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Worcester Polytechnic Institute Visit Report by Nightingale
Visit to Worcester Polytechnic Institute in February 2007 by Nightingale (Parent of Student, HS Class of 2010)
(Member since April 14 2005 with 529 posts)
7 of 7 people found this visit report helpful
Visit Activities:
Information Session: Yes
Campus Tour: Yes
Classroom Visit: Yes
Campus:
Friendliness/Courtesy of Students:
Friendliness/Courtesy of Staff:
Appearance of Campus:
Building/Facilities Maintenance/Cleanliness:
Dormitories:
Security/Safety:
Off-Campus:
Area Immediately Around Campus:
City/Town/Community:
Campus Visit Notes for Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Visit Description:
Well we visited on a very cold day. Parking was an absolute NIGHTMARE. Apparently there are far too many cars on campus.Now even upper classman may be refused them owed to the parking scarcity. We first attended the information session. Two very well spoken seniors discussed the various programs, ie., 7 week terms, three mandatory projects due prior to graduation, traval abroad and so on. An adcom type also chimed in. Before I go on let me just say that this is a very expensive school at 45k per year. I mean Ivy type money. Also the fat USNWR book (2007) holds that students graduating from here have an average debt exceeding, if I recall correctly, any other college in the country! The average grad owes 34k. To counter this they claim that the average "WPI grad" earns an average salary right out of school of 51k plus. A parent challenged the students in the info session on this and they agreed that the data was gathered only from those grads who chose to respond when asked in a mailing. Well if I'm folding shirts in a mall I'm not jumping all over that mailing. They claim a 90% placement rating which is not uncommon for any upper tier engineering school.
The place was incredibly well maintained. Sparkly new buildings and well appointed older ones. Very neat and orderly. The admissions/admin office accomodated over 50 people easily as we awaited the tours. The campus is very compact and sits atop a hill in Worcester. Our tour guide, being female, represented only 25% of the student body. Just looking around I thought that number was a bit off. There seemed to be, although not an equal number of females, maybe 60-40 like most NE privates. What I liked was the demeanor of the students. Most were exceedingly polite and many were head down in a lap tops even in the areas used to for recreation. All seemed involved and businesslike. I spoke to a WPI student shadowing our tour as to the rigor of the cirriculum. He, as well as everyone we spoke to, was quite frank saying it is difficult and should you fall behind in thier compressed 7 week semester you're dead. They did stress the availabilty of tutors and accessibility of profs should you need them. Also if you are tanking a course (less than a C) you will recieve a NR (not reported) so your GPA will not be dragged down by a poor choice of course or whatever might have lead to a poor grade. They seem committed to getting people through, if not on thier initial major, one not so difficult. One student says he knows some students who have changed majors twice yet are still on track to graduate in four years. Worcester, as I said of my Clark tour, is a grity city. In living there for two years I never encountered a problem and I spent some of that time in the City. Just be advised Worcester is nothing like Boston.Boston has much more to offer entertainment wise for the college age student. Another stat to note was the Quality of Life Rating for WPI as published in THE PRINCETON REVIEW.. it was A 76. That is 14 above RPI. So although the off campus activities may be limited apparently the school does enough for it's kids to garner interest in on campus activities.
Not much to say about the place except that everything appeared top notch food, library, athletic facilities, and so on. Dorms were what you'd expect, perhaps a bit cleaner than most. It is a serious place for hard working students. There is, by report, time left over to partake in social events and clubs as well as pursue EC's. Time management is key though. I would love for my D to attend as she is serious minded and I feel would embrace the non-frivolous nature of the school. But alas unless there will be merit fourthcoming it will not be possible. If I'm reading the info on the place right 25% of attending freshman scored OVER 710 on the SAT math portion.. wow bright kids!
Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments:
Nice..some over crowding during peak periods.
Other Comments (Transportation, local attractions, parking, etc.):
Parking HORRIBLE!
