RPI worth the debt?

MechE76
Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:35:02 +0000

My two sons are students, a junior and a freshman. The older one does not start his junior classes until the spring semester because he decided to take advantage of a co-op opportunity that lasts through the fall semester.

RPI turned out to be ideal for the older son. I have no doubt it will be the same for the younger one, but it’s only the first week of class. My wife, children and I visited the campus twice before the older child enrolled, and one or both of us have been back for parents’ weekend, freshman orientation, picking up or dropping off, visiting my fraternity and visiting my older son’s fraternity many times. To echo what many others have posted, one of the things that strikes me is the number of students that are happy and enthusiastic. A number of other parents have also mentioned the student enthusiasm they experienced during campus tours at RPI versus a lesser experience in touring one or another other college campuses.

Re. RPI being worth the cost, I am not as familiar with other majors as I am with engineering. In that, RPI is respected as providing a rigorous education. Students with good grade point averages have good internship and co-op opportunities, and, as graduating seniors, have good job and graduate school opportunities. There is also the maturing experience part of college. There are many things that foster this at RPI - many student athletic activities, many clubs and organizations, and, in my opinion, the Greek community. Fraternity membership is a personal choice, but for me, as well as my older son, it turned out to be a rewarding experience. Among other things, it can involve leadership in running the organization, be a second family, and be the basis of life-long friendships.