SUNY Buffalo vs RPI vs WPI vs Cornell [Mech Eng]

College Search & Lists
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Help me out College Confidential.

Right now, I am most interested in being an on-site petroleum engineer. The 12-hour shift, out in the middle of nowhere on the rig type. However, given the likely uncertain future of petroleum, I have thought that it will probably be best if I go into a field that still can get me jobs in other areas. According to many others, the field of Petroleum Engineering takes alike Chemical, Material, and Mechanical Engineers - depending on the particular position one is interested in.

I am interested in doing a double major either of the following OR a 5-year Master’s program in Mechanical Engineering.
Mechanical Engineering (specializing in Materials if it is offered) and Business/Management/Economics
Mechanical Engineering and Materials Engineering

I am extremely interested in practical experience within my field, whether it comes from related clubs/organizations, project teams, research, co-ops, internships, or anything else.

I took tours of and listened to panels from all four institutions this week, and this is what I noticed at each one:

Cornell:
-Tour was bad - we were simply taken around the campus and shown a few buildings, while going inside nearly none and not witnessing any actual research facilities
-Relatively large campus - questionable styling and blend of old and new architecture
-Large emphasis placed on project teams, connections to various firms and industries, and internships and co-ops - particularly regarding how Cornell has the best of each
-90% sure I will be able to get in
-Relatively Expensive

WPI:
-Excellent tour - shown research facilities and other interior parts of campus, everything explained
-Small but comfy campus
-Primary focus placed on project teams, research, co-ops/internships and practical experience as opposed to academics
-Supposedly WPI produces extremely high starting salaries due to its emphasis on “on the job” type experiences
-Relatively Expensive

SUNY Buffalo (UB):
-Good tour, but could have shown us actual lab equipment in addition to many other things
-Extremely large and beautiful campus - puts Cornell to shame IMO
-Huge amount of clubs and student organizations
-Good research opportunities
-Questionable project teams - but told that the “project teams” are effectively clubs here
-Admissions officers were not very knowledgeable
-Cheap

RPI:
-Best tour of all - shown everything from dorms to lab facilities, explained thorougly
-Pretty nice campus
-Relatively little student clubs and organizations - but some emphasis placed on practical experience
-Asked about project teams, told instead of “senior capstone project”
-Best lab facilities
-Established school of engineering
-Relatively Expensive

Right now I am not completely sure of which to pick, but I am somewhat leaning towards Buffalo. I go to a huge high school, and enjoy the breadth of opportunities that a huge high school offers to its students rather than a smaller one. But I would like you all to give me input on this decision, or maybe other suggestions.

Every response is appreciated. Thank you!

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these are places on our radar for my d19. If she comes away from tours/researching the schools with a similar view for each, I would likely encourage UB.
I don’t think I would encourage paying significantly more for RPI or WPI. Additionally, considering the schools you are considering, is WPI also much further for traveling?
Also though, if it were my daughter, if possible, I’d try visiting Cornell and UB each at least once more. Did you just have general tours or did you get to meet with anyone in the engineering departments at each?

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I am located near albany. I could commute to RPI, however all three of the others are 3-5 hours away by car. Traveling is no problem for me, and I would personally prefer to live at campus if anything. At Cornell, I went to an engineering information panel after the tour, which was largely the source of all my useful information from that visit.

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@Heybeter, I agree that the general Cornell tour is pretty bad. Did you go on an Engineering tour? That one is actually really good - they take you through a bunch of the buildings. We saw the Earthquake simlulation lab, the nanotechnology center, and a bunch of other cool labs. It is led by a student in the engineering school, so they can talk about their personal experiences as an engineer there. Both of my kids were not impressed by the regular tour, but came away from the engineering tour loving the place. My daugher applied ED and is starting there in a few weeks in Mechanical Engineering, and my son is intending to apply ED next year. I know that you stated that you are 90% sure you can get in, but with a 12.5% overall acceptance rate (and 11% for RD), I’m not sure anyone can be that confident. My daugher also liked RPI. She did a 2 week summer program there after sophomore year, and really enjoyed the campus, but didn’t love the male/female ratio there.

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All your listed schools are highly regarded in engineering. Will financial need be demonstrated for the more expensive options?

The private schools listed do a pretty good job of meeting needs. If you like them, don’t drop out of the race because of an unidentified cost. Don’t waste money on applications if you are lukewarm about the program as YOUR enthusiasm is what supplies the “grit” required to thrive, not just survive, in a college’s program. Although all engineering programs at these colleges share ABET accreditation, this does not translate to identical programs or experiences.

I believe all of these programs now have the “senior capstone” experience because of ABET accreditation rules. At WPI the “capstone” is called the MQP and it has been around since 1970. Other schools do not have the IQP, which research has shown many WPI students and alumni view as an invaluable experience. This interdisciplinary experience helps form an engineer’s contextual perspective. It’s like peripheral vision.

There are other ways to pick up this peripheral vision. Chief among them is interaction with interesting fellow students. This can be done in dorm rooms, the spots field, musical groups, walking across the quadrangle, clubs and other social events but the project environment is another vehicle and is not quite the same experience.

My bias is that of a former admissions councilor who graduated from WPI before the new project based program in 1970. My first job was to assist with the brand new project based program. Real problems necessitate creative thinking in areas where you may never have gone before. It is not about repetition of known processes, but the discovery of new ones. I was jealous of the new students’ experiences and felt I was born too soon!

Good luck, but it is not all luck! If you find your personal groove you will do well at any one of these schools.

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Depending on the degree of financial aid either offers, I think that am going to be probably choosing between Buffalo (cost, size) and WPI (curriculum, project-based learning.) Is there any other colleges I should be considering in my situation?

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Cornell, WPI, and RPI are private schools in the northeast with a strong reputation for engineering. Another school that fits that description, and which attracts many of the same applicants, would be Lehigh.

Lehigh is a good option for combining engineering with business. Note, however, that it is difficult (at any school) to squeeze a traditional (ABET-accredited) engineering degree and a traditional (AACSB-accredited) business degree into a four-year course of study. There is too much material to cover, with little overlap.

Lehigh is noted for their “Integrated Business and Engineering” (IBE) honors program, which is jointly offered by the business and engineering schools. IBE has very selective admissions (apparently much more selective than Lehigh in general). The IBE program leads to a four-year AACSB business degree with a strong engineering component; you can optionally add an ABET engineering degree with a fifth year of study. Alternatively, the business school offers a minor program for engineering students, so it is also possible to get a four-year ABET engineering degree with a strong business component.

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Lehigh is about the same size as WPI or RPI. However, Lehigh is significantly wealthier, with an endowment as large as WPI’s and RPI’s combined, and tends to offer better financial aid (your mileage may vary). Cornell would likely offer the best financial aid, but would also be the hardest to get into.

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Couple of thoughts on degree, school, and aid from a Bucknell ChemE.

Schools: If you look at private schools like Lehigh, I would consider Lafayette and Bucknell as the schools are variations on a similar theme with a strong Liberal Arts foundation plus Engineering and Business. Bucknell also has combined Eng/Business programs. But, there are a few less expensive schools like Pitt and Penn State in the northeast that offer petroleum engineering either as a BS or MS so even if you stay with a less narrow degree you could take some elective courses to see if its what you want to do. Pitt/PSU’s programs have been around a long time and likely have the connections you are looking for for the experience. For straight MechE or CHemE at a big campus, also think about Rutgers which is also more affordable (between Pitt and PSU) and another very large school with lots of campus resources/pride/sports, etc.

Degree: Agree you can do oil field work with several degrees and you seem focused on MechE. However, I do know of two people who have done exactly what you describe job-wise and both were ChemE degrees (RPI and Bucknell). One did a master’s in Texas and ended up in the oil fields. Another path to think about - getting closer to the fields might help with jobs.

Aid: It’s not entirely clear from your post if you need/qualify for need-aid, merit-aid, or both. The schools on your list and ones I mention are quite different from the perspective of aid. Pitt is cheaper to start and offers both need and merit aid. On the other end of the spectrum, Lehigh and Bucknell do more with need-aid and merit aid is smaller, harder to come by, and does less to offset the very high cost. Other schools will be between so it pays to research what kind/size of need/merit aid is given on a site like www.collegedata.com which has the details.

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We looked at some of these same schools for one of mine–WPI, RPI, and also RIT. We visited WPI several times, and I know it from some professional/personal ties to Worcester. Out of numerous college visits for our kids, who had different interests, it was absolutely one of our favorite schools. We loved the campus vibe and the enthusiasm of the students. The hands-on approach seems suited to you. It has EA, so you could apply and see what financial aid you receive. I liked RPI better than the rest of the family.

If you are willing to leave the region, you might look at the Colorado School of Mines. It has the programs you are looking for and is similar in quality to the other schools you are considering.

https://www.mines.edu/AcademicsLandingPage

Lehigh is terrific. At least as of a couple of years ago, though, merit aid only went to a limited % of the incoming class. If you want to see how financial aid is distributed, google “common data set” with the school name. You get a form that details much of the operations of the school. You can go to the section on financial aid and see what the school is actually giving to students and how many receive it. You can also run the net price calculator for schools.

If you are realistic about costs, there’s no harm in seeing what a school like WPI, RPI, or Lehigh offers in aid. Sometimes there are surprises. Just know it might be too expensive. Good luck!

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Daughter is looking at WPI, RPI, and Pitt. Was waitlisted at Lehigh. She wants to study Industrial Engineering. WPI’s IE is ABET approved and housed in their school of business. To my way of thinking it’s the perfect answer to Lehigh’s exceptional but very competitive IBE program.