Engineering student with special needs - Purdue vs. Case Western vs. WPI

ProudDad26
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 13:15:02 +0000

These seem to be three very different choices - all very good in their own ways. I think Purdue and Case tend to be more academically traditional engineering programs, where WPI is more project-based/hands on. Our son applied and was accepted at both Case and WPI. Both Purdue and Case are very tough. Case’s engineering program is large and Purdue’s is VERY large. You may want to check whether Purdue’s program is pyramidal, not necessarily in a formal way but by self selection. Find out what percentage of freshman engineering students go on to graduate with engineering degree. I suspect that Case has a higher percentage of students who continue in engineering, but I could be wrong on that. You may want to consider your son’s learning style/strengths in making this decision. If he is a more hands-on kind of learner, WPI may be the best of the three.

Case is a very welcoming school (I can say this from personal experience) and they tolerate/celebrate a lot of intellectual and “geeky” diversity. I would suspect that is true for WPI as well. I can’t comment on Purdue in that regard. I also know that Case included a break-out session at orientation to provide information about learning support for kids. I think that is pretty common in most schools now, but I would check that out also. Given the demand, the real issue about access to learning support is a student’s willingness and effort in seeking out the help. I don’t think any universities are likely to chase a student, even if he is academically struggling unless he comes for help.