@joedoe Im particularly nervous because we were a smaller group of admitted students that could not attend on the actual day (maybe 100-200 admitted students). Im nervous to see what will happen when they explain the program to the larger group.
It should be fine, I’m going to be present so we’ll see.
Also, here’s the webpage about summer arch: http://rpinfo.rpi.edu/summer-arch
Looking at the exemptions, it seems rigid, but, again, it doesn’t seem too hard to convince them otherwise. Get a summer internship, say someone’s sick, or you can’t afford it since you had a job panned out and they’ll approve an exemption.
My D will be doing the Summer Arch this year. It provides the advantage of being able to do a 6-month co-op, which some companies like (and are more likely to lead to employment). She plans to do a co-op in next Spring+Summer (so after finished her junior year). The only downside I can see is the compressed summer semester may be tough. And you don’t have to do a co-op, you could study abroad, do research, or something else. So it’s not as co-op centric as Northwestern.
I don’t think the housing is the main motivator, as many upperclassmen want to move off campus anyway (cheaper). Also, AFAIK it’s copied from Dartmouth, not Northwestern.
According to school plan, during junior year, Fall and Spring Semester are identical so taking time off is mandatory. In that case, opt out must be really unlikely. My D is admitted with merit but until now Summer Arch was not well known and causing second thoughts for enrollment. She is in Chem Eng. We have so little time now.
We are excited about Summer Arch, since it will allow DS to get out of the bitter cold (pretty please), gain experience, and earn some money in his field.
@stemgirlmom I am in a very similar situation to your daughter. I am also a ChemE student and received merit as well. I was just about ready to submit a deposit before attending the accepted students day now I am second guessing it. I am some what surprised about the lack of communication about this program before I applied. I have toured the school and have been in contact with admissions and it was never mentioned. I know for most this will be an absolutely amazing program, but I think a lot of questions and glitches have not been worked out yet and I am nervous to commit to the program
@joedoe So if RPI has been doing this for years, what was meant by this article :
https://poly.rpi.edu/2016/01/27/rensselaer_union_sponsors_trip_to_northeastern/
My son is just finishing his freshman year, and this is optional for him.
Not sure if he plans to opt in, seems that unless you get a good coop offer, does not make sense for him.
Do you have to sign up way in advance without knowing what kind of offer you may get ?
Also he’s considering changing majors now, another factor.
Finally he’s an athlete and they have fall and spring activities.
From purely a social standpoint, it would seem like there will be much missed in fall/spring,
and a quiet campus in the summer, with less activities. Would love him to get some work experience,
but then again, you only go to college once…you’ll work the rest of your life.
I worked during college and now after 30 years of working, not sure why I was in such a rush to start 
@stemgirlmom @desperateplea My D is a ChemE sophomore at RPI and signed up for the Summer Arch this year (it’s optional this year). She seems to think it’s a good program that provides the opportunity for a longer co-op. I think the main questions/issues with the programs is how it impacts student athletes and some non-engineering students. She was also able to get an exemption to live off campus (as she and her friends had already rented a house with the intention of living off campus in Junior/Senior years). It seems to be fairly well planned out at least for ChemE, (though of course she hasn’t actually done it yet). I wouldn’t let it deter your D from enrolling.
@blevine Thats what the problem kind of is. It is mandatory our junior year, even if we don’t have a good coop or internship set up. Once again at the admitted students day they said you might end up back home lifeguarding which is not a very good way to pitch the program!
@insanedreamer did she decide to do summer arches after she secured a coop or decided to do summer arches and then find one? I guess I am nervous, that I might not be able to find a coop or internship and then kind of end up in a bad situation. Its great to here that the program seems to be working out for her though!
@desperateplea she doesn’t have a co-op or internship lined up yet. She decided to apply for a co-op for next spring rather than next fall, so it’s still too early to apply (she’ll apply as soon as this semester is over). But in the worse case scenario that she can’t get an internship or a co-op, she would apply to do research at RPI (or another university), and if that falls through, she could study abroad for a semester, or as a last resort, start her senior year next spring, and then graduate one semester early. I don’t see any scenario where she would have to go back home and get some random job or twiddle her thumbs.
Of course she hasn’t actually done it yet so we’ll see how it goes, but it’s no less risky than her not finding a co-op/internship in the summer. In fact, the reason she signed up is because she figured that there would be less competition for co-ops during the fall/spring than in the summer when students from all the other colleges are trying to get those same internships.
@desperateplea Despite my concerns, I will say RPI is a wonderful place and my son loves it there. Not everything is perfect anywhere, but he is learning, happy, motivated, meeting great students, teachers and even nice coaches in his team. I trust they are well intentioned here and trying to help kids get work experience. Coop and summer sessions have brought Northeastern from a local commuter college to a highly competitive nationally known university, and the coops are a big part of the attraction.
I personally think the pressure to have work experience in undergrad is like an arms race. I did it and in hindsight, was not really necessary. Helpful absolutely, necessary no.
The thing you have to keep in mind, employers want RPI students…that is a good thing. You should focus on whether you can get the grades to get those good internships and coops. A’s are not easy to come by, at RPI, but if you get them, RPI name will open doors. Isn’t that something you are willing to work for ?
@blevine RPI has always offered classes over the summer that co-op students enrolled in so they could graduate on time. Summer Arch is formalizing the prior program, expanding it, changing it based on other school’s models, and making it a requirement so all students reap the benefits of what the former program had to offer.
I understand the RPI is an absolutely amazing school and will be the best education that I can get. I am no longer letting the summer arches program sway my decision, but I am not sure if I will commit to RPI for a completely different reason. Thank you all for the information
@desperateplea If you have any further questions or concerns I can address feel free to message me. Otherwise, best of luck with your decision and I’m sure you’ll do well wherever you go :).
I did not check back here but we are still undecided between RPI and UCLA, in the meantime since UCLA is undecided major, my D feels RPI is too structured. She has about 16 credits from her GCE A level and that saves some money as OOS. RPI offer is attractive but still if the goal is more academic, which we can get internship on our own, we don’t need coop during college years. But we really have to make decision now. This thread is very helpful, thank you all.
RIT has also been doing this for years. Has anyone been to their campus to ask juniors and seniors to elaborate their experience with their program? They are mandatory for graduation.