have lost a substantial amount of merit awards if they did, and he managed to return to the land of the passing, actually doing very well this semester, after his descent into low GPA land.

Remember to check what the conditions of the aid are.

(as for the M/F ratio - my son has a girlfriend at RPI, so I can bet that girls are pretty much courted there due to the high M/F ratio!)

(a reminder - RPI and Northeastern are really cold, let alone Cornell! My next child might go to RPI with his brother, but other than that, he’s looking forward to going somewhere WARM, like Virginia at least.)

Update, now my youngest is in 2nd semester at RPI. He is very glad to be there.
NU would have actually cost us more, and RPI has the better rep.
As to Cornell vs RPI, I know few would make the decision, but my older son is at Cornell.
Personally, I would pick RPI over Cornell, based on what I hear from my kids, in terms of the undergraduate teaching and classroom experiences. Cornell has the MOST beautiful campus around, and obviously a great reputation, but RPI is a better teaching school, more focused on undergraduates. I am speaking strictly of engineering/CS. I am sure Cornell students in other majors would have a different experience than in engineering.

@blevine, there was a poster on this site several years ago. She had engineering students at both, and she felt RPI was “better” also. I don’t know exactly how she defined it, but when doing research it helped to hear that opinion.