<p>These are really my top two schools but deciding between them seem impossible. I was accepted to WPi EA round 2 but I have not heard anything in regards to Financial aid yet. I applied to Stevens regular decision (stupid mistake) and I hear back from them anywhere from March 1st-31st. They both have a lot to offer and they seem never to be compared. They both are highly regarded in the engineering world and both have amazing job placement upon graduation. As far as the environment goes worcester is not a bad town socially or culturally but you can not compare in to NYC which happens to be right across from Stevens. I want to major in Mechanical Engineering and both programs are phenomenal. I guess it might come down to financial aid, Stevens costs slightly more but they tend to give out more money since the average incoming class is 500 people, any opinions or first hand experience would greatly be appreciated. On a side note, does anyone know how Stevens contacts you if they accepted you, by mail/email?</p>
<p>idk my cousin went to wpi and got an insanely great paying job right out of college. but he graduated in 3 years i think, and is super smart.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t discount Stevens for its price just yet. You are likely to receive a better financial aid offer from Stevens since its applicants don’t quite have the stats that wpi’s kids do. Also, co-op, which is a big deal at Stevens, should help you pay off a significant amount of money.</p>
<p>It looks like you’ve read alot about these two schools but I’d be careful trusting most posts here on CC about Stevens unless they’re from susgeek or somebody like that. Stevens seems to have a pretty strong PR team and it looks like they tend to make a lot of new accounts and post under them to inflate Stevens’ reputation. I think that the reputation of the two schools do not compare. So if prestige is something important to you, WPI is the better option.</p>
<p>You have to weigh the value of the co-op at stevens against the value of a team-oriented education at WPI. I think that this, along with location (boston vs nyc) should be the deciding factors.</p>
<p>I assume that you already know about the financial issues at Stevens from a couple of years ago and the end result:</p>
<p>[President</a> of Stevens Institute Agrees to Step Down - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/16/education/16stevens.html]President”>President of Stevens Institute Agrees to Step Down - The New York Times)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.stevens.edu/sit/pdf/Special-Counsel-Issues-Sixth-and-Final-Quarterly-Report.pdf[/url]”>http://www.stevens.edu/sit/pdf/Special-Counsel-Issues-Sixth-and-Final-Quarterly-Report.pdf</a></p>
<p>Saunders both are very strong schools in what they specialize in. I attended Graduate school at Stevens and I can say that the career resources are top notch. Being close to NYC, there are always corporations on campus and students are usually garnering multiple offers. Socially, the campus is great and Hoboken is a ton of fun. If you are looking at curriculum’s, Stevens will be more hands on. In ME, there are 8 semesters of design that address the practical aspects of being an engineer very well. It is the only school that is that practical, which engineers usually like.The Co-op program is a large reason why Stevens will shine against other Universities as it is optional and very flexible.</p>
<p>MichaelGScarn,
Wow, those are some damning accusations about Stevens! Every one of them completely unfounded.</p>
<p>My son is in the class of 2013. Stevens is on the top of his list. The others are Lehigh and RPI. He has the grades for Cornell or Binghamton, but he’s a tennis player and those schools have very strong teams. He would either not make the team or be warm up boy.</p>
<p>WPI has no tennis, hence they are not on his list.</p>
<p>Ironic… The whole tennis thing was in hopes he’d get into a better college than he would qualify for. Who knew he’d be smart!? 
It’s actually limiting his options rather than expanding them!</p>
<p>We visited Stevens (as well as the others) and he, his mother and I all heavily favor Stevens. I don’t see the difference between WPI and Stevens that you do. CR/Math SAT for WPI are 607/681 versus 601/662 for Stevens. For all intents and purposes, the criteria for entry are essentially identical.</p>
<p>According to Payscale.com, the average income for graduates of these schools are also essentially identical, with Stevens graduates earning more than WPI graduates by a couple of grand.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Stevens shines with regards to student/faculty ratio. Stevens is HALF that of WPI. 7:1 for Stevens and 14:1 for WPI.</p>
<p>As for location, no contest! It’s not Boston versus NYC. It’s “some small town in Massachusetts” versus NYC. You can literally throw a rock and hit NYC from Steven’s campus. “Literally”, not figuratively. Stevens is right on the Hudson River. Assuming your arm is good enough to reach the middle of the Hudson, you can indeed hurl that rock to NYC. :-)</p>
<p>The PATH train to the City is a couple of blocks away (easy walking distance). The train goes immediately under the Hudson river and you’re there… a few minutes to downtown NYC. Not the outskirts… Down-friggin’-town baby! You barely have time to sit down before you’re getting up and getting out on the town. You could easily shop or have dinner in NYC during the middle of a school week and still have plenty of time to study in your own dorm room.</p>
<p>WPI is more than an hour away from downtown Boston by car and nearly two hours away from downtown Boston by train!!! And that train to Boston is a “normal” rail with a relatively lousy schedule. The trains are hours apart during midday into the evening, making it impossible to go to Boston during the school week. </p>
<p>Conversely, you don’t even have to check a schedule with the PATH to NYC. It’s essentially part of the subway system. Just show up. A PATH train comes every ten to 15 minutes. All the glory of Downtown NYC is mere minutes away for Stevens students.</p>
<p>Saunders76,
I’d urge you to ignore the input from MichaelGScarn.</p>
<p>You probably know I am speaking the truth, but anything I said here can be confirmed at usnews.com and the appropriate train schedules online.</p>
<p>Unless NYC is inconvenient geographically for you, Stevens is the school to pick. It’s really not a contest. I couldn’t find anything about WPI that made it a better school than Stevens. </p>
<p>You’re going to love it’s location. Hoboken is an affluent area with great shops and restaurants lining Washington Street for over a mile. Washington Street runs parallel to Stevens’ campus and is only about 100 yards away.</p>
<p>You’ll have it all. Great school, great education, great neighborhood and immediate surroundings, Fantastic access to NYC… what else can you say?</p>
<p>There are couple of really nice hotels in the area for your parents to stay at. On the lower cost end of the spectrum is the Sheraton Weehawken at about $150 per night. It’s about a mile away. Much closer (walking distance) is the W Hotel. It’s a bit more expensive, but you can’t beat the location. </p>
<p>BTW, no car is necessary… ever. In fact, it would be an inconvenience to have a car.</p>
<p>Oh wow, thank you everyone for your help and I truly appreciate you taking the time to answer. Does anyone know how they contact you for admissions? I looked on their site and it does not specify, I only ask because WPI only tells you by mail and I was just wondering if Stevens shares this characteristic.</p>
<p>I received a personal phone call from an admissions counselor! It was followed up by an official letter and then Ina week or two a letter with a merit scholarship. I put my deposit in shortly thereafter, I am excited to go , for all the reasons the writer above mentioned. It just seems like a really nice place to learn and to live and the stats speak for themselves. Good luck with your decision.</p>