My son is deciding between his two top options for undergraduate Engineering: Rutgers Honors College vs Worcester Polytechnic. His intended major is Biomedical Engineering.
After merit scholarships, RPI will cost about $30K more than Rutgers in total… not pocket change but not insurmountable for us either.
I was hoping to get some opinions on this board on which of the two is the better choice. And how valuable (or not) is the honors college aspect?
Thanks in advance for your thoughtful perspective.
In the BME field, both WPI and Rutgers have very solid credentials.
As a WPI alumnus, I am always a little skeptical of “honors” programs which appear to develop a second standard within the University. The entire WPI program is “honors.” The average GPA of the last entering class was 3.89 across all majors.
All students pursue small group project studies across their major, the humanities and interdisciplinary problem solutions which often incorporate social sciences. Non-STEM majors also pursue this three part project approach from different directions. This means all students are involved in smaller group studies starting in year one.
For real data specific to the WPI program, go to the website below and click on the 2018 Post-Graduate PDF report. On page 13 of this report you will find the actual results and not just national summaries. See https://www.wpi.edu/student-experience/career-development/outcomes
As both Universities are in very highly developed BME research areas. I suspect they both do well.
Massachusetts has invested heavily in Worcester with a BM research park and the nearby UMASS Medical School which is closely tied to WPI’s own on and off campus research efforts in this field. WPI’s program started in the late '60’s.
The real differences between these universities may have more to do with fully developed team approaches both inside and outside of the WPI BME major and your personal comfort zone regarding out of classroom activities (e.g. music, art, Drama)? How do non-majors participate? Are they flexible?
Do you want to participate in projects located all over the world?
Retiredfarmer thank you for your extensive and thoughtful response. I too am unsure how to value the Honors College Aspect. I will take a look at the links you shared. Much appreciated!