WPI Vs. NEU

Colleges and Universities A-Z Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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<p>I was recently excepted to both Northeastern and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. I'm excited to be accepted but unfortunately I'm an incredibly indecisive person and cannot decide which of the two schools to got to. I was hoping that some of you would be able to post you're own opinions of the schools to help me make the decision.</p>

<p>Some Info:
-$5,000 per year from WPI
-Mechanical Engineering as a major
-More specifically I'd like to go into Aeronautical Engineering which is only offered at WPI
-I prefer the NEU co-op program over the project system at WPI</p>

<p>That's about it. </p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

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<p>The fact that you wrote you wanted to study Aeronautical Eng. which is only offered at WPI says a lot! WPI does have a type of co-op available which allows you to “interrupt” your schooling for a semester of pertinent work…[Career</a> Development Center - Co-op](<a href=“http://www.wpi.edu/Admin/CDC/co-op7914.html]Career”>http://www.wpi.edu/Admin/CDC/co-op7914.html)</p>

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<p>Why would you consider a school that doesn’t have your intended major and hence your intended career path?</p>

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<p>Roundhouse MB, I had to go through a very similar deliberation a year ago; I also had to choose between NU and WPI. I was interested in CS at the time, and curious about robotics. I chose WPI eventually. Neither were my top schools, they were safety.</p>

<p>My pro con was basically as follows:</p>

<p>WPI Pro:
-has a whole Robotics Major.
-smaller, can build relationships with teachers more easily and be the top of the heap more easily
-I can’t talk about NU job fairs, but I got 6 interviews from my first job fair as a freshman (take this with a grain of salt; I’m a CS major (in high demand), and have had a lot of experience in it during high school)</p>

<p>WPI Con:
-Worcester.
-M:F = 2:1 ratio (but at the time that didn’t matter to me because I was in a stable long term relationship. It matters to me now, I generally like socializing with guys less)</p>

<p>NU+WPI similarities:
-CS programs pretty comparable.
-I didn’t prefer MQP or COOP
-No hard pre-requirements for classes; you can take anything you want, but if you fail it’s your fault. This means you can skip some classes if you’re good enough.
-Money: for me, it came out to about the same cost.</p>

<p>NU Pros:
-BOSTON: You can actually leave campus. And do, often (I have friends there). Can interact with other colleges if you want. Concerts, dining, museums, conventions (like PAX) parks are easy to get to, and it’s much safer than Worcester since it’s a college town. Also, local public transportation(MBTA) and long distance transportation(South Station Buses, Trains; Logan Airport) is much easier. Depending on where you live, you’ll probably have to go through Boston to go anywhere from Worcester, and you’ll have to walk anywhere locally until you have friends with cars.
-Big: Lots of options for taking oddball classes out of your major. Huge social opportunities. Way more (active) clubs.
-(I’m from Connecticut) A lot of high school friends go to school in Boston, so more likely to see them, or people visiting them.</p>

<p>NU Cons:
-one class for robotics, that you can take as a senior, then just independent stuff…
-a little less culturally nerdy, but (I’ve found out since going to WPI) a little more academically nerdy(at least in the honors program).</p>

<p>Since I’ve found out that I don’t care for robotics at all, and I found out about the nerdy thing above, I actually wish I had chosen NU, though I think my decision was correct at the time, given what I knew.</p>

<p>You’re going to have to do research yourself on the MechE stuff; my gut feeling is that there is a better program here, but I have absolutely basis for that opinion. Also, if you can figure out that you don’t like aero like I found out I don’t like robotics, and you can figure that out before deciding, that might make your decision easier.</p>

<p>Feel free to post questions or pm me or anything.</p>

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<p>One slight disagreement with the above post:

Most of your points about the tradeoffs between Boston and Worcester are very good, but NEU is not much safer than WPI. NEU is in the heart of the city and neighbors on a few rough neighborhoods (Roxbury), so I don’t think it is safer.
Both schools have their challenges with their urban environments!
But I agree with pretty much everything else. It is tough to compare these schools as they are very different in size and educational philosophy.
My son loves WPI, but he never really considered NEU because he didn’t like the size and location.</p>

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<p>You’re probably right about that point. I generally feel safer walking around Northeastern than WPI, but that’s definitely illogical and not supported by any actual statistics etc…</p>

<p>Good point!</p>

1 Like
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<p>mperrone – How would you say the housing situation compares b/t WPI and NU, if you can speak to that?</p>

<p>Thanks for the first hand info – very helpful.</p>

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<p>I only have first hand knowledge of the International Village and West Village F(though the other West Villages are similar, I’ve been told).</p>

<p>I have seen most of the dorms at WPI.</p>

<p>International Village is a much better freshman dorm than any of the ones at WPI. I live in Morgan Hall (all triples). Here it feels dirty in the halls and bathrooms, and there is an unidentifiable odor that has been in the hallway for months now. The couches in the common room are stained, as are the rugs. There are some ceiling tiles missing on our floor because of (drunk at the time)jerks. Some of the other buildings here are a little cleaner, but not by that much. IV is new and clean. The space is pretty much equivalent in both.</p>

<p>When you’re not a freshman at WPI, you live in apartment style housing for the most part, or you live on a fraternity/sorority, or you live off campus in actual apartments. All options are common. I’ll talk about the on-campus apartment style housing at WPI compared to West Village at NU:</p>

<p>East hall is the newest and nicest of the on-campus housing here; it has a full kitchen and a pretty decent common space, with it’s own bathroom and usually 2 doubles and a single attached. It feels very clean and modern.</p>

<p>West Village is the same in terms of modernity and cleanliness, but the apartment I saw had had a larger common space, or it at least felt larger since it has a 2 story ceiling (2nd room is upstairs, 3rd and another bathroom maybe up there too? I didn’t go up there ever; my friend was on the first floor of the apartment…). You should check on the pricing, as that is variable dependent on which building specifically you want to live at.</p>

<p>NU definitely wins for freshman housing, and it’s much more even after that. Housing had nothing to do with my decision, anecdotally.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the detailed info!</p>

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<p>No problem!</p>

<p>I know/remember how stressful this time was for me a year ago, so hopefully this will make your decision a little more clear, or at least a little more educated.</p>

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<p>Wow mperrone thank you for all that info that was really helpful and thanks to everyone else who shared their opinion. </p>

<p>I must say that after think I am actually leaning towards NU. This is for several reasons including the city the campus and the program. As far as the major is concerned it’s really my only major problem (haha no pun intended). However I’ve reasoned that it is true I may find I don’t enjoy aeronautics so if I take some class an find I like I can still get my ME degree and then get a masters in a more specific field. </p>

<p>This decision is certainly not final. I’m still happy to hear any more opinions and ideas :)</p>

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<p>By the way through research into each of the schools ME programs in general I have found them to be approximately equal.</p>

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<p>If you live relatively close by, I would suggest visiting each place and talking to professors about it, and sitting in on/sneaking into a lecture yourself. That will give you a much better feeling for the programs. You also could ask admissions to put you in contact with a current ME student to pick (statistically)his brain about things.</p>

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<p>I agree with the suggestion to visit. My son evaluated a lot of schools and turned down 7 of them to go to WPI because he just liked the “vibe” better there (and the project-based curriculum and the smaller size). So on paper, some of his other choices were technically equal but he just felt more “at home” at WPI. It was an intangible thing.
You may feel this way about *either *one after an in-depth visit to each one.
I agree that the freshman housing at WPI is not that great, way too many triples. But it gets better after that. They are building a suite-style dorm a few blocks off campus to provide more options, will be open this coming fall.
I think NEU has invested a lot in building dorms over the past decade or so, because it is trying to leave behind its old image as a commuter school. So I wouldn’t be surprised if their overall dorm quality is higher due to more of the dorms being newer…
Really, I think the freshmen dorm issue should be pretty low on the list of criteria. What matters more is the people (students, professors, administration too), and the curriculum. You may say the curriculum is equal, but the instructional philosophy is different. So look a little more closely, and again, a visit would help.
Again, they are both excellent schools so you can’t go wrong with choosing either one. But they are sufficiently different that you need to see which one fits you better!</p>

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<p>Agree with BeanTownGirl. My D is a freshman at WPI who chose WPI over several other schools due to fit / “vibe” and couldn’t be happier.</p>

<p>If housing is your main concern, Northeastern has much nicer freshman housing (honors housing, at least. I’m not sure what regular freshman housing is like) than WPI. Upperclassman apartments are also very nice at Northeastern; very expensive but very nice. As others have noted, WPI has upperclassman apartments and is building more. Off campus housing near WPI tends to be convenient (like across the street from dorms), safe, and very reasonably priced compared to Boston. </p>

<p>Having spent time in both neighborhoods, I would say that the neighborhood immediately surrounding WPI is safer than that surrounding Northeastern. That said, Worcester certainly doesn’t offer the diversity of social activities that Boston does and public transportation is not nearly as convenient. The social scene at WPI seems to revolve more around campus and frat activities. My D is very involved in several campus activities and finds plenty to do on the weekends. She is never bored! </p>

<p>I would honestly think a little more about what it is that your looking for from your education. Both schools will provide you with a good background in ME (if not aeronautics) and both provide students with good job prospects after graduation.</p>

<p>How do you feel about co-ops? Spending a 5th year to do them? Going to school / doing coops year round after freshman year (i.e. no long summer breaks)? Some students think this is great, others not so much. </p>

<p>7 week terms? Lots of pluses and minuses - you need to decide for yourself whether you like the idea of these fast paced classes. My D loves it, but some of her friends who are struggling academically find it very challenging due to little time to master material before new material is taught.</p>

<p>Project based curriculum? Again, lots of pluses and minuses. The real world application of skills plus working in multi disciplinary groups is great. But if you hate the idea of these intense projects, WPI may not be a good fit. </p>

<p>Size of school? WPI is pretty small. Again, there are pluses and minuses to that. Close relationships are easily formed with students and professors. It’s easy to get to work in a lab if you are interested. On the other hand, small schools don’t typically offer the diversity of activities that larger schools offer.</p>

<p>As others have said, visiting the schools may help you with your decision. Try to attend classes and talk to students at both schools - this may give you better insight into where you feel most comfortable and which school better fits your learning and living style.</p>

<p>Good luck making your decision. You will get an excellent education at either school, so there’s no bad choices to be made!</p>

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<p>My daughter is now a junior at WPI. She enjoys the classes but the weather gets to her at times, she is from CA and not used to the snow as much as the locals.</p>

<p>She chose WPI over several other schools because she liked a small school and the feel she got from WPI. She wasn’t happy at first about being in a triple in Morgan. But it was a large room and she had fun living there. She and one of freshman roommates and another girl ended up getting an apartment about 10 minutes walk off campus their sophomore year. They are all together this year and have since signed on for their senior year in the apartment as well. WPI has been building more dorms and there will be more on campus housing options that were available to her. </p>

<p>Worcester is not a bad town to do things in. There iare local minor league baseball and hockey teams that she has attended games at. Cheaper and easy to get tickets for than the major league teams in Boston but just as fun. Local music can also be found. She and her friends have also gone into Boston occasionally, either buy car or have taken the Amtrak train. So that is an option.</p>