Good Morning, Which of the three is best for Chem (or possibly Civil) Engineering? We have visited RPI and WPI but haven’t had a chance to see Steven’s. What is the thing that makes each school unique? I know RPI has ARCH, WPI holds project based classes with quarters (which my son is intrigued by) and Steven’s has a small intimate feel on campus. All of them claim to have a high return on investment but i would like to hear what others have experienced. TIA
The high financial ROI for these schools is mostly based on the high concentration of engineering majors at these schools. If he chooses the same major at each and graduates in that major, his job and career prospects are likely to be similar. Of course, if the net price after financial aid and scholarships is significantly different between these schools for you, that will affect financial ROI for you.
I just posted this in another thread:
My dad was an engineering professor at UT Austin for many years and is still consulting while in hospice! (Yesterday he was on a conference call because he’s on the committee overseeing UT’s new internship program for civil engineering students.) He knows a LOT about schools and job placement. Just yesterday he was saying that the undergrad school attended is not important as long as it’s accredited. That’s what employers are looking for. What’s critical is your job performance or the grad school you attend. Do not go into a lot of debt for undergrad!!!
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I will say his comments surprised me because he is literally the most devoted UT fan alive (the Longhorn Band Director has already promised that band members will perform at Dad’s memorial service, a very rare honor). For Dad not to recommend UT engineering over other schools says a lot.
@ucbalumnus Point taken. Steven’s came through with a better offer. RPI and WPI come to be close to identical for tuition.
@MaineLonghorn Wow, your dad sounds like he was extremely dedicated to his job. The band planning to play at his memorial service is a testament to the impact he had on that program.
TBH we were accepted into our state school, which is accredited, but our concern is the location as well as stunting his growth socially. Wouldn’t big cities like Boston and New York have more opportunities than a smaller, more sheltered city? Aren’t employers looking for an engineer more likely to look at a technical school over state? A very big percentage of his high school attends our state school. When we were visiting he felt like fit in at WPI, RPI and Colorado School of Mines…which we aren’t considering bc it’s a plane ride away. He wants a fresh start and I don’t think that’s possible if he goes to our state school.
Honestly I don’t think there’s a bad choice there. I think Stevens’ location is great if he decides to go civil especially. And that campus is breathtaking. You might look at the ARCH thread if you haven’t yet. Last I saw there were a lot of complaints about the program, but I’m not familiar with details. All are great options. If he likes them equally, I’d probably just go with the least expensive.
@roadrunner8, yes he was. For many years, he was the only Professor to be in the National Academy of Engineers as well as UT’s Academy of Distinguished Teaching. He loved researching AND teaching! I had him for three classes. ?
A lot of engineers know that state schools do an excellent job educating engineers. I would pick a state school, myself.
Which state school, and how does it and all of the other options compare in terms of cost and debt?
Financial ROI depends on return and investment. The return (job/career/pay after graduation) for the same engineering major may not vary that much. But if the investment (cost) varies a lot, that makes ROI very different.
I can’t opine on the three schools in question. But assuming all options are affordable without debt/hardship, I think fit is an excellent reason to choose a technical school such as WPI, Stevens, or RPI over a state option.
And apologies for the digression but @MaineLonghorn - I’m so sorry to hear your dad is in hospice. He sounds like a wonderful and talented man. Sending good thoughts to you and your family.
2018 career surveys with average starting pay by major:
https://www.stevens.edu/sites/stevens_edu/files/files/Career/Class-of-2018-Outcomes-Report-Web2.pdf
https://www.wpi.edu/sites/default/files/CDC_StatReport_2018-5dd7cbe47e164dc3a7ff8725ee63a82d.pdf
https://rpi.app.box.com/v/graduatingsalaries
The pay results are roughly similar, although Stevens has a small edge for chemical and civil engineering. However, we don’t know what your unnamed state school is for comparison.
There are differences between programs which have more to do with personal fit and interests. Some programs operate quit differently than others. The RPI, Stevens and WPI programs and many state programs can all launch your carers in chemical engineering, BUT that does not mean they are all the same for everyone.
Why does WPI have seven week terms where each seven week course is equivalent to three traditional semester hours which are usually spread over 14 weeks? What is an IQP and why is it required? Do you want to do off campus research on problems somewhere else in the world?
Why does RPI have the ARCH program and how does it work?
What is the difference between Stevens et al and how does that difference fit you?
Personally, I like flexibility in program design/participation as it built my interest in my work. Even ABET accredited programs employ some different approaches.
Are you really being mentored? How?
Good luck! There are many good programs out there. Only you can answer these questions.
Who are you? This is about discovery.
“I think fit is an excellent reason to choose a technical school such as WPI, Stevens, or RPI over a state option.”
The one drawback of technical schools is that you pretty much have to be in STEM. A state school like UT say would be much better if the student changed majors to non-stem, which happens. If you go into econ or poly sci say, you’re much better off at a school like UT. I went to hs in upstate NY so familar with these schools, I actually would lean to RPI for chem/civil engr.
^^^^In general I agree. But this student does seem to be set on engineering/STEM and the OP has stated that the student felt these technical schools were better fits.
happy1 is correct. He is set on being an engineer. He had an engineering internship last summer and is on the engineering track at his HS…but if that did happen (which I don’t think it will) I guess he would go to grad school
My D goes to school in the middle of corn and soybean fields. Hasn’t impacted internships at all. Look at the strength of each school’s career center, how many engineering students obtain internships every summer, co-op opportunities and support, etc…
“But this student does seem to be set on engineering/STEM”
Being set on STEM, which all people are when they enter a place like RPI is one thing, actually being in STEM and liking it is another. I went on gradeinflation and RPI’s average went from 2.8 in 1991 to 3.2 now which is good but when they went in the 80s, they said it was weedout for the first year.
Just a note about something I’ve wondered about comparing salaries, I think it’s likely that schools that have a lot of graduates work in high cost/high comp cities are going to have higher salaries on that basis. Just a hypothesis.
We were lucky enough to visit all three schools and my DS has been admitted to all three.
RPI was a quick admissions tour on a cool, rainy day in junior year. We had lunch with two kids who were super smart, kind, and focused. Their advice was to pick a dorm with a hall bathroom so you’d meet more people and make friends right away freshman year. The dorm we toured was fine. We liked the study rooms. We ate in the food court (not dining hall), and they had the usual burgers, tenders, pizza, etc. The food was fine. The stats on RPI kids (GPA/SAT) are slightly higher than the other two, so we’re wondering if the classes are more rigorous, I don’t know. We also were surprised that in late 2019 they changed their AP credit policy to accepting 5s only and a limit of 20 hours. I worried that ED students didn’t know this change before they committed. We were concerned about the 6,000 signs pasted all over campus saying “Dealing with the Loneliness.” Also, there are some real concerns about the ARCH program implementation, which is addressed on other threads by current students. Surprisingly, RPI’s generous scholarship for my DS was the only one that didn’t require a minimum GPA for renewal all 4 years. Sweet. They have an online Accepted Students Day this weekend. The CS curriculum lols appealing, but ARCH has some financial and academic drawbacks.
We visited WPI’s open house junior year and returned for 3 days in the fall of senior year. My DS emailed a month ahead and asked to visit classes. He checked back in as he hadn’t had a reply about a week and a half before our visit. They said he waited too late for them to be able to set that up. :(. Argh. Fortunately, my DS made friends in a club on campus and several were nice enough to take him to classes and to lunch. Everywhere we went students went out of their way to help us find buildings, classes, whatever. The dorms are okay, but they generally have 4+ people in a room. Tight. Sounds like most move off-campus sophomore year…which apparently is very cheap in Worcester. An hour from Boston. Food in the main dining hall is horribly greasy and awful. We aren’t picky. The food court was just as bad. GoatsHead (dinner only) was great. Parents on the FB page shared of freshmen who lost 20 pounds in the fall. Amazing new Foise makerspace. They have 7 week quarters, with 3 classes per term and 10 days off in between. Grades can only be A, B, C or No Record. No plus or minus. Our tour guide said twice she was 1 point from an A and the prof bumped her grade up because she tried hard and asked for help. Wow. I’ve never heard of that anywhere else. It’s a super fast pace, but fewer classes to manage at a time. Students advised that it’s an adjustment at first, but students are collaborative and professors are generally helpful. One said that if one prof didn’t teach in a way that worked for her, she’d just ask another who wasn’t her teacher, and they gladly helped. Project-based curriculum. Everyone does an IQP and an MQP. Check their website for details on that. Everyone gets a $5k Global Scholarship towards an abroad IQP. You have tons of options on courses, especially humanities. A STEM major never has to take writing…you could do any humanities you want…check their curriculum for details. Students advised kids from the South notice the cold winter the first year, but they adjust. They have space for one NR built into every year. I believe they accept 4s and 5s for AP credit. Could easily graduate a semester early or get masters with several APs and passing all classes. Sad not to get to go to Accepted Students Day next week due to Covid-19.
We visited Stevens in July (brief visit)and October (3 days) of senior year. Admissions set up 1 class a day to visit (1 was writing). :(. Argh. Wish every school just had a list of classes approved to visit and you just visit any you want. Again, my DS made great friends in July. One was on engineering co-op in the fall so reached out to friends who could take DS to classes. He got texts all day from tons of kids offering to take him to tons of classes. We loved the students. They got some award for having the best athlete scholars. He really loved this school and the offer to attend certain Broadway plays, sporting events, concerts, etc for only $20 including transportation. Check out their design spine on their website. We never even got an Accepted Students invite due to Covid-19. :(. They seem to have great internships. Dorms are older, but a gorgeous new dorm with view of Manhattan which will hold half of sophomores was due to open fall 2021…don’t know if that’s delayed with Coronavirus. Everyone else has to go off campus sophomore year on. School has furnished apartments or you can rent your own. Pricey. Someone estimated $7k more than dorms. Don’t know if that’s accurate. The food in the dining hall was fine. On Wednesdays, they can use meal swipes at a number of diverse, good options of restaurants on the nearby Washington Street. NYC is a cheap and fast ride on the PATH subway or the slower ferry. Hoboken is 1 square mile and super safe. All the brownstones had Halloween decorations on their stoops. Lots of young, yuppy families. So charming. Biggest concern was Princeton Review ranking of #2 Professors Get Low Marks. And just a lower overall ranking. DS texted friends who said lower level classes have had less good teachers who either just aren’t interested in the class as much as upper level classes or just aren’t as good of teachers. They are supposedly working to improve that. Sounds like they’ve got a lot of new construction going on but maybe hadn’t invested as much for a long time. Original major was mechanical engineering and had been the largest until just surpassed by CS, the booming major everywhere.
All of this is just opinion and observation. As the parent of a senior, I’m so sorry your student won’t get accepted student visits and all of the fun of senior year. My DS is reaching out to admissions to verify requirements and renewals for scholarships (surprised it wasn’t included in initial announcement). Important to have it in writing. He’s asking for curriculum for his major at each school and verifying how his APs will come into play. The admissions people have been great about replying immediately. He’s reaching out to professors in his department with questions about classes. He’s texting kids at the schools. I joined WPI’s parent Facebook pages, which have shown they are a warm, supportive, kind group. RPI doesn’t let you join until your kid accepts, which is a shame this year in particular. It’s so nice to ask questions of current parents. One WPI parent even called me and let me ask anything. And our high school college counselor is a great resource.
Best of luck to your senior. All are great options. It’s a matter of what feels most like home.
@CaryPlanner Thank you so much for sharing your experience. This is extremely helpful!!
Stevens campus is beautiful. In a small, safe town but quick train ton NYC. Really best of all worlds.