Son accepted to both. He is torn by the decision he has to make as those are his top two choices. ChemE would be the major. I can see pros and cons for both. I probably lean towards WPI. What are your thoughts?
Same situation here, interested in opinions.
I went to WPI, and looked at the curriculum descriptions at RHIT. Rose Hulman seems more like a traditional engineering school and curriculum. WPI has 7 week terms and has two major projects, the IQP and MQP. The IQP is a social learning project, and it doesn’t seem like other engineering schools have something like it though I did not consider it super useful to my engineering education.
Both schools seem to be solid, undergrad teaching focused engineering schools that should get you a good job or into a good grad school. WPI offers good support and is a better choice than the state engineering programs like UMASS or UW-Seattle if you need more support and nurturing (i.e. you are inspired by good teaching and maybe need a bit more support to develop your study skills, which is the case for many students). They are not, however, research powerhouses, though WPI has more research and a larger graduate program. If you have strong independent study skills and are interested in research, I’d consider a more research-oriented state engineering program even if it’s not a top school.
They are both good tier-2 engineering schools (i.e. strong choices after the top engineering schools like Michigan, MIT, Cornell, Stanford, UT Austin, etc.).
I went to WPI and then went onto a Ph.D. program at a more research focused school. I was able to do research as an undergrad at WPI for two summers which introduced me to faculty at MIT, CMU and the Technical University in Munich and gave me the opportunity to present at a conference in Dresden. So there are opportunities for research beyond what you will do for your IQP/MQP. WPI also has a great career office. I’ve recruited there for my current company and the work experience these students have after their freshman and sophomore years is impressive. I have no experience with RH and have never come across a graduate of RH, but I suspect that is a regional thing.
I am an engineer on the east coast. I have only met one engineer from RH in my 30+ year career. It is not a well-known school here, as I’m sure WPI is not known in the Midwest. From what I have heard, these two schools are comparable. My daughter is at WPI, and she has been very happy with the academic experience and has enjoyed the community.
My son got accepted by both too. I visited Rose Hulman this summer and my son attended their summer school. I found the staff there very friendly. They arranged a special school visit for us as we can only stay at Terre Haut on Saturday. They are running a 10 weeks terms similar to WPI. Their class size is small and classes mostly teached by professors. They have good support for study, especially exams. They have also an industrial park right outside their campus. All sounds great. Like to know whether it actually working. Also like to know more about WPI on the such aspects.
Their gender ratios are quite different: RH 4/1: WPI about 2/1.
The heart of the WPI program centers on project education (see https://www.wpi.edu/project-based-learning/wpi-plan).
To my knowledge, there is only one other school which specifically designs coursework to interface with the project design across disciplines (the IQP) as well as your major (MQP). This innovative approach to learning has earned the prestigious Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education (see https://www.nae.edu/Activities/Projects/Awards/GordonPrize/GordonWinners.aspx#tabs)
Gateway Research Park is actually on the WPI campus (see https://www.wpi.edu/about/locations/gateway-park) The city of Worcester is a major center for biomedical research in the northeast (greater Boston area).
Math and Science Help (MASH) Program is a long running student support system on campus (see https://www.wpi.edu/student-experience/resources/academic-resources-center/math-science-help)
WPI has its own extensive off campus project centers around the world. These are not the standard exchange or study abroad programs arranged with other schools, but are permanent WPI operated centers. Every WPI student receives a $5,000 tuition credit to participate in these programs (see https://www.wpi.edu/project-based-learning/global-project-program). They are spread from Silicon Valley to China. With one exception, they are not classes, but project research centers.
The following data was taken from the USNEWS website:
Classes with 20 or fewer students; 65.1% (WPI) and 40.6% (RH)
Classes from 20 to 49 students: 24.6% (WPI) and 59.1% (RH)
Classes with 50+ students 10.3% (WPI) and 0.2% (RH)
Student/faculty ratio: WPI 13:1, Rose Hulman 12:1
As you may not have visited the campus, you may take this video tour @ https://www.youvisit.com/tour/wpi?pl=v&_ga=1.82603345.678718108.1470856569.
Hope this helps, WPI alumnus 1967 :bz
Depends on your ability to live in Terre Haute, IN for 4 years. Did your student visit?!
Terre Haute is not a nice place to live. We lived there right after grad school. We are not considering it for our D but we are consideting WPI.