I think a school not in the west or northeast would have to be close-to-perfect for him to consider it. He has family in the northeast.
We have not visited CO yet. Boulder and U of Denver have been suggested and are on the list to research. He’s not very outdoorsy; give him an awesome maker space and he’ll be good.
To me DU doesn’t seem to fit. My daughter’s bf goes there. It’s wealthy, overly social, lots of skiing, etc
Maybe a couple ideas in here - Lafayette as an example of you haven’t thought of it (if not too small).
I had read that list. I think it’s old, but I’ll show it to him. Thanks for the info about DU.
Oregon doesn’t have engineering.
For the time being, because it hadn’t always been this way, Oregon State offers WUE for engineering.
Others may think differently but I think Mines is a better fit but it’s up against nature. But it’s a work hard school. Sample of one and business but I don’t get that sense about DU.
I still think Pitt 
I love your process. And it sounds like Colorado doesn’t work. No reason to pursue. You already have lots of great prospects.
He has a friend who is at Pitt. When she comes home in a few weeks, I’ll suggest he talks to her.
The more you describe him, the more I think Oregon State if west coast, WPI or RIT if east coast.
OSU has so many cool hands-on opportunities, and these dovetail with different tracks available within the engineering majors. One example is the way the Product Design & Manufacturing option within MechE ties in with the Prototype Development Lab and allows students to work on real-world projects with industry partners. The Engineering Living-Learning Community has 24 hr access to the DAMlab Makerspace. Tons of maker-ish clubs and teams, too. They don’t have a FYE curriculum model, but the many different track options allow students to combine interests (for example, the computational engineering track in MechE), and I’d expect that major changes would be generally easier than they are at the CA publics.
And you already know that RIT and WPI are promising. All three are great in terms of LGBT-friendliness.
I don’t necessarily think these three are the most competitive schools he could get into; but higher admissions competitiveness isn’t always a win - kids can end up shut out of clubs and teams because they’re all competitive to join, or just not having as much time and flexibility to indulge their passions, because the curriculum is so intense. To me, these schools strike a balance, with well-respected and rigorous curricula but also a wealth of options for fun, hands-on stuff, and a project-based approach generally.
My son goes to Colorado State. I think socially it would be a better fit for your son than Boulder or DU. The program is very collaborative, he’d be competitive for their Honors programs (which is wonderful and not stressful), and Fort Collins is very LGBTQ friendly. However, I think it’s really the perfect school for someone looking to take advantage of the outdoors. If he’s really into maker spaces I think you have some good options with RIT and WPI. They are also pretty likely admits.
Looks like @aquapt and I were having the same thoughts at the same time. The only thing I would differ on is even considering the “competitiveness”. Both programs are project based and collaborative which is something that can’t be “ranked” but is invaluable if that type of learning environment is what you are seeking.
The differences between WPI and RIT are size and work experience. RIT has a structured co-op program that requires 5 years to complete, while WPI has a required IQP and MQP. RIT admits by major while WPI admits to the school and makes it very easy to declare and change majors. RIT runs on a 15 weeks semesters where you take 5 course, WPI has 7 week terms where you take 3 courses. WPI has an option of NR (no record) so there are no grades below a C on your transcript, RIT allows an “alternate grading method” of Satisfactory or Pass for one course a semester that will not be factored into GPA.
WPI has international integration too - correct ? So study abroad is easy.
How about RIT? I know they have but is it integrated as easily ? I know at ‘regular’ schools it’s hard to do study abroad that integrates with the major.l for engineering. Not sure if OP has abroad interest.
I think we’re saying the same thing. I brought up competitiveness, not because I think it’s an important criterion, but because so often recommendations on CC are calibrated to “What’s the most competitive program this student can get into?”… so i wanted to be clear that this wasn’t how I arrived at recommending these schools. My point was that I think fit and teaching style and and hands-on opportunities are more important, even if higher “rank” or “competitiveness” are possible admissions-wise. Which I think is what you’re saying too.
I believe most of the IQPs are international with a few domestic options and that study abroad is possible at RIT due to the 5 year plan.
It does have some similarities to a FYE model. The first year engineering sequence is called Engineering+ (ENGR 100-102-103) and is supposed to be a hands on program introducing students to a variety of engineering disciplines. First-year students can start in a specific engineering major, or if they are unsure of their engineering major they can choose General Engineering and declare a major after the first year.
Yes and no. Most of the IQPs are abroad, but there are also several in the US and Puerto Rico. For some students, those might be easier. For example, if you need ADHD meds, some of the study abroad locations will be particularly challenging because that class of medication is illegal there. For folks looking to do some abroad work, it’s a great opportunity - they aren’t studying like in class, they are doing work, some kind of project, while abroad. And because it’s a requirement for everyone, and everyone does it junior year, the rest of the school is really set up to make it achievable (particularly relevant for anyone whose kid plays a sport, the coaches know and value the program and make it easier to travel than it otherwise might be.)
There are also always some students (at least per the parents facebook page) that don’t immediately get placement in a foreign country. The way the program works is you are doing your project for an entire 7 week term - so abroad or elsewhere in the US (there are some sites in the Worcester/Boston area for people who can’t travel for one reason or other, but the other US sites are in Hawaii, NM, Glacier Nat’l Park, Maine somewhere, NH somewhere, Puerto Rico, DC, maybe more). Everyone applies their sophomore year, and travels their junior year. When you apply, there is a required essay (short) and they look at resume and GPA. But perhaps most important, you rank the locations to which you want to apply. If you only rank the super popular locations (AUS, NZ etc) then there’s more competition and it’s harder to get anything and possible that you might not get any. (So, like with college apps, add in a safety.) But if that happens, there’s a secondary matching time, where locations that still have spots are available to try again. I’m only mentioning all of this, which surely isn’t particularly relevant here, because there are always, always a few people who don’t get what they want and complain loudly. So I want a more robust story to be out there about how it works. The students all figure this out pretty well - my son’s fraternity did a whole info session for their younger members where the more senior members presented about the application process and the different locations they’d been to, and the professors that ran the locations etc. There was a powerpoint. (And yes, I do find this to be an exceedingly nerdy thing for the fraternity to have done, but I also find it very endearing and lovely… They also do resume review and interview prep for members. No, this isn’t an academic fraternity, regular kind of social fraternity. And maybe that describes the school better than anything else - slightly geeky, super helpful and welcoming, people who like to have fun and, generally, are good at math.)
Anyhoo, sorry for random long soliloquy on WPI…
That’s very informative - maybe should get posted annually on the WPI threads - not sure if possible - especially since it’s required.
And great point about meds that might not translate country to country.
Thanks for that info!
I’m so hopeful that WPI will click for my kid next month. 
And now I’m incredibly overwhelmed. Thanks for all the info, everyone!
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