RIT or Franklin & Marshall

College Search & Lists
1

My planned major at RIT would be Electrical Engineering - Robotics Option, and at F&M, I’d likely double major in Computer Science and Physics or another engineering-related course as F&M doesn’t offer an engineering program. I can’t visit either school currently due to finances and my location (south Arkansas), so I have to rely solely on asking questions and researching each school as much as possible.

In terms of financial aid, it’d cost me around $9,000 more to attend RIT than F&M. However, RIT actually has an engineering program tailored to my desired career (robotics), and they have Co-Op, which is definitely the most appealing aspect of the college to me. My issue is determining whether Co-Op and a better engineering program are worth spending $9k extra a year. At F&M, I’d either double major or design my own major in order to make my education as tailored to robotics as possible.

I’ve read that F&M is a much better school overall compared to RIT. The professors are amazing, and the student-faculty ratio is only 9:1, so classes are smaller and much more discussion-based. Also, despite not having an engineering program, they offer a 3-2 program that guarantees admission into the engineering schools for Columbia, RPI, Washington U, or Case Western, as long as you maintain a 3.3 GPA and take all required classes in your three years at F&M. Even if I didn’t do this program, I’ve read about many Physics, Computer Science, and Mathematics majors who’ve earned jobs in the engineering field after graduating from F&M. The college is also helping develop a land-mine detection robot with a NATO-funded international team. While F&M may not have a full-fledged engineering or robotics program, I believe they have many opportunities for aspiring future engineers, and I’d still receive a great education in my desired field. They also have excellent graduate placement, with last year’s students going into jobs at Google and Facebook, as well as graduate schools such as Stanford, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Columbia, and UPenn. Stats-wise, F&M also has a higher graduation rate than RIT, at around 80-86%, while RIT is around 67%.

RIT has way more engineering and robotics-related opportunities, along with their Co-Op program that would be excellent in giving me experience in my field and preparing me for the workforce. While the college is more expensive than F&M, I think the Co-Op program and its better-suited academics could make up for it.

Overall, I’m leaning toward F&M for its liberal arts education, amazing faculty, cheaper price, better rankings, and prestige. I’m just worried about abandoning the opportunity for RIT’s Co-Op program and engineering major. If anyone could give advice on what to do or provide any other tips as I make my decisions, I’d greatly appreciate it.

2

If you are relying on need-based financial aid and/or merit aid to afford college, then counting on 3-2 programs is not a good idea. The same financial aid guarantees to not apply to incoming 3-2 students at the “2” universities, as to incoming first-years. Plus, needing a fifth year of school (and the opportunity cost of not working in that fifth year) will more than wipe out the cost savings for choosing F&M over RIT.

I would choose F&M only if you are happy with a course of study you could complete at F&M only, in four years. (Yes, a co-op program at RIT could take five years, but you wouldn’t be paying for five years - you’d be paying for 4 and working 1.) If you’re happy with majoring in CS, physics, math, etc… that’s fine, but don’t figure the 3-2 option into your decision. There are very good reasons that only a tiny percentage of intended 3-2 students really complete those programs as intended. Statistically speaking they’re more of a recruitment tool than an option that tends to play out in reality.

3

@aquapt Understood, I’m not likely to do the 3-2 program anyway, I mainly included it to show that F&M recognizes students who want to do engineering despite not having a program dedicated to it. I’ll speak with some of their professors to see if those majors are adequate for an engineering career. Thanks!

4

This is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison. 2300 student LAC versus 15-16k undergrad Private University at RIT. Very very different experiences in all respects and yes, class sizes at least initially.

Yes, F&M is ranked higher overall. Is it for what you want to do? No. Rit is ranked lower overall. But in your field, I higher. That said, 9k per year is not something easily swallowed and CS in general is in demand. That said, I do believe it may hurt you short term, for robotics specifically. Long term, perhaps / probably not. I’d agree, the odds of completion of a 3-2 are low at best, for anyone and financials will change if you do pursue that option.

I would really really encourage you to reach out for both departments and dig deep into the curriculum and what you think you will most enjoy or resonates.

However, if you truly want to be an engineer, I would not suggest an LAC at all. The engineering curriculum is quite rigid in general and if you don’t do a 3-2 and the LAC doesn’t work out…you could end up with losing much of those early years credit wise as they may not count elsewhere. For engineering, all that matters is it is an ABET accredited school, which and LAC (3-2) will not be. So to pull that off it’s a 3-2 or, transfer elsewhere at some point.

5

@eandesmom Well, my choices are limited now as these two schools are offering the most money. I may try and transfer after my freshman year at F&M. I’m just drawn to it much more than RIT despite my intended career, and I’ve read about many students who’ve become engineers after graduating from F&M (mainly software engineers w/ a CS degree or research and systems engineers w/ a Physics degree). Since my first-year classes will be mostly gen eds, I’m hoping that transferring to an engineering school afterward won’t be too much of an issue.