I completed my first year as an Electrical Engineering major at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute last year and didn’t really enjoy it. I feel like I didn’t really fit in with many students and disagreed with many of the decisions that the administration made during the year. I just wasn’t very happy there, but I don’t know if that was largely because of the pandemic or not. I applied to several schools to transfer to and I have narrowed it down to staying at RPI or transferring to the University at Buffalo. I toured Buffalo’s campus and liked it a lot more than RPI’s and Buffalo would be about 20,000 cheaper per year. My only concern is that I would be leaving a better education and better career opportunities after graduating if I transferred from RPI. If anyone would be able to give me any advice on this topic it would be much appreciated.
Good luck with your decision. Are you sure UB ‘s decisions during pandemic were different from RPI’s? Could UB have to comply with state regulations that would not apply to RPI? Or, was it opposite, with RPI being more strict?
Generally, EE degree from either will open doors. UB also mentions coops and internships.
Have you contacted UB about possibility of transferring? Do they accept EE transfers?
I believe the OP was accepted to UB. Just trying to decide whether to go or stay at RPI.
Ty, in that case, I would be glad and transfer.
Yes, I got accepted into the EE program at UB. I also know that the situation during that pandemic at UB was quite different since I know people that go there. My only concern was that a degree from UB wouldn’t give me as many opportunities as one from RPI.
I can’t quite give recent advice but a close relative graduated from UB engineering ~20 years ago and got into a full tuition scholarship to MIT for grad school. He had plenty of opportunities and loved his time there, graduated with no debt. UB engineering has only gotten better since then. My cousin is a current student there and he’s happy with both the experience and the opportunities he’s gotten so far–he also transferred in.
$20,000/year cheaper for the same degree??? Yes, do that. … Graduating with little to no debt is the key here. Getting jobs is really up to you and how active you are with your college community. $60,000 savings to me is the reason alone. Opportunities will be at both school.
We live in Southern California. We have a lot of options for really good schools in California in engineering. That’s why it concerned us when our daughter, traveled across the country to UB. She received a scholarship there.
Neither she, nor we knew anyone on the East Coast.
She wanted to get as far away from us as possible. We were having some teen issues with her at the time. She claimed it was to see the seasons change.
She initially majored in biology and then changed her major to electrical engineering with a software emphasis.
She graduated about eight years ago from UB. She returned to Southern California, during her summers, to work and then intern at a couple of companies. Immediately after graduation her initial interviews did not go well; she indicated that she felt that there were a lot of questions being asked about her program at UB. Companies out here were used to UC/CSU candidates.
She didn’t realize that the floodgates had just opened. She hadn’t waited enough time for the corporates to review her résumé. In several companies, human resources was not local. The first company she worked at was based in LA, but Human Resources was in Virginia. She received multiple interview requests. She conducted several interviews and was offered several jobs. At her first job, she instituted a system she had developed while at UB. It went companywide.
She has moved up through management, and has been recruited at several companies and just received a new job offer.
She has been very marketable with a BS from University of Buffalo. The SUNY system has been very underrated. (Her first company offered to pay for her masters degree.)
You make yourself a viable candidate by taking advantage of everything the school has to offer. SUNY Buffalo was a very good experience for her (with the exception of developing pneumonia the first year).
Feel free to PM me if you have questions.
If you are miserable at one and happy at another I would choose your happy place. You will do better there regardless of what the school differences may be.
I know a kid at UB in mechanical/aerospace. He’s pretty happy. He’s taking a 5th year so most of his friends have graduated and I’m not sure of their jobs.
I think UB is better for you, especially if you are unhappy. Doesn’t RPI have that summer requirement for you? Things I’ve read are that students do not like that summer thing, and that it costs a lot of money.