<p>Virtually all the physics professors at WPI are at least competent at teaching. Two that stand out are Professor Germano Iacchionne (Prof Germano) and Professor Carol Koleci.</p>
<p>The math department isn't as good. Professor Volkov is excellent, as is another prof whom I can't recall the name of right now. Prof Lui is hilarious and relatively easy to understand (he's Chinese), but AVOID him for intro classes as he's been known to fail an entire class just because he hates teaching intro classes. I have great animosity towards Prof Fehribach who drove me off of a double-major MQP, and that is why I have a BS in just Physics and not Physics and Math. He does not seem to have a basic understanding of physics.</p>
<p>and I would guess a lot of mathematicians are better mathematicians than they are teachers. A great math teacher is worth his/her weight in gold.</p>
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Virtually all the physics professors at WPI are at least competent at teaching. Two that stand out are Professor Germano Iacchionne (Prof Germano) and Professor Carol Koleci.
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<p>Oh yeah, they're both really good. Every ECE professor I've met thus far is really good. Cyganski definitely stands out.</p>
<p>My son is a junior at WPI and absolutely loves it. He has gotten very close to some of his professors and feels he gets a LOT of personal attention. WPI does a GREAT job of getting jobs for their graduates as they are 9th out of all colleges in the country in this area. My son has had two internships at Cisco computer systems (considered one of the premier employers in the US) and it is mostly because of exposure at WPI's job fairs. He already has two senior friends who were offered employment (for after they graduate) at 74K per year. Getting a great education and then getting a good job is high on my list of what is important in a college. It may come with a higher price tag but may be worth it in the long run.</p>
<p>What about computer software engineering/ computer game design? Any thoughts on any of these schools? S could go to Purdue instate but not sure it has the program he wants.</p>
<p>The biomed programs are strong but I donāt think the biomed programs are particularly famous. However, there are many options available at WPI in biomed (bioelectronics with ECE, biomechanics w/Mech) and the faculty are generally good (I am not a BME but this is what I hear). The program is quite hands-on, which is a good thing.</p>
<p>More recently, the research program at WPI BME has really grown with Gateway Park and there are many project opportunities at UMass Medical School. Career and graduate school options are good for WPI BME (recent students have been admitted to grad school at Duke, JHU, Purdue, and Cornell, among others).</p>
<p>S is an IMGD major. IMGD has two tracks - technical and artistic. The IMGD department brings in lots of speakers (weekly?) and seems to be well-connected. Thereās also a Game Development Club that is pretty active. Next year S will be living with other IMGD majors in a campus-owned house.</p>
<p>Thank you ojnabaioot. This was thoughtfully written. Very helpful as my son was accepted to WPI, RIT, Wentworth (safe school) but would really like UPenn. Havenāt heard from them, only an alum interview and visited the school. But! the information you posted about WPI is very insightful. Thanks, again!</p>
<p>Congrats, giusbabs. My daughter was also accepted at both WPI and RIT. WPI gave scholarship award, RIT decision will probably take another couple of weeks. Did you have personal preference as to WPI vs. RIT?? Just curious?</p>
<p>I donāt know anything about RIT, but my daughter is a freshman at WPI and just loves it there. It is a much smaller school than RIT, about a quarter or third the size, which fits her well.</p>
<p>You can compare the two school by some of the numbers at [College</a> Results Online](<a href=āhttp://www.ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā %5DCollegeā>http://www.ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ). There is a compare tab that is quite usefull. Several numbers stand out to me, the 4 year grad rates (as it does factor into the cost equation, which maters to me) and the first year retention rates (which signifies how satisfied the students are). Both favor WPI. But numbers arenāt everything.</p>
<p>No one mentioned the IQP program. My daughter has been very happy at WPI. had a great experience traveling for the IQP and enjoys the social life. The Greek system is fun but more down to earth than at non tech schools. I have heard that many have been unhappy with RPI as a harsh academic environment. WPI faculty are very accessible and supportive but teach. A WPI momās opinion.</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman this year. She is enjoying her time at school.</p>
<p>She is in a triple in Morgan Hall. It was originally designed to be a large double but doesnāt seem to be cramped as a triple. </p>
<p>My wife and I were there for parentās weekend and ate once in the cafeteria. It seemed quite good and my daughter said that what they had was the usual fare (so they didnāt make it special just for parentās weekend). However, she likes to cook and there are no student cooking facilities in her dorm (or I beileve most of the freshman dorms). She and her roommates have a small fridge and microwave in their room for extra snackage. </p>
<p>Worcester doesnāt have any major league sports but there are minor league sports games (which typically means tickets are cheaper and easier to get). She went to a baseball game once as a WPI outing. The arena for the Worcester Sharks (AHL hockey) is about a mile away (ie. walking distance) and she and her friends have gone to several games (their secret, when it is raining, is to tell the WPI transportation that they need a ride to the train station, which is just across the street from the arena as the arena).</p>
<p>I donāt know what the music scene is like in Worcester, but she and her girl friends were in Boston the other night at the Boston House of Blues. Got the tickets online and it is about an hour drive each way.</p>
<p>As a parent, I was concerned that, with the male to female ratio, she would get a lot of attention from the boys. Either it is not occuring or she doesnāt consider it a problem as she has never said anything to my wife or myself (not as likely).</p>
<p>i personally think RPI is more of a nationally well known, prestigious school with better students and tougher curriculumā¦like more in line with places like Cornell, Georgia Tech, and CMUā¦like those top notch schools that try to compete with MITā¦</p>
<p>WPIā¦iād place it like right behind RPIā¦like high second tierā¦i also think WPI is VERY underratedā¦</p>
<p>RITā¦i think both RPI and WPI are much better than RITā¦</p>
<p>now that is for undergradā¦as far as grad goesā¦RPI def has the most researchā¦RIT and WPI probably have about the sameā¦but in the end, i think for grad school, it doesnāt really matter where u go, so long they have the research and concentration you look forā¦be it MIT, RPI, WPI, RIT, Penn State, Arizona Stateā¦ANYWHEREā¦</p>
<p>and i think at any tech school, the lack of girls leads to some level of unwanted attention for the ladies (esp if sheās not uglyā¦note iām not even saying āprettyāā¦i say ānot uglyā)</p>
<p>I agree RPI is nationally better known but it is tough to compare the curricula of schools unless you have attended both of them. Many of the intro courses at WPI are a joke though although the 3000/4000/grad-level courses are very challenging as is the electromagnetic fields course. </p>
<p>All three are fine schools and prepare you well for job/grad school. Engineering is hard no matter where you go but regardless of the school reputation or anything else, there is no doubt that the very top students are often above the general curriculum level and can achieve extra opportunities for research, project work, etc.</p>
<p>I will agree that RPI is better known than WPI. However, when it comes to hiring, a company hires a person, not a school. </p>
<p>I worked in engineering for a aerospace company in SoCal for 33 years. Funny, being so far from Massachusetts that I never worked with any RPI grads but did with several WPI grads. They were very good engineers and usually had to explain where WPI is located. They obviously got their jobs because of their skills and not the awareness of their college.</p>