It was non-academic reasons that kept both off of my son’s list, but he attended a school that has a similar teaching philosophy to both.
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wasn’t comparing rose to stanford, berkeley, or caltech; if a kid got into one of those and also R-H or Missouri S&T, it’s a no-brainer. all 3 are in a different stratosphere. i was comparing it to missouri S&T (which i still have not heard of except on this particular board).
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Missouri S&T was called University of Missouri - Rolla until a few years ago. Most engineers that I know still call it Rolla. I am an engineer and have several friends and coworkers that went to MST/Rolla and are very happy with their careers.
On paper, RHIT may have better “stats” and rankings but a good student should have a great career (both first job and tools for advancement) with a degree from either school. I would focus more on the environment and fit for your son. Both are STEM-focused schools, but does he want a mid-sized public school or a small private school? If he is unsure and plans to go to graduate school then consider the least expensive one an save the money for graduate school.
FWIW, my daughter was accepted into both and really considered both schools. Ultimately she will be going elsewhere, more for “fit” and specific opportunities but I would have been just as proud if she went to either of these two.
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Based on what? My sister turned down MIT, money wasn’t a concern, and our dad is an alum. My son turned down Stanford for grad school and our uncle holds a PhD from there. So you can proclaim its a “no brainer,” but until you offer ANY evidence, I’ll stick to my guns. The fact that you haven’t heard of it shows that you don’t know much about engineering.
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I agree that USNWR rankings are pretty silly when it comes to engineering and I suspect a lot of other categories. What I would focus on also is how opportunities offered at each school might align with career goals of the student? I understand that having excellent and externally funded research is great but what if the student has no interest in pursuing a higher ed? What if the student wants a great undergrad experience instead and challenging classes that might prepare him/her for immediate impact in the workplace? I already talked about social and financial fits.
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I think that a student could do meaningful research at either school and would have a strong undergraduate experience at either school. Even though they are ranked in different categories with regards to doctoral programs, we aren’t talking giant institutions like Penn State or Illinois. MO S&T has 6000 undergrads and 7500 students overall. Rose has 2000 undergrads. They are much more alike than they are different. Both schools have great reputations for producing well prepared undergrads. The differences will be intangibles at the margins. Only the OP’s student will know which of those are important to them. My point is that rankings should matter very little as they are in different categories, and they don’t speak to the student experience at all, either while in school or for placement after.
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