In defense of RPI, we were mesmerized by the EMPAC building. It’s one of the coolest buildings we’ve ever seen! Also, we toured on a weekend, and didn’t see facilities. We only talked to students. Our son was a Rensselaer Medalist, so we had to at least go look. We had an incomplete picture though.
2 Likes
Yes, the EMPAC building is amazing at RPI!
We were lucky to go on some kind of special visit day (my D was also a Medalist), she met with a bunch students involved with theater (her main EC), and we got a one on one with the dean of engineering. My D wasn’t interesting in being in an urban campus so Troy hit the sweet spot in terms of size.
In a weird small world moment, my D ended up doing research at Purdue in a lab run by a former RPI president.
IMO, RPI is a great choice, especially for engineering. She would have chosen it over Lehigh.
3 Likes
Reading the UPSIDE tea leaves and body language of my student:
NEU offers a prescriptive path to an early career start (safe).
Lehigh has the perfect ‘setting’. Good ratio of man-made to natural. Full access to sunrises/sunsets.
Same for RPI, which gave her the most $. The balance of the 529 would go to grad school and/or their kids if they choose to have them.
Case is the wildcard. We’re going back this week to see if their Cleveland-but-not-really-Cleveland-suburban-ChemE-sunrise/sunset-practicing-with-swim-club-Co-Op-PIZZA value proposition might tip the balance…
2 Likes
They’d want you to believe - but you still have to find a co op. They are not just given and apparently not all get.
I am an RPI grad and my kid is also considering for this fall. Imo RPI is a geeat school, so many great outcomes. How did you get it down to 9k per year?! Very jealous.
RPI has B.S. + Ph.D Accelerated Program | Chemistry and Chemical Biology
With the changes to federal funding, having enough in your 529 to self-fund a PhD as a US citizen will be very very appealing to graduate schools.
There also seems to be overlap in the chemical engineering and chemistry programs, at least for the first year or so.
What sort of math does he love? Tricky integrals in calculus, or abstract proofs in linear algebra?
Not advocating for one over any other here but just clarifying that NEU can still graduate in 4 yrs with coops if enough AP/DE credit has been obtained (up to 32 credits can be used towards graduation requirements) - but you are also in fact taking fewer classes over the 4 years. Many freshmen come in effectively with “sophomore” standing if they’ve maxed out this credit.
I was hesitant to push RPI without knowing whether your student would be feeling a fit, between the gender-ratio issues and the vibe/setting/curriculum attributes. But it sounds as if the “setting” and overall feel of the school passed the first filter in terms of general appeal. In that case, the less-than-five-figures annual price tag becomes a pretty compelling incentive, as RPI is surely a reputational peer of the others, and my impression is that the flexibility to explore/change programs is comparable to the others as well. There’s a great range of programs available too. For a student looking for the intersection of chemistry, math, and environmental science, the Hydrogeology BS is an unusual and potentially interesting option. Plus there’s both ChemE and Materials Engineering, Enviro Science and Enviro Engineering, and of course math and all of the basic sciences including chem. The trick, as at any of the schools, will be to plan their early courseload in a way that keeps as many of the desired options open as possible.
But to the point I started out with, if RPI isn’t a turnoff, why turn down such an amazing offer?
1 Like
Many thanks to all who replied. D25 chose Case Western! When we went back for the admitted student event, I was very deliberate to point out all the ‘natural’ versus ‘man-made’ and was cringing every time we heard emergency vehicle sirens (which is incessant given the proximity to three major hospital systems!). When I asked why she chose CWRU over the others, she simply said, “Cool vibes.”
14 Likes
Congratulations! CWRU is the one school that sometimes feels like a “one that got away” for my older child (he had many of the same as your child on his list; he ultimately selected against CWRU because he was also looking to compete on a D3 team and the school he picked had a better team fit). I loved everything about it, and was so pleasantly surprised by how much we liked that corner of Cleveland. It makes me happy every time I see someone for whom it is the right school and right fit - it’s such an interesting and exciting place and opportunity. Best of luck to your daughter going forward!
4 Likes