I have been accepted to these schools for engineering without nearly equivalent financial aid. I was wondering which one is seen to be better by employers for engineering, specifically aerospace.
*WITH nearly equivalent financial aid
I’d pick RPI - excellent reputation in the industry for engineering. Pretty much all the big aerospace companies (Boeing, Lockheed Martin, United Technologies, Raytheon, etc.) recruit directly from there (see RPI career fair company list), whereas I they don’t appear on the career fair list at CWRU.
Unless you want to be in NYC, RPI is arguably better than NYC in engineering.
Thanks! I had never thought of looking at the career fairs before. That’s a great idea.
I don’t know much about NYU engineering. Both RPI and Case are very well-respected. I checked the career center website for Case. There is a login required to see the list of companies that recruit there.
I saw a list for co-ops or internships at Case. It was a long list. Boeing wasn’t there but I noted GE and NASA were. I would expect a strong NASA link with Case given the proximity. I would definitely email the career center to get the details on recruitment.
Having attended RPI myself, and recruited there as well, I can tell you the career center is well run and well connected.
I seem to remember from my daughter’s research, Case has a strong co-op program. RPI does not. That wasn’t a deciding factor for my daughter but might be important to you.
You would get an excellent education at either school and would have very good job prospects.
companies attending Case career fair:
https://students.case.edu/career/events/fairs/doc/fall14guide.pdf
https://students.case.edu/career/events/fairs/doc/emplguide15.pdf
RPI career fair:
http://careerfair.rpi.edu/index.php/area/company_list
RPI co-op employers:
https://www.rpi.edu/dept/cdc/Co-op%20Employers%202014.pdf
It was formerly the Polytechnic {University|Institute of {Brooklyn|New York{| University}}, an engineering-focused school, before merging with New York University.
IDK if I am qualified to answer as I attended RPI (undergrad) and NYU Engineering is the old Polytechnic University (grad) 25+ years ago. I have kept up some with what both schools are doing,etc.
At NYU Poly you major in Mech E with a minor in aerospace. So probably not the place to go if you want a great education in aero E. Also, since they have what I consider a regional reputation as a engineering school, NYU Poly probably does not have the name recognition as RPI or Case Western.
I disagree with the above statement that RPI does not have a strong co-op program. I knew of many classmates that participated years ago. Those that wanted to, can. Not everyone wanted to take a semester off, especially since graduating engineers were getting job offers without co-op experience. My roommate had no interest because she had great summer positions and on-campus research opportunities and was planning to go to grad school. Another arranged found his own job in the area and turned it into a co-op (company signs some papers, he filled out his report, etc.). Another found a summer opportunity in Switzerland. I did what they now call ‘parallel co-op’ - I worked full time in the Albany area and took 2 courses at night at RPI. So not everyone needs to participate in the formal co-op program (semester off and Summer).
I think it is best to visit both schools (RPI and Case Western) during their accepted students days to see which one feels like the best school for you.
Thanks for posting @insanedreamer.
I know RPI has co-op. I am certain that admissions said is wasn’t that common though.
Anyway, I have seen Boeing, GE, and others mentioned on the Case website, maybe under mechanical, electrical, or systems. I don’t remember exactly. I have worked with these companies which is why I looked for them in my own research. I would be surprised if Case didn’t have a wide network of aerospace specific recruiters. I have worked with Case aerospace engineers. Somehow, they landed jobs with these companies. I think it’s splitting hairs to say recruitment at one is significantly better than the other. Again, I attended and have recruited at RPI. It’s a great school. I just would not want to mislead and imply one is ‘better’.
I would pick the school that you like most. The part of Cleveland Case is in has a lot of cultural activities. The campus is more spread out. RPI has a more traditional feel to it in a smaller city. Case has wider offerings since it has a liberal arts side. Maybe one clicks with you more than the other.
Yes, Brooklyn Polytech merged into NYU. I just don’t know anything about it and I never worked with anyone from there. As insanedreamer said, if you dream of working in NYC, NYU might be the ticket.
The two strongest schools are RPI and Case Western.
RPI will be intense for engineering, very good reputation.
Case Western will be strong too but will have more diverse major and less gender imbalance.
Also, University Circle/Uptown >>> Troy.
Troy has improved a lot in recent years (not saying it’s >= University Circle, but just that a lot of the negative comments about Troy that you read online are from years ago). Of course it’s still just a small town.
Besides job opportunities, think about whether you want heavy (and challenging) engineering focus in a “nerdy” environment (RPI), or a college that has more in terms of non-STEM courses, and as MYOS pointed out, less gender imbalance (CW).
(My D is a freshman engineer at RPI, and quite happy there.)
I’m a NYU (Poly) grad and can tell you that RPI would be a better place for you. Not that NYU Engineering is bad, but RPI has a better reputation. All else being the same, take RPI.
Ok so small confession, when I wrote this post I hadn’t actually been accepted to NYU, but I had expected to be with similar financial aid. Since then I have been accepted but got more financial aid than expected (YAY!!!), but this makes my decision even more complicated. All in all, I would have to pay Case Western $29600 in loans and out of pocket, RPI 28500 in loans and out of pocket, and NYU 17750 in loans and out of pocket. I visited NYU today and liked it a lot but my mom isn’t too keen on city living. I could convince her to let me go without much trouble. So with all of that in consideration, I still have no idea where to go. I have not visited Case Western yet (I’m visiting the 23rd). RPI and NYU have very different campus living styles and I’m not sure which I would enjoy more. I love the idea of a big city with lots of activities and fast-paced living, but I’m worried I might not get as much of a “college experience” as the small-town campus-y RPI life. Although I haven’t seen Case Western yet, I get the feeling that the lifestyle falls kind of in the middle of the two. Any advice or personal experiences to share?
Also, how do the engineering curriculums vary between the three in terms of rigor, style of classes (more hands on, more lectures, . . .), internship/research opportunities, class sizes, etc.?
RPI is engineering intensive. It’s what they do to some extent. That may be the school’s distinction within your group.
Whether RPI is worth $10K/year more than NYU is a question that can only be determined by your family’s financial situation. But bear in mind that life in NYC is considerably more expensive. Also consider that being in the Big Apple sounds great because there’s “so much to do”, but engineering is a heavy course load so you might not be getting out much to do all those activities anyway. My D is ChemE and almost never makes it off campus.
Where would the money come from - are all equally affordable (ie., your mom isn’t too keen on Brooklyn and NYC, but does the price differential make a difference for her budget? Where would the 10K come from?)
Between RPI and Case, the costs sound about the same (give us the number for the loans at each though). If loans are equal (5.5K max/year) and they’re affordable, choose based on vibe, environment, etc. Have you visited RPI and Case?