University of Rochester vs. WPI Engineering?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Worcester Polytechnic Institute
1

<p>Hi everyone! For an engineering major, I've narrowed my choices down to University of Rochester and WPI, but since they're such polar opposites, I need some help! Here's what I've got:</p>

<p>-WPI-</p>

<p>+More merit aid (16k/yr)
+Free overseas scholarship
+Unique, project-based, in-depth learning style
+Fun, quirky, inspiring, free-reign for projects, innovative
+Excellent student-teacher relationships
+Near Boston for internships</p>

<p>-Extremely small campus, cabin fever
-Poorly ranked (95th vs 37th)
-Only engineers there, no chance to interact w/ other majors
-66% male, 33% female
-Not very well-known
-Desolate surrounding city, nothing to do
-Intense scheduling with quarter sytem</p>

<hr>

<p>-U of R-</p>

<p>+Highly Ranked
+More than just engineering, get to meet different majors
+Larger campus
+Better reputation
+High per-student engineering expenditure
+Good male/female ratio
+Slightly closer to home (Chicago)</p>

<p>-Very Expensive! (10k/yr vs WPI's 16k/yr plus tuition is 7k/yr more
-Slightly intimidating
-Bad weather
-Very specialized engineering (not interested in optics)
-Very few internship opportunities in Rochester
-Uptight, competitive, rigid, lacks WPI quirkiness
-Have heard teachers are offhand, more devoter to personal research
-Don't feel as personally inspired there</p>

<p>What do you think? Personal experiences from students or alumni with some examples of how they felt when they started out and of course just plain insightful advice very much appreciated!!</p>

2

<p>WPI is ranked 64th… not sure where you got the 97th from.</p>

3

<p>The weather of the two schools are basically the same, so I’d ignore that. It sounds like you need to figure out whether you’d prefer a larger or smaller school.
Are you sure you want to be an engineer? If not, rochester would definetely be better in the event you decide to change your major. Does material come easy to you? Personally I really havent had to seek help from professors, but I’ve know others who might have failed out or changed majors if WPI faculty wasn’t there to support them.</p>