My son was considering both WPI and RPI, both great choices and both unique in their own way.
Was an easy choice in the end since a coach at both schools was interested, but only one came through with a spot on the team. But I think academically either school would have met his needs. That said, having had one kid graduate from another school and my RPI student almost done, the ARCH is a very bad idea as implemented. My son was in the last entering class that was not required to participate, and knowing what I know now, glad he was not part of it. Getting an internship is definitely no sure thing at ANY college. People often compare to other schools such as Northeastern, but Northeastern cannot guarantee a coop nor internship either. The main difference is that Northeastern does not force you to take a semester off for no purpose without a coop. Also by the end of the semester my son is absolutely anxious to get away from Troy, the idea of staying there continuously for a 3 semesters with short breaks would have been torture for him. He enjoys his time at RPI but this is not a place you want to live year round.
@blevine so true.
Not only a semester off, but in RPI the students have to take a full load in the summer.
In the immortal words of Frank Costanza “serenity now, serenity now”