<p>I am a female that wants to do chemical engineering. I was set on going to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute until I received an acceptance letter from University of Rochester. I have the financial aid package from RPI but I probably won't receive my financial aid letter from University of Rochester until a week from now at most. Which school is better in terms of engineering, facilities, social life, and overall? If you have any details on pros and cons to each school, that would be really helpful.</p>
<p>I felt like I had to respond seeing as I am a female prospective engineer and rensselaer and university of rochester are my top two choices. Here are some key distinguishments I’ve made about these schools, at least in my mind.</p>
<p>Rochester is stronger overall academically while Rensselaer is stronger for engineering. The engineering resources at Rensselaer are vast and there is a great deal of research going on. Rochester has much more opportunity outside the relm of engineering. (keep in mind though, Rochester still has a very good engineering program, and rensselaer still is a great school overall)</p>
<p>I’m sure you know that these schools are about the same size. However, Rochester’s engineering school is much smaller. That can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. On the one hand, it means you get more personal attention. On the other hand, it means Rensselaer has a more specialized program like I mentioned before.</p>
<p>If you go to Rochester, you will be able to take whatever you want. I have been very drawn to their program from the beginning, because they impose few requirements and I like the idea of being able to learn what I want to without it being dictated to me. So think about if flexibility of curriculum is something that is important to you.</p>
<p>The weather is bad at both schools and I’ve heard the students are pretty similar, so for you I thinkit will come down to the details I listed above and the financial package</p>
<p>About financial aid: My package, as well as another girl I know who went to Rochester, was much better at Rensselaer than it was at Rochester. Unfortunately though, I’ll probably end up going to Lafayette, because while it’s not a top choice, they offered me WAY more money.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your response! I am debating about all the things you mentioned in my head. I felt the gender gap was bad at Rensselaer but I know as an engineer the same gender gap is going to follow me throughout my career. At the same time, I enjoy diversity. I do not want to just have friends that are male engineers, but friends that are into other things as well. I want to be in a strong engineering program that has many resources available to me. I also was attracted to the idea of flexibility.</p>
<p>I found out today that I have to pay $23,000 a year at University of Rochester so it’s not really an option compared to RPI’s $16,000 a year to go there. :(</p>