Purdue was a very close 2nd place for my daughter. I think she would have been happy at both. She chose WPI based on term scheduling, location (6hrs away vs 10hrs away plus she liked NE more than midwest) and in the end she liked the smaller school vibe and feel. I thought both schools were fantastic. They were the only two schools in all the ones we looked at that had female engineers that were fun and engaging. The type of kids at both schools seemed very similar and true to what my daughter was looking for. I really thought she was going to pick Purdue as she loves football and sports.
If you haven’t yet, do one of the woman in engineering events at Purdue and see about doing an accepted student’s sleepover event at WPI. My daughter did both and that is when she decided.
She has a lot of good options. Are you in-state for VT? Not sure it is cost effective compared to Purdue and it is in the middle of nowhere. Like really there is nothing around for hours.