<p>Anyone have any insight into the differences between WPI and RPI? My son is interested in math or computer science.</p>
<p>Both schools have an entirely different feel to them, despite having “Polytechnic Institute” in their names. My daughter toured both schools, and currently attends WPI. When we went on the RPI tour, the only students we saw were walking alone and on their cell phones. WPI has a much more friendly and unified student body. </p>
<p>Both schools are strong academically, but the WPI project based curriculum is one of the things that attracted my daughter to WPI.</p>
<p>Worcester is a very lively city and the area surrounding WPI is pretty nice.</p>
<p>RPI is in Troy, NY. The area surrounding campus is fairly run down (boarded up houses).</p>
<p>My D has friends who attend RPI and like it, but she knew that she would not be happy there. The kids that she knows at RPI spend the majority of their time intheir rooms studying or playing video games. There are a fair number of video game playing students at WPI, but the student body does tend to get out their rooms more- even it is to study as a group.</p>
<p>She has told me that she has never once regretted attending WPI. All of the students that I have met at WPI truly love the school.</p>
<p>We went through the same analysis with the same result. My husband and son both had the same impression after visiting RPI, that it was a bit “grim”. The facilities and campus size were very good though, a little bit better and bigger than WPI. And RPI is slightly better known on a national level than WPI. The neighborhood adjacent to WPI, while not great, is a step up from RPI, and overall Worcester is a better place to live than Troy.</p>
<p>But the overall atmosphere and student body characteristics were just very different at WPI! When we went back to WPI after a bunch of college visits during the summer before senior year, my son looked around and said “Ahh…HAPPY nerds!”. Also, the project based curriculum was very appealing to my son, and they have the best record for sending engineering students abroad via their Global Perspectives program. </p>
<p>I think it is crucial to visit both campuses and really take the time to get a feel for each one.
I’m sure some people would pick RPI over WPI.
My son got into RPI and got a merit scholarship, but in his mind there was no comparison. He is currently a happy WPI freshman.</p>
<p>My S applied to and was accepted at both RPI and WPI.</p>
<p>Both schools are about the same size (WPI a little smaller) and the areas around both schools are about the same (not really that nice). I have been to RPI numerous times and never seen any boarded up buildings near the school.</p>
<p>RPI is much more well known (neither my wife nor I had ever heard of WPI until it was time for my S to look at colleges).</p>
<p>My S decided on RPI and has loved it. The academics are great, he has a lot of friends (many of which I have met and have been very impressed with - very smart, friendly, and sociable) and he has a very active social life. He just finished a coop that was arranged through the school.</p>
<p>I would strongly suggest visiting both schools. Your S might want to then apply to both schools and see what the results are.</p>
<p>They are both excellent schools.</p>
<p>(I think you might want to also post your inquiry on the RPI board. I venture that you will get some different opinions!)</p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>If you have any questions about RPI, feel free to send me a private message. I have absolutely nothing against WPI, nor do I remember much about the campus, so I will try to be as unbiased as possible.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you for your comments. We plan to visit over spring break, so I’m sure I’ll have more questions then.</p>