S26 has been accepted to RPI (Aeronautical) and University of Rochester (Mechanical) and is trying to decide between the 2.
RPI has a great reputation for engineering and he feels like it will prepare him well for a job after he graduates. He is unsure if he wants to go to graduate school. However, he didn’t initially envision himself at a polytechnic school. He is bummed they don’t offer languages and isn’t sure if he will connect with the other students. He likes the campus and the Troy location.
He also really liked Rochester campus. Less sure about the city of Rochester. He can probably get a more well rounded education at Rochester and as he is unsure about MechE, he is thinking he might like the optics program. But he is worried Rochester engineering students are more prepared for grad school and less for getting a job.
if anyone can give some insight into these engineering programs, it would be much appreciated.
He wants to study abroad, play club soccer, no interest in Greek Life but is very outdoorsy (snowboarding, hiking, camping, biking, etc).
This is a case where two reasonable people could make two different choices.
If your S prefers the vibe and offerings at URochester IMO that would be a big factor. He will spend four years at the college so it is important that he is happy in the environment and with his peers. As long as URochester’s ME program is ABET accredited I wouldn’t have any second thoughts about the quality of the engineering education.
Can you revisit both for accepted student days? Those visits helped my S make his final choice with clarity and confidence.
Does he want to focus on aero, or do more generalized mechanical?
If he may want to change to a different major, look into whether it is difficult to change major to other possible majors of interest.
He may want to check what the upper level required and elective courses for his major are at each school to see which is likely to be more interesting to him.
I am sorta laughing since my son wanted engineering to get out of taking a language. Anyway. Fit and feel are very important to do well in school. Is there a possibility if taking a language as an elective or minor?
I also wouldn’t be too concerned about graduate school for engineering. He can make that choice as things developed. If he doesn’t feel like a polytechnic school is for him then U of R it is. Especially if he might change out of engineering. Warning : students do change majors. He’s already telling you he might if I am reading this correctly. I would go where he has more options especially with things like study abroad(my son’s school had great study abroad with engineering BTW) and other things mentioned.
It seems like he did reach a conclusion. I trusted my kid’s with their decisions after much discussion. If he wants engineering both will get him that. If he wants the other things mentioned it seems like only one school really can.
Visiting, Facebook groups, Reddit (sometimes) etc will help him find his peeps. Every school will have his peeps. He just might have to make an effort to go find them
I think Rochester is the choice here - and it’s not close.
The kids at RPI and UR will likely compete for/will get the same jobs. I think you are making assumptions based on perceptions. Both will be ABET accredited in the majors and kids at many schools work in Aero from many disciplines (my son as a MechE).
UR shows an 87% knowledge rate so they have info on most everyone - with an $84K average salary for MechE. This is 2025 data. 54.2% are working with a few % in the military. Only 31% were in grad school.
On an overall basis, RPI shows 53% employed, 36% in grad school with a 66% knowledge rate - so capturing much less. This is class of 24. By major, I found 2023 - Aero had a 50% employment and 40% grad school rate.
I think too many parents have “perceptions” about schools without looking in deep.
If language matters and I don’t know the language, UR wins. You can study language on or off campus at RPI (language dependent) but you have to go to other schools - likely not easy. While it’d be nice to like a city, other than the immediate surrounds, you’re probably most the time, especially as an engineer, on or near campus.
To me, assuming there’s no budget issues, for your initial write up, UR is a clear winner here….and the career data actually shows opposite of what you perceive - and UR has a higher percentage of students captured.
My son is the one who told me he read online that U of R focuses more on research and sending kids to graduate school. I found some complaints online about it and to be fair our tour guide who was an EE major pretty much said she chose Rochester because she felt other programs focused more on getting a job and less on research.
And he has told me he fears students at Tech schools will be less sociable but I didn’t get that impression at our RPI visit.
Hopefully he will get a clearer picture once we attend both admitted student days.
Yes we are visiting both in the next few weeks. Hopefully there will be a clear winner.
I worry he will let the fact that RPI is so well known for engineering be the deciding factor (I think he views it as the “best” program) guide his decision when the college experience is so much more than just academics.
He has been pretty decisive on schools that he doesn’t feel are a good fit but getting him to differentiate and articulate what he likes about these 2 has been a struggle.
Some kids go to grad school, most kids get job. Most these colleges - and even your big state Us - they’re teaching to and above ABET accredited standards.
Yes, RPI is STEM heavy but has architecture, business, and humanities type majors as well.
If you haven’t been to campus (admitted student day or otherwise - it can be anytime and some times it’s better on a “regular” day where you can see the real campus vs. the “show” being put on - stop kids, talk to them - but it’s very clear kids from both get jobs and kids from both go to grad school.
To me, the language - if it’s that important - would be the differentiator although you can do it (with travel) at RPI.
He is started to be less clear as to what type of engineering he wants to pursue. I think he may need exposure to the different fields- he has enjoyed building an RC plane and is now working on a drone. But he is interested in Rochester laser lab and is wondering if he should explore materials science or even biomedical engineering.
Will look to see if the first year is the same for all engineering majors in case he wants to switch.
Cost is greater at RPI. We are planning to appeal for a little more aid and are hoping it’s granted to get it closer to U of R’s offer
I am trying to figure out how important the language is for him. He just announced that he read that RPI has just eliminated their last language courses (Chinese) and it seemed to be a negative for me. But I understand RPI students can take classes at nearby schools. He very much hopes to travel in the future so that may be a factor.
Yeah - abroad you are talking about but map out the daily transportation required to go wherever the language classes are from RPI. Are they providing transport or you have to? How far is the school, etc.
Imagine doing that over and over again, etc. And how far in depth can you go?
In general, I’d say students who are great fits for tech-focused schools are certain of this preference. Since your son lacks this certainty, URochester may represent the better choice. In any case, URochester grew out of a city that waa a pioneer in technological development, so some of that legacy remains embedded in the school’s academic programs.
Congrats on great choices. Hoping both are affordable and that doesn’t have to drive the decision. In this case, both will have outdoor activities that your son can Access and enjoy. If the absence of languages is a big factor for your son, that may drive his decision. Having to take our language at another college campus can be an inconvenience and sometimes not doable given times of classes, distance to other schools, transportation, etc. These in my opinion should be the major deciding factors, as what he chooses to specialize/major in can change, and decision about grad school or the workforce is down the road. Some may focus on employment data, but IMO this is shortsighted as so many factors can change, and those numbers can be limited in their accuracy/utility.
My D26 is also considering RPI versus other universities and liberal arts colleges. She’s planning to study physics or chemistry, however, so a bit different. But we both noted on our visit that the student orientation amongst engineers was about getting great internships, coops, and jobs. I do think many/most students get involved in some research. But it was interesting talking to students as they all seemed pretty excited about the companies that were recruiting on campus. My sense is that the alumni network really loves RPI grads and pushes for them in hiring at their companies.
D26 was also pretty impressed with the HASS programs that allow for double majors in more humanities focused areas. She was drawn to the science, technology, and society and philosophy majors. It does seem a fair number of students do try for a double major in HASS and they purposefully make this possible. That might make it more interesting since many schools struggle to let engineers double major at all.
All this said, there are only a handful of people who are primarily majoring in the HASS majors. Almost everyone is STEM or STEM-adjacent. Even the B-school seems to have a tech orientation.
I think your child will have much more clarity after visiting. The vibe is different at these two schools and I think your child will have a clear preference after spending time on campus.
I’m a big RPI fan and it was a top contender for my D. As noted, being career readiness focused doesn’t mean that research isn’t plentiful too. (My d at another school was a co op student, did internships, and did research and was published.).
I’d recommend keeping an open mind at both visits and doing a deep dive on the four year plan of study and available electives.
Good luck with the decision and congrats to your son!