RPI vs WPI vs RIT vs Clarkson (sometimes)

<p>ok...i was just browsing forums...and some people compare RIT and Clarkson to RPI and WPI...some even said that RPI and RIT are in one league...and that WPI is one notch lower than them....</p>

<p>all i have to say to that is ***????...really??...how is RIT better than WPI and in the same league as RPI??...for being smaller engineering schools, RPI and WPI (RPI esp) do really well on rankings...RIT is far lower, and Clarkson doesn't even come up on the list...and lets compare avg SAT scores from collegeboard.com</p>

<p>RPI</p>

<p>Reading: 610 - 700
Math: 660 - 750
Writing: 580 - 680</p>

<p>WPI</p>

<p>Reading: 560 - 660
Math: 630 - 720
Writing: 560 - 660</p>

<p>RIT</p>

<p>Reading: 530 - 640
Math: 560 - 670
Writing: 520 - 620</p>

<p>Clarkson</p>

<p>Reading: 500 - 610
Math: 560 - 660
Writing: 490 - 580</p>

<p>RPI's scores are comparable to lower Ivies, and WPI is right up there not too far behind...RIT's and Clarkson's scores are like a whole notch lower...</p>

<p>who else agrees (or disagrees)???...haha</p>

<p>lol my friend is going to RPI</p>

<p>I personally have always considered RIT to be less selective, and I never really thought Clarkson was very comparable, but I’m kind of biased toward RPI</p>

<p>If you look at academics and campus life combined, it would go:</p>

<ol>
<li>WPI</li>
<li>RIT</li>
<li>RPI</li>
<li>Clarkson (sucks, I personally would never go there).</li>
</ol>

<p>Academically, I personally don’t think RIT is that far behind RPI. I think WPI is the best for undergrad because of their curriculum which is based on learning in projects. RPI would probably be next but I have friends going to RIT and it seems to be a challenging school for engineering. Clarkson is just at the bottom, it doesn’t come close to RIT, RPI, or WPI. Just my opinion, I’m sure lots of people will favor RPI since it has the best reputation out of all three </p>

<p>Source: I’ve visited WPI.</p>

<p>yeah i think highly of WPI…they have a real practical edge…and at the same time, the students are also really bright (based on SAT scores)…i went to RPI, and i think RPI has slightly better students and perhaps harder exams, but more theoretical than WPI (i base this on comparing myself with this WPI kid at work…he knows his stuff well and has a great practical sense…whereas i’m the guy who sits there and knows the theory, math, and physics, behind the concepts much more…but nowhere near the same practical sense that he has)…</p>

<p>but how is RIT comparable to RPI???..seriously…just lookin at straight up rankings…RPI is in the teens (or at least it was when i was there and i graduated two years ago…might be around 20 now) for engineering undergrad rankings…RIT isn’t even in the top 50…and i just showed the whole SAT score thing…</p>

<p>even back in HS when applying to colleges, i always considered RPI to be the lowest school where you can start comparing to MIT (other slightly higher up ones being places like CMU, GA Tech, Cornell, etc etc)…</p>

<p>and as far as the best pure math / science / engineering / tech schools in the northeast, i usually just think of MIT, RPI, and WPI…but that’s just me…</p>

<p>RPI is definitely more reputable but I think RIT is slowly improving. The co-op program at RIT is amazing which leads to great job placement.</p>

<p>I understand that you went to RPI and are proud of your school and you should be really happy that you got an excellent education and an amazing degree, don’t worry about other schools.</p>

<p>hah thanks…but i really wasn’t thinkin for RPI…i was ORIGINALLY thinking more for WPI…i saw a couple posts where they said RIT was better than WPI…i just don’t see how…</p>

<p>and idk about RIT improving…like i wouldn’t know since i didn’t go there, apply there, or ever really look at them, so i obv wouldn’t read up or follow news on RIT haha…i’m sure they are improving…but so is RPI…the college president is trying to bring it up to MIT standards over time, as she is an MIT almnus…so at best, both are probably improving at the same rate…i’ve noticed for a fact that RPI’s avg SAT scores go up every year…</p>

<p>WPI seems to be improving this year too as they seem more selective now than when i applied there, which was about 6 years ago haha…</p>

<p>on an unrelated note, is it just me, or has MIT’s standards dropped a little over the last few years??</p>

<p>nah I don’t think RIT is better than WPI, that’s something we see eye to eye on haha</p>

<p>Are RIT’s ACT/SAT stats (vs. other engineering/tech schools) brought down by all the Interior Design, Engineering Technology, Fine Arts and other non-engineering/technical majors? Do they break out engineering applicant stats? Just a thought.</p>

<p>I think RPI stands the tallest in this group by a lot. It is a first rate research university. </p>

<p>Then WPI, though it’s very different and probably not as tough as RPI. If you “fear” RPI then go to WPI and you’ll be ok. </p>

<p>The other two are not really in the same league and are probably more appropriate for someone who isn’t outstanding at math but wants to be an engineer anyway.</p>

<p>rit has a large art and photo school that will drag down the averages of the common applicant pool. also, its engineering ranking is somewhere in the neighborhood of wpi. decoupling rit from rpi makes sense but not so much for wpi. i can’t really comment on clarkson since i don’t know too much about it. </p>

<p>this pdf has a breakdown of sat score of admitted* applicants by major. engineering/comp sci is definitely higher than the other schools. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.rit.edu/upub/pdfs/Prospectus.pdf[/url]”>http://www.rit.edu/upub/pdfs/Prospectus.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I go to WPI and I see RIT and WPI as peers though our enrolled student’s average statics are higher than RIT’s accepted student statistics. RIT seems to be a predominantly technical school with an artistic edge which WPI does not have. RIT is also a co-op school. These two qualities make it appeal to a different set of students. I think in terms of academic standards at the undergraduate level, they are essentially peers. For postgraduate study in engineering, WPI edges out.</p>

<p>WPI also has two major projects that all students must complete in a group, IQP and MQP, which the other two lack and which I think are fantastic. Research opportunities are also available at both WPI and RPI for students who want them but at the undergrad level, less variety would be available than at RPI. I think WPI has the right balance (since I prefer the undergrad emphasis) though WPI is also shifting to be a more research-led institution with grant funds increasing 25%+ in the last 3 years.</p>

<p>RPI is a different type of institutions in many ways, more on the line of UIUC, Purdue, in that its focus is more on research. However, it shares it’s tech-school roots with WPI and RIT. I think academically, RPI may be slightly harder but from interactions with students who go there, I don’t see very large differences. There are differences at the aggregate (average) level between RPI and WPI/RIT but I think the variance of students within each school is a lot better.</p>

<p>Clarkson, I agree trails, both research-wise, location-wise, and academically. It’s reputation is same/less as the state schools in the area like SUNY Albany so unless much larger scholarships are in the works or there are personal reasons, I don’t see a very compelling reason to go there.</p>