<p>I'm a parent of a senior. DS is interested in mechanical engineering and just
been accepted EA to Case and RPI. Waiting to hear RD about U of Rochester and CMU. He is most excited about Case and Rochester, likes the research and
internship opportunities, size, etc. (I like the scholarship money Case offered.) Problem is when I mention Case and Rochester to people here in Boston they just scratch their heads or know of these schools only for the
medical studies. RPI and CMU however, are highly regarded here. I asked a couple of local engineers and they haven't encountered Case or Rochester graduates. Makes me wonder if these schools just have regional reputations and what this means for employment or graduate school. The Rochester program in particular seems quite small is this a problem? Could that be why
ranking isn't very high?<br>
thanks for any input</p>
<p>Rochester Institute of Technology is the stronger engineering school locally. That's part of the reason that U of R has a small, lesser known program.</p>
<p>The phenomenon of blank looks, when one mentions any school other than HYPSM or whatever the well-known local school happens to be, is one we discuss often, here - at least on the Parent Forum, second spring. IMO, it is something to grin and bear and try not to consider when your S makes his decision.</p>
<p>The issue of whether the engineers are familiar with a school is more germane, but this is only a sample of one or two that you have spoken with. </p>
<p>I would recommend finding info from both Case and RPI as to where their graduates have gone - both employment and grad school - over the past several years. That should tell you what you want to know.</p>
<p>Thank you for the responses weenie and jmmom. S and H will be going to an accepted students session at CWRU this month and will try and ferret
out answers to excellent questions you raise. May also try posting on the
U of R and CWRU sites.<br>
S seems fine with the blank looks, had looked at a number of larger well known schools and felt they weren't right for him. Also beginning to get used to people asking if CWRU is a military academy!</p>
<p>second spring:
My eldest son looked at Case and liked it. (He ended up going somewhere else though.) Younger son LOVED Case. It was the ONLY college tour he tagged along on that he liked. He thought the small LACs (that my elder son liked) looked just dreadful.</p>
<p>I think Case just suffers from its midwest location. Few people have heard of any of the smaller midwest schools it seems.</p>
<p>Younger son will apply for engineering somewhere. He is a junior now. Case is out unless he gets at least a hlaf tuition scholarship. He's borderline. Same with RPI - he'd have to get medal and I think it's a long shot at his school. He'll likely end up at a big state school someplace (not in our state of NY though). U of Roch and RIT are a little close. I don't know if he'd go for it.</p>
<p>CASE! Case is not lacking in engineering, and besides, it's more balanced than RPI. Part of their philosophy is to ingrain engineering and science students with the necessary critical thinking skills that traditionally aren't part of an engineering curriculum. </p>
<p>Also, I think Case is generally regarded as underrated and on the upside. And FWIW, I believe engineers are much more familiar with CWRU than friends and family.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input zoogies.</p>
<p>Weenie-S did look at large state schools, but knew they were not for him.
If your S is interested in a smaller engineering school he might consider looking at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It has an excellent reputation around here and is generous with merit awards. S and H visited this summer and thought it had a bit of the same feel as CWRU. S got a nice scholarship-but too close to Boston for him. Sounds like your son!</p>
<p>second spring:
YES! We will look at Worcester. I like the sounds of it, and we have really good friends in Boston, so we're trying to find a time to visit. (This college search business is so funny isn't it? The grass is always greener in someone else's town.)</p>
<p>We have had the worst time with this engineering search! It feels like most of the smaller schools that I'd like to see him at are just going to be too expensive. He has good grades etc. but I know the competition for merit money is fierce. </p>
<p>I hate to see him at one of the huge state schools - but he might be just fine with it. I'm just worried he'll end up hanging with kids who aren't engineering majors, and may not have as much work as him. Will he be able to resist the temptation to not study? I'm not so sure...</p>
<p>second spring, I go to Rochester and looked at the same schools that your son looked at...
If you have any questions, just ask away...</p>
<p>Second Spring, One strength that I see at Case that's not at RPI (we didn't look at U of R, did get accepted to RIT) is the breadth (sp?) of the programs. I know that we have 18-year-olds that have decided that engineering is for them. But what if it isn't? What if they want to go into business or pre-med or law or ??. That's where Case excels as a place for a young adult to receive an education. If the student decides to explore a different area, it's right there. Case is hooked in with Cleveland Clinic, one of the finest medical institutions in the country. Case has the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Cleveland Institue of Music embedded in the campus area. And Weatherhead School of Business is a strong business school (and has a cool newish building designed by Gehry).</p>
<p>I guess I'm just thinking that perhaps my S doesn't have the insight into the world that instills within me the confidence that he's chosen his (initial) career path 'for good'. That's where Case fits in.</p>
<p>I agree with you Apple which is why I had Case ahead of RPI (#'s 2&3 and you can guess what number 1 is)
Second, I'll give you an overview of what persuaded me to go to UR instead of Case (an close second)
- First I would like to point out that distance wasn't a problem... Although I did not care about distance (applied to Tulane from NJ), my parents did, but I did not let that influence my decision
- Although Case did have a wider breadth than RPI, I felt that Rochester had even more of a breadth. I felt that the only good things about Case were engineering and business- I felt as if everything else (while good) was lacking
- The cirriculum at UR is a rarebreed and it is pretty nifty. You pick your major and then two other fields outside of your major (so if you were a chemistry major you would pick a social science and then a humanity) You did not have to take a single class that you don't want to take (except for a required freshman writing course. Even though I hate writing, I figured that it would be for the better of me. Moreso, you can pick whatever topic you want. For example, I am doing advertising in US culture). The philosophy: why take a class that you don't want to? If you are not interested in the class, then you will most likely be less inclined to want to learn and could even perform poorly.
- The departments at UR are spectacular... The BME department is highly regarded and they are building a brand new building. Engineering as a whole is highly regarded (some people even place it ahead of RIT) Chemistry, physics, and biology are also highly regarded. The social science department as a whole is also highly regarded and are also small for the personal part of it.
- Not a large school- very low student:teacher ratio
- You have eastman. If you like music, that is a BIG plus!
- Simon business school is in the top 25
- You have one of the best medical centers right next door (as well as a top teaching hospital)
- Beautiful campus... I didn't like Cleavland that much. Moreso the campus was not the prettiest (a lot better than schools like RIT however)</p>
<p>I could list a lot more... Again, if you have any questions, just ask away</p>
<p>Gee, many my S should have appied to Rochester?!?! (We just put RIT in our list for other reasons and didn't think we wanted another Rochester school.) We didn't even look at it.</p>
<p>I actually had no clue that UR existed until August before my senior year... I went up to Rochester to visit RIT and went to UR just for the heck of it and fell in love with it... RIT was at the way bottom of my list... I felt that I would get a poor education in the humanities and social sciences...</p>
<p>For what it's worth -- </p>
<p>2005 (I don't have the 2006) US News ranking of "Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)":</p>
<ol>
<li>Rochester Institute of Technology</li>
<li>Univ of Rochester</li>
</ol>
<p>Ah, thank you all, for your responses. I wish I could get S to post questions, but he is in a post application daze. Hopefully he will get a second wind before decisions need to be made.
Weenie-If you make it to Boston, you might want to look at BU also. They have some designated engineering scholarships including FIRST robotics. The largest lectures have about 150 kids in them which is nice. I also gather engineering students tend to live in the same dorms and often study together.
Apple 17- S loved U of R, spent a fair amount of time looking at it. He chose not to apply ED anywhere so now will wait to see if he gets in. He liked the flexiblity and take 5 program. RD deadline is 1/15 and they use the common application. It may not be to late for your son to apply and then take some time looking further into the school.
Hopkinslax-I have many questions for you, thanks for joining this discussion.
S received one of the rochester corporate awards, do you know if many of these kids go on to get merit scholarships? Do you know any of the ME students and what their feelings about the program are? How is the math department, son gathered it recently underwent changes? How's dorm life?</p>
<p>Weenie, Thanks for the rankings. I see CWRU is 33 and RPI 16. I'm not sure what all this means but am struck how far down U of Rochester is on the list.
Can anyone help me make sense of this?</p>