The inevitable question on men:women ratio

<p>So this is a school with what, 3 men to each woman? What's the social and dating scene like at WPI? I see that this ratio is not uncommon at tech schools so there must be a means of dealing with it....</p>

<p>shower, be social, don’t sit in your room playing computer games and you’ll probably even the odds a little :-)</p>

<p>Kidding (kinda)</p>

<p>interested to hear the current students’ takes on this</p>

<p>bump bump!!</p>

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<p>Obviously you’re going to either have a girlfriend who does not go to WPI, or your ability to attract women will have to be at or above the 66th percentile of the male population. </p>

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<p>I think that the university is beefing up its biology/biomedical programs in order to balance the gender ratio. </p>

<p>I already pointed out that one needs to outcompete 2/3 of the other men at WPI in order to have a girlfriend, or have a girlfriend from another school. You could point out that WPI is near schools with the opposite ratio, but let’s be realistic, if you can go to another school and meet women, you’re well above the 66th percentile at WPI. </p>

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<h1>1 and #2 are absolutely essential, but I beg to differ with #3. There are a significant population of women here who are into nerd culture.</h1>

<p>I should have phrased it “don’t sit <em>alone</em> in your room and play video games”</p>

<p>al6200 – I loved your statistical analysis of the dating question!</p>

<p>As a former WPI student, I just finished up my sophomore year, but am now transferring out, I can tell you the ratio SUCKS. Get ready for parties where the very few girls who are there get swarmed by guys constantly hitting on them. We have a thing at WPI called RIBS, ratio induced ***** syndrome, all of the girls are so fed up with constantly being hit on by the overwhelming amount of guys. I realize I am coming off as a jerk, but just realize it is only because of how horrible a time I had at WPI.</p>

<p>Oh yeah, of the 30% of the population that is made up by women, about 2% of that are attractive. Seriously, if you are at all a sociable person, or want to experience a fun college life DON’T COME HERE!</p>

<p>Good luck wherever you’re headed, AXP. Clearly WPI wasn’t for you – but just because you didn’t weren’t happy doesn’t mean you have to resort to bashing.</p>

<p>The important thing to remember is the ratio doesn’t mean a thing if you are not the type of person a girl wants to be with. There could be a reverse ratio, but if you have some habits that do not interest the girls, well forget it. </p>

<p>Sure the ratio is skewed, but how many kids go to college with the purpose of finding a girlfriend? Some probably, but not a good reason to attend any college. If it is not part of the main plan (to date) then it really should not matter so much. </p>

<p>Geez I find the 2% comment abhorrent. AXP I sure do hope you are a dreamboat and will meet a girl who can overlook your personality (since you can’t seem to overlook a girl’s looks) Sorry, that was snarky, maybe you are not as much of a jerk as you came off. Maybe you aren’t really saying your terrible experience at WPI was because of the lack of good looking girls who would date you.</p>

<p>I guess no school can be all things to all people. Too bad it took you 2 years to figure it out, but it is a good thing you did. Everyone deserves to feel good about the college they go to. Good luck and I truly hope you are happy where you end up</p>

<p>I don’t think AXP is a jerk or superficial because he had hopes of a little more action than he encountered at WPI. He’s really just describing his own experience, which is what I was after when I started this thread. I think the fact that men so outnumber women is a reality that merits some discussion and all experiences and points of view are valid and welcome, at least by me.</p>

<p>The fact is, social “fit” at a school, be it with respect to dating, or drinking, or social status is important and to pretend it’s not because those things are not important to serious students is naive and frankly stupid.</p>

<p>you misunderstand my comment - </p>

<p>AXP has every right to go elsewhere if WPI does not live up to his social needs or expectations - better for him and everyone around him if he does. No one should stay at a college that does not fit them. Not a one of us would blame him for leaving</p>

<p>however he has zero right to disparage all but 2% of the female population by callling them unattractive - and with that attitude, I say, no wonder he had no luck. </p>

<p>If finding a girl or some “action” is an very important piece of the college puzzle, I would NOT go to a tech school. Frankly <em>that</em> would be stupid.</p>

<p>Go to a LAC or a large public or, if you can get in, an Ivy. Lots of girls (still I bet AXP wouldn’t find more than 2% of THOSE attractive either). </p>

<p>Beauty is not everything. And if it is very important to someone, that someone had better be a very attractive person himself.</p>

<p>First of all I’d like to apologize to anyone who I may have offended. It’s evident some have been offended. I realize the comment about “2% of the girls are attractive” was uncalled for, and to be honest I wish I hadn’t said it. I guess I got caught up thinking of my own experiences and had a temporary lapse of judgment. However, regardless of what people think of my personality, “or lack there of”, to many students the ratio IS a big deal. Obviously I didn’t go to college with the sole purpose of partying and chasing girls, If I had I would not have gone to WPI, I’m not that stupid. Also, the lack of girls was not my sole reason for leaving, I was just replying to the topic of the thread, which was impressions of the ratio. I have many other reasons why I would not recommend WPI to anyone,the main one is how downright dangerous Worcester is. In the 2 years I was at WPI there were at least 5 murders I can remember within 3 blocks of campus, one was a student who was stabbed to death at a party. Many of my friends have been assaulted just walking around the area as well.</p>

<p>Once again I would like to apologize for my inappropriate and uncalled for statement, whether you believe me or not, I really am not a jerk, perhaps just someone who needs to learn to think about my post more carefully before hitting submit.</p>

<p>I believe you are not a jerk AXP. It takes someone who is not a jerk to apologize to those who will never make a difference in your life. So kudos</p>

<p>The worcester comments are valuable. I have read the crime stats - legally they must be made available. They list LOW crime on campus, but yes the surrounding area is not a safe one.</p>

<p>You would need to go to a rural school to escape this type of environment. My H attended Yale, and New Haven at that time was extremely dangerous. Boston, NY, Philadelphia, Chicago, all dangerous. Worcester, Troy, it is very sad that violent crime is so prevelant near these colleges. And if you live off campus or have friends who do and you visit them there, you are taking a risk. If you come from a small town and one that is fairly safe, these kind of places can be a real shock and it you may put yourself inadvertantly in a vulnerable position. </p>

<p>At any rate your apology is accepted (by me) for the uncalled for 2% statement.</p>

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<p>Your complaint about the ratio is very legitimate. When I go to other schools, one of the first things I notice is how many girls there are. All I can in WPI’s defense is that they are working to even out the ratio by beefing up their biology and liberal arts programs. </p>

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<p>I know that there was already a stabbing this year. Sometimes I have to wonder if the people stabbed were engaging in illegal activity (i.e, they were dealing with a nasty drug dealer or pimp) or if they were mugged. For a student going to WPI, that’s a nontrivial distinction.</p>

<p>Thanks AXP878 - I am afraid I would have probably fallen in the non-2% of your percentage - even back 25 years ago when the ratio was closer to 8:1, so I was going to take you to the mat on that one! Seriously, I’m really sorry you had such a bad experience at WPI. Social aspects are important, and it is a shame that WPI didn’t live up to the expectations that you obviously set. I just wonder how realistic those expectations were, given the nature of the school. </p>

<p>What I will tell you, as a “techie” woman in a man’s arena for about 30 years, that there are techie guys who enjoy the company of someone who is on their par (or above) educationally and mentally and there are guys who, although they sometimes balk when you tell them this, prefer to have a girl on their arm that isn’t at all technical and doesn’t understand what he does - and just enjoys other parts of his life with him. It’s the reason why Becker girls were so “attractive” to some of the tech guys (and maybe still are? Are they still at WPI looking for their “MRS”?). It’s not a knock - it’s just something that I’ve noticed over many years. You may just find that you will click better with someone who is non-technical and probably will enjoy being at a school where the education is therefore much more diverse.</p>

<p>Having said all that, I will tell you that WPI has changed a lot since I was there. Some of it for the good. Some of it maybe not so much. It’s certainly a lot bigger than it was 30 years ago. I believe that the campus itself is safe, but you are right to be wary of some of the surrounding community. But I think you’ll get that just about anywhere these days and I think there are some good life lessons to be learned by living there. The scary thing for me is trying to figure out where all these additional students are going to live in the area surrounding WPI. The class size has jumped considerably over the past few years and if everyone comes this year that made their $500 deposit, 2013 will be the biggest class yet - almost 1000. The increase looks to be way more than the increase in on -campus housing. Maybe the additional demand will help to increase the level of “good” apartments in the area? I doubt that. It will be something I watch closely during the next year.</p>

<p>Holy Cross is dominated by females and are social. Clark is in a horrible and arguably the most dangerous spot in W so havent made my way down there yet.</p>