RPI vs. UD

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Decision day is approaching, and I'm having a terrible time deciding between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of Delaware for chemical engineering. I'll list out the pros and cons, and if anyone here has any suggestions, PLEASE HELP!</p>

<p>RPI
Pros: Good engineering; great research (research institute); D3 swimming (I enjoy swimming; but am not good enough for D1); would not be hard to fit in (many people there are gamers, as am I); close to mountains where I can snowboard</p>

<p>Cons: Not as good as UD for ChemE; antisocial students; bad location (Troy, NY is bad); full of engineers with no humanities majors to provide comedic relief; nothing to do on campus; small and not too well developed campus; 70/30 ratio of guys to girls (bad)</p>

<p>UD
Pros: Top ten in country for ChemE; wonderful campus; social student body; ok research; a lot to do on campus; nice dorms; good location; many student run organizations; 60/40 girls to guys (very good) </p>

<p>Cons: Although ChemE is better at UD, no other engineering major is (but I really want to do ChemE); not a research institute, so not high quality research; D1 swimming (I'm not good enough, so I would need to find another sport); not as easily fit in (not many gamers at Delaware, more "jocks")</p>

<p>More info: As a gamer who wants to major in ChemE, I'm not sure how much of a social life I'll even manage to have. I'm not good at managing my time, so even if there is a lot to do on campus, I may not be able to do it. $25,000 RPI scholarship, $11,000 UD scholarship to UD Honors College (in total, UD is $6,000 less). I plan on attending grad school, which means I would have to do undergrad research; although RPI is a research institute, is it worth attending a school 17 ranks lower in chemical engineering for this, considering UD does still have good research opportunities?</p>

<p>Thanks for all the help!</p>

2

<p>Bumping for help :c</p>

3

<p>No one knows anything?</p>

4

<p>RPI is all about engineering and if you don’t feel connected to the kids now, you’ll struggle to feel connected for 4 years. Because Troy is not a draw, you really better love being on campus which means being with the kids you already don’t care for.</p>

<p>UD chem engineering is their draw. If you switched away from Chem E you could always think about transferring but it sounds like your overall college experience will be better since socially you are drawn there.</p>

<p>It is easy to get hung up on the rankings, you are now down to days, minutes to decide. Think about “fit”</p>

5

<p>No, the problem was not fitting in at Delaware. I would fit in nicely at RPI I think (although there are a few more crazies there then I would like), and not fit in too well at UD (I would be considered a crazy).</p>

<p>Since RPI has the activities that I would like, but Delaware has the academics and campus I would like.</p>

<p>Do grad schools focus more on quality of academics, or amount of research? Del has research (and good research at that), but not as many opportunities as RPI.</p>

6

<p>I don’t know what grad schools focus on to be honest. I think you have to plan your undergrad experience for what you need/want/prefer now. Plenty of undergrads go to grad school from both schools.</p>