Hi, I am trying to decide between WPI and Virginia Tech. I really like the feel of WPI but I am worried employers outside New England will not recognize the school. I have asked many people in tech fields (students, professors at other universities, people working in SV) and none of them seem to have even heard of WPI. My parents think because of this Virginia Tech will be better, but I’m really not sure at this point. Will going to either school give me an advantage in securing a job (I don’t mind working in New England, but I would like my degree to be known outside that area just in case).
If your major area of interest is CS, the latest salary and placement data from WPI may help. Go to https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/computer-science and read down to and click on “Link To The Most Recent Post-Grad Report” to download a PDF of the CS class of 2019. CS is on page 19 of this report. Class of 2020 is not out yet.
Note the list is only of accepted positions from employers for the class of 2019 in CS. The list is not restricted to just NE companies. Amazon & Amazon Robotics, CA Technologies, Facebook, Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Tesla are among those listed along with many national companies with roots all over the country, but a preponderance of them are probably east coast.
As WPI is a relatively small University, there should be many more employees from larger universities. WPI is pretty much saturated with CS recruiters. WPI only listed a total population of 148 BS graduates in CS in 2019. Look over the entire list!
Employment has not been an issue! Lets hope that 2020 data remains as strong for BS graduates. This virus should, I assume, be over by 2024.
I could not find job placement history broken down for CS majors on the VT website. I did find the CDS (common data set) but these department breakdowns were not given.
WPI graduates have not been having trouble finding jobs, particularly in CS. Even though I cannot find the CS specific data for VT, I suspect theirs is also very solid!
Check out each university’s program specifics.
Google Virginia Tech Post grad survey for detailed employment info.Virginia Tech has great recruiting and job placement, as I’m sure WPI has as well.
Location, size (small vs. big), cost, social aspects (for instance, do you like big time sports), are other considerations. Good luck with the decision.
WPI does not have big time sports. VT has a very serious football team!
About 70% of WPI students do actually participate in sports. When we have a football game, it will not be like VT’s games. Our records in division III athletics has often been robust in soccer and wrestling. WPI is happy when it defeats old rivals MIT and RPI in football. … all in division III. I ran cross country and played club ice hockey when I was a student there. The University does not have its own hockey rink, but is does have very extensive pool and gym facilities at the heart of the campus.
As Division III university, we do not have athletic scholarships. We just do it ourselves!
Our most recent athletic powerhouse has been the women’s crew team and the big race is “the head of the Charles” in Cambridge. It is fun to compete at that level and two of the champs are from, far away, CA.! How did that happen?
PS: the last time we played Harvard was in the late 1800’ds and we won. The old football still sits in a glass case! Shall we say, rivalries are on a different scale here!
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So I will still get jobs at WPI right? People also keep telling me that VT will have more companies attending and better companies at their job fairs. If only there was a way to see which companies attend. I’m just wondering why WPI have such a great program yet no one even recognizes them around America (barely anyone outside New England) and internationally. I understand they are small, but there are tons of small schools with great reputations.
Did you check out the placement listing given above. This is actual data, not the opinion of someone who has never even heard of WPI. Look over the data and draw your own conclusion.
I’m from NJ and WPI has a great reputation around here. So does VT. But neighbor’s son is a rising senior at VT and has yet to do any type of internship, so I think a lot of that is what you make of it.
Here is the post grad employer info for VT. https://career.vt.edu/about/postgrad-survey/report.html
Click on Employment (in red), then Employers, Job titles, and Locations, then List by undergraduate major.
Both good choices. Plenty of people, including many employers have certainly heard of WPI, VT has a very large Engineering Expo every year that attracts many employers to campus.
Both are great choices. I would personally focus more on other things like the size (small vs medium), specific classes you are interested in, and most importantly cost.
Projects are a very large part of what WPI is about. It is not just about your “capstone” experience which is standard in ABET accredited programs today, including VT. Project discussion enters every course at WPI as this is a central part of the current teaching system. It requires a different focus from traditional classroom lectures. See what is different about the programs, how they may work for you and of course if they are realistically affordable. IQPs are unique to WPI and most are now done off campus.
Both Universities have very solid placement records. Hopefully the economy will have recovered by 2024. The only school I ever heard of which guaranteed job placement was a small LA college in Maine which used it as a marketing tool as it was trying to survive. If you did not find employment after graduation, they paid some money back. Neither VT nor WPI do this.
How about those football games?
Check out “sevmom’s” web address given above. You may even check majors as well as hiring organizations. Looks good to me!
Thank you "sevmom!’ I actually majored in mathematical economics and love good data! It became habitual!
You’re welcome, @retiredfarmer . Virginia Tech grads end up all over with a large concentration of VT grads in DC/ northern Virginia in particular, as well as other parts of Virginia - as would be expected.
@sevmom Would the large expos not make Virginia tech more favorable as it would help me out my foot thru the door of many large companies?
I’m worried about the stats as wpi doesn’t have that many international kids, and I’m international, employment is considerably harder for me and so idk if their data is skewed in that sense or not. VT has a larger international student population and I know many international students who have passed on to do great jobs.
The international student population will be down at many universities this year, including Virginia Tech. Both schools have career fairs and good employment outcomes. I wouldn’t over think that. You can have a good career coming from either school. I would have thought you needed to deposit somewhere by May 1st for regular undergraduate admissions. What is your current status? Are you a transfer student?
Just was reading this new sports development. While not exactly big time football, it does show good science can play a strong employment role in, at least, football. I also know the power behind the New England Patriots defense was for years an aeronautical engineer from RPI. He knew the data! Engineers get around in the most unexpected places.!
See https://www.wpi.edu/news/wpi-grad-lands-dream-position-ny-giants