<p>I have been accepted by both UW Madison and RPI. I would like to go to Engineering School. It seems to me that both colleges are very good. Which college should I choose? Urgent help is needed - many thanks!!!</p>
<p>Yes they are both really good. Different. You should choose the one you like, taking finances into account. Is there a cost difference to you?</p>
<p>Yes - the cost is one concern. But lets take this out first. Could you comment some details? Thanks!</p>
<p>No I don’t think cost should ever be separated from the decision. Sorry no comment.</p>
<p>Both are excellent schools for engineering. But, it’s like comparing apples and oranges - very different types of schools. If you are in-state for Wisconsin and you are good with the size of the school, I would go there and save my money.</p>
<p>Thank you VMT and BrownParent!
I guess what I am asking is your opinion on the difference between a big university and a relatively small college. Is the education quality really better in RPI than in UW-Madison? Cost is not a big issue if RPI is indeed a better place for learning and for future career. However, if there is no big difference, I would like to save the money.
Any comments from you two or anyone else on the differences between those two schools and also on the advantages and disadvantages?
I need to make the decision ASAP. Many thanks!!!</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that I am outside of Wisconsin. Any comments would be highly appreciated!!!</p>
<p>I feel that one should really know the difference between colleges PRIOR to applying to a set of schools.</p>
<p>The engineering education at the two school are of a similar level. And their engineering programs are a similar size. UW- Madison graduated 697 engineers on the most recent College Navigator data and RPI 691. RPI has a few more electrical engineers and UW has agricultural engineering, but most departments are close in size. If UW is like my state school, though, UW has twice as many engineering students, but half will switch majors or not graduate at all. RPI will be much more supportive of making sure students graduate in their degree. I believe any other differences are going to be between the universities as a whole, not within engineering programs.</p>
<p>UW (not engineering parent) here. Students are admitted to UW as general engineering students and then, during freshman year, decide which department/program to apply to and are admitted late spring of their freshman year or early summer between freshman and sophomore years. </p>
<p>Seems like you are looking at 2 very different choices: UW is the flagship, with big sports, huge school spirit, and something for everyone. Madison shows up on all kinds of lists: top college towns, top sports schools, top party schools etc. RPI’s undergrad size is about the size of the entering freshman class at UW. </p>
<p>After looking at big and smaller schools with our kids, I have come to appreciate that, in making the decision about which type of school to attend – you have to look at the student, not the school. My older one, at UW, loves the energy and boundless opportunities, the smorgasbord of classes, events, activities. He is the kind of person who will seek out professors and, as a result, had the opportunity to get involved in field work with faculty after his freshman year. He also likes to be able to disappear into the background in class if he wants to; a school where every class was a seminar of 20 kids would make him tear his hair out. </p>
<p>It doesn’t seem that the primary differences between your choices come down to quality of instruction – both are excellent programs. Consider the kind of environment you want to be part of for your undergrad. </p>
<p>Good luck, those are great choices to have. </p>
<p>The RPI environment is more homogeneous. Everyone is there for STEM. It is a supportive environment and probably a little easier to establish relationships with professors. Wisconsin is a very vibrant community. You have to be a little more independent and seek out opportunities on your own. Two excellent choices. </p>
<p>One is in one of the best college towns in the US, the other–well, not one of the best.How important is life outside of class? </p>
<p>Well yeah, Troy NY is a bit distressed, but downtown Troy is on the upswing and it’s not far from the campus. Also, there are some fun locations in the immediate area, particularly Saratoga Springs and the hip spots in Albany.</p>
<p>Hi Mike Stone! Congrats on your acceptances. As everyone has said, you have some good choices there. I have an engineering kid and one of the things that he didn’t like about Madison is that you are admitted as a general student. Their is no direct admit into engineering as a freshman. You apply to get into Engineering and your major sophomore year. Now he is a smart kid and probably wouldn’t have had any trouble getting into his field, but he just didn’t want to chance it. He also wanted to take courses specific to his field of engineering right from the start which Madison couldn’t offer him. As a kid who knew exactly what type of engineering he wanted, this was not a good fit for him. He did love everything else abut the school though, the campus itself and Madison is a great college town. RPI has a direct admit into the engineering field of your choice. And as everyone has said, it is a much smaller school as a whole than Madison which has some advantages and disadvantages. RPI ended up feeling too small for my son so he chose another school. If money is not a consideration, it really does come down to the environment you are looking for. Spend some time thinking about that. Where do you see yourself fitting in? When you toured the campus’ could you see yourself at the school? When you looked around, did the students seem happy? Were they engaged with each other? Did small groups form or was everybody solo? This is the advice our college counselor gave my son and daughter and we found it to be good advice. Best of luck to you! </p>
<p>Typically only a couple E majors at UW are not open to all qualified (2.3 GPA) pre-eng students–Bio and Chem E. Bio is the toughest.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your advice and suggestions!</p>