Wentworth vs UMass vs UConn for MechE

My DS21 has been accepted to several schools and is now trying to decide. He is majoring in Mech Engineering, focus on aerospace.

His #1 choice is Wentworth, due to its location in Boston and smaller campus atmosphere. The difficulty is that he also has been accepted to UMass Amherst and UConn Storrs - with no aid to UConn (oos), but UMass is in state. Their programs seem superior to Wentworth’s in our research (more opportunities coming out). UConn would be our #1 choice but is it worth the extra cost? UMass and Wentworth would be similar in cost.

Just looking for some guidance on Wentworth - their program, experiences at the school or reputation.

Definitely recommend UMass Amherst over Wentworth. Wentworth is only known locally, whereas UMass Amherst is known as the Massachusetts public flagship. If your son moves out of town, people are far more likely to know UMass Amherst when reviewing his resume.

Overall reputation wise, there isn’t much difference between UMass Amherst and UConn.

1 Like

What makes him/you prefer Wentworth over UMass?
Is the Wentworth program ABET-accredited?
What about costs, are those comparable?

Yes Wentworth is ABET accredited. He loves the location - downtown Boston and a train ride home. Also, loves the smaller school atmosphere, with having city there. Also has a few kids he knows attending. His stats are much higher than most kids attending Wentworth.

Both are comparable in price - UMass is slightly less for us after scholarship offered at Wentworth.

Did he get into Commonwealth Honors at UMass?

Ultimately this will be his choice. But if this was my child, I would push hard for UMass Amherst, and him being much stronger than the student body at Wentworth is one reason why. He will learn much more at UMass Amherst because the top kids at state flagships are incredibly smart, and he will learn more by working with them and competing against them.

And by the way, UMass Amherst is known for having some of the best dining hall food in the country.

2 Likes

No honors at UMass. He is accepted for MechE.

UMass is better overall, there’s no doubt about it. And there’s no sugarcoating it, 1st year UMass classes (especially without honors) will be huge, with some weedout and a lot of anonimity.
Does he have enough AP/IB/DE credits to skip some 1st year classes?

Wondering about these three schools for engineering. Which school did he end up choosing?

1 Like

Hi,
I wasn’t OP, but had same situation a year ago -same major - same three schools. My son chose Wentworth and has been incredibly happy there this year.

His reasoning came down to 1) location (didn’t hurt that his long-term several years gf is nextdoor at Northeastern) + loves Boston. 2) wanted smaller campus. 3) Liked curriculum 4) dorms were nice 5) good scholarship $. 5) like internship program.

For our part, we supported him in his decision. Going to a big party school wouldn’t have been right for him. More important that he do well and be happy than worrying overly much about where a school is ranked.

It has really been a great experience for him. He ended up joining ROTC, has made a lot of friends -very nice hard-working kids, is doing well academically - it couldn’t have gone better.

He has an older brother who’s a 4.0 student at UMass A, and that child is quite happy as well. It’s the fit that matters.

1 Like