That’s going to be a very hard decision. Both are great, but I’d lean towards Stevens.
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Daughter accepted for Electrical Engineering, $33k in merit. Same price a WPI. Both are top choices. Wishing NJ would update travel advisory to allow visitors like NY and MA before she has to decide.
You can visit. I’m from NY and just took a tour with my son a couple weeks ago. Only freshman and seniors allowed on campus, so a bit empty, but worth the visit.
We’re from MN and according to travel restrictions, we still need to quarantine on arrival. Not sure if it’s being enforced, but I tend to be a rule follower. I’ve beem vaccinated, but my daughter hasn’t.
I’m checking regularly and we are ready to hop on a plane if things change.
Yup exactly! Hoping to get some more insight on other benefits of the program if anyone else knows!
Oh, now that you mention it, I think only those from adjacent states are allowed to visit. Sorry!
Congratulations
What’s your stats ?
Thank you!
In-state, 4.8 WGPA, 1580 SAT. Lots of ECs in many subjects, strong math and compsci background which I think helped me for quant finance.
Depends on what field you want to do with the degree (I’m actually in the same position lol). Both schools are great for Computer Science, however WPI is probably better to get into the tech scene while Stevens is better to get into finance (wall street is right there). Project based learning was emphasized at WPI more, however Co-op is a lot more common at Stevens (WPI does this IQP and MQP thing instead). I found a really detailed response online between these two schools.
“One thing that I don’t think other people will mention is the nightlife of each campus. By 6 or 7 PM, WPIs campus was basically dead. When I first got to Stevens, students were walking around and hanging out at 10-11 PM. Stevens felt more social.
I actually did my undergrad at WPI, and my Masters at Stevens. I’m wearing my WPI sweatshirt right now! I know you posted this in the WPI subreddit too, but I saw it here first, so I’ll answer it here. Unfortunately I don’t know much about undergrad life at Stevens, but I can fill you in as best I can.
Stevens is in a better location than WPI. Hoboken is much nicer than Worcester, and it’s so much easier to get to the closest major city. Boston is about 45-60 minutes from Worcester by car. Hoboken also has a better selection of food/stores close by. Hoboken’s closeness to NYC is great for concerts, events, museums, basically all activities.
Obviously I’m biased, but I LOVED the quarter (terms) system at WPI. You take 3 classes at a time for 7 weeks, with breaks between terms. You have the ability to take a 4th class for free once every semester (up to 7 in a semester). From the undergrads I talked to at Stevens, many of them seemed to be taking 6, 7, 8 classes at a time. I have no idea how they balanced that. I will say that the quarter system leads to classes being very intense, since you’re taking fewer classes, and it is hard to transfer out of WPI because the quarter classes don’t always translate well into semester classes.
The grading system at WPI is also unique, there are no pluses and minuses. 90 is A, 89 is B, 80 is B. This is great if you’re an A- student, not so much if you’re a B+ student. But you just have to put the extra work in. WPI also has a NR (No record) grade. There is no grade lower than C. So if you get what would be a D, you get an NR instead. NRs don’t show up on your transcript (although it will show that you’re missing credits on your transcript). I got 1 NR at WPI. I was taking 4 classes one term and I couldn’t handle the workload and was doing poorly in 1 class. I just stopped going to that class and I didn’t take the final. It was very helpful to be able to do that.
Greek life seemed bigger at WPI. I always saw people walking around wearing their letters there. About 33% of all students were Greek from what I remember. I wasn’t Greek, and most people in clubs/groups on campus were. I was a leader of a group at WPI, and on our board of 15 leaders, only 2 of us weren’t Greek. This had the ability of making me feel out of place. I didn’t see as heavy a Greek influence at Stevens. Greek != jocky/typical fraty, not that they don’t exist. Everyone at both schools are nerds.
One thing that I don’t think other people will mention is the nightlife of each campus. By 6 or 7 PM, WPIs campus was basically dead. When I first got to Stevens, students were walking around and hanging out at 10-11 PM. Stevens felt more social.
I don’t know about Stevens, but WPI is heavily based around teamwork. There are several large projects based around teamwork (IQP and MQP). Both of these are WPIs version of study abroad (mostly IQP though). You go with a group of students and spend a quarter working on a project (no class!). I went to Santa Fe, but I had friends who went to England, Denmark, Australia, South Africa, and Nigeria. They keep adding locations too. IQP is a mixture of students across majors, MQP is an in major project.
Stevens has a Co-op program, which WPI doesn’t have (or is at least very small).
From what I’ve gathered, Stevens has a more robust business and social science department. They have the Hanlon lab which is linked directly to Bloomberg’s tools.
What type of engineer do you plan on being? WPI has one of the few accredited robotics engineering programs in the country. Stevens has a naval engineering program. All of the other programs are fairly standard.
Stevens is well-known in the New York Metro area, WPI is well known in New England, so that won’t be an issue with either (assuming you want to stay in those areas).
I also want to add that Stevens has a bowling alley. WPI used to, but they removed it my senior year, much to many students’ dismay.”
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Probably not. Stevens has very strict outer state protocols. You can read that on their website.
NY has new travel restrictions, starting 4/1. We just booked a tour at RIT.
We have visit booked to RIT and WPI in April.
Looking for advice on switching majors prior to or when enrolling in Stevens as I’m not super set on the major I was accepted into. Is it easy to switch majors or is it a more difficult process? Also looking for any advice in picking schools. My top three are RPI, WPI, and Stevens. Each offers a unique education but I’m not sure which to pick. Thanks
Anyone received an acceptance package by mail?
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I haven’t. Theres some schools that aren’t bothering this year, i’m not sure if Stevens is or not.
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Somebody had the same question in one of the Admitted Students Zoom sessions and I remember the reply was that you need to contact your Admissions Officer (name should be on portal) to discuss the major change and there is some sort of deadline in July you need to meet as well prior to enrolling.