RPI - tell me the good bad and ugly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RPI is a depressing environment and a slog of a college experience, but students get an amazing engineering education and are sought after at most prestigious engineering employers.

It was nearly 40 years ago, but I had the same experience at WPI. Just didn't like the environment of an engineering school, and Worcester was no great place (though maybe arguably better then Troy.)

I lasted a year. Transferred to a state university. Dropped engineering but remained in STEM. Maybe should have stuck with engineering, because I did well in the prerequisite classes. And now I make a mediocre salary lower than what I probably would have made with an engineering degree in a job that is likeable but not loveable to me.

I wish I had had Virginia Tech as an option. A good engineering program within a larger, diverse college community. And a cool little college town.

Worchester is 1000 times better than Troy. WPI is not nearly as "geeky/nerdy" and has a much better balance of Male/Female. My DD said no to RPI as soon as we exited highway into troy---way too depressing of a city and campus. Same DD kept WPI on her list thru April because she loved her top safety so much. Ultimately she choose elsewhere that was a better fit for her, but would have been very happy to be at WPI.

[Anonymous]

Great academics. Collaborative students. Only IBM quantum system on a college campus. Tremendous list of accomplished alumni. Strong financial aid. This school is undervalued, and I rate it as a buy. It is rigorous, and students are forced to decide early if they really want to learn. My son took summer classes after his freshman year at RPI at an elite and highly ranked institution. He said the academic work over the summer was “easy” compared to what he experienced at RPI. He worried that he shouldn’t have taken the summer classes because he may not have learned the material as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great academics. Collaborative students. Only IBM quantum system on a college campus. Tremendous list of accomplished alumni. Strong financial aid. This school is undervalued, and I rate it as a buy. It is rigorous, and students are forced to decide early if they really want to learn. My son took summer classes after his freshman year at RPI at an elite and highly ranked institution. He said the academic work over the summer was “easy” compared to what he experienced at RPI. He worried that he shouldn’t have taken the summer classes because he may not have learned the material as well.

Which institution?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RPI is a depressing environment and a slog of a college experience, but students get an amazing engineering education and are sought after at most prestigious engineering employers.

It was nearly 40 years ago, but I had the same experience at WPI. Just didn't like the environment of an engineering school, and Worcester was no great place (though maybe arguably better then Troy.)

I lasted a year. Transferred to a state university. Dropped engineering but remained in STEM. Maybe should have stuck with engineering, because I did well in the prerequisite classes. And now I make a mediocre salary lower than what I probably would have made with an engineering degree in a job that is likeable but not loveable to me.

I wish I had had Virginia Tech as an option. A good engineering program within a larger, diverse college community. And a cool little college town.

Maybe WPI has changed. It seems to have all the trappings of a typical college: all the sports, including football and marching band that marches through campus, enough but not too crazy or dominating Greek life, a whole lot of music, theater and fine arts programming for an engineering school, walkable restaurants and bar and food options, multiple other local colleges and easy transportation to Boston, nearly everyone travels abroad which is pretty rare for an engineering program.

WPI is in a pretty nice part of Worcester, even then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great academics. Collaborative students. Only IBM quantum system on a college campus. Tremendous list of accomplished alumni. Strong financial aid. This school is undervalued, and I rate it as a buy. It is rigorous, and students are forced to decide early if they really want to learn. My son took summer classes after his freshman year at RPI at an elite and highly ranked institution. He said the academic work over the summer was “easy” compared to what he experienced at RPI. He worried that he shouldn’t have taken the summer classes because he may not have learned the material as well.

Has morale improved in the faculty and student body since the new President arrived?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great academics. Collaborative students. Only IBM quantum system on a college campus. Tremendous list of accomplished alumni. Strong financial aid. This school is undervalued, and I rate it as a buy. It is rigorous, and students are forced to decide early if they really want to learn. My son took summer classes after his freshman year at RPI at an elite and highly ranked institution. He said the academic work over the summer was “easy” compared to what he experienced at RPI. He worried that he shouldn’t have taken the summer classes because he may not have learned the material as well.

Has morale improved in the faculty and student body since the new President arrived?

Yes! My brother is an alum and went to an alumni reception a couple years ago when the new president was making his rounds, and stops in when he's in the capital region for work. Everyone is much happier with Jackson finally gone.

[Anonymous]

Troy is obviously the “ugly”

[Anonymous]

I’m from LI, NY and the smartest people from my HS went to RPI, including our valedictorian. Great college for engineering and science, and all of them are achievers in those fields. You will get a great education there, if that’s the direction you want to go.

The area is rough and depressed, so if that means a lot to you, you might want to look elsewhere. If sports other than hockey mean a lot to you, you might want to look elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

I'm from upstate NY and a really smart guy from my high school went to RPI. He did really well. He's a professor now at top 20 university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Troy is obviously the “ugly”

I think the best thing is for a student to know going in how ugly Troy is. If students know that towns like Troy and campuses like Brandeis’s campus are ugly going in, they might be better prepared to appreciate the strengths.

I toured in parent times, had no idea that Troy or Brandeis would be so ugly and couldn’t give the schools a fair shake.

[Anonymous]

My son will likely apply. Troy is as advertised. The campus is ok. My son plans to major in engineering and was impressed with the program. It’s clear that the engineering program is strong and has very good reputation, especially for a smaller private school. We visited during the summer so we didn’t get a chance to see what campus is like with students.

The main problem is that the school seems a bit odd. The school leans heavily male, which is typical for engineering focused schools. Our female tour guide told us that in practice the male to female ratio seems more 50/50 because there is a high percentage of male students that do not leave their rooms.

My son’s first choice is our state’s flagship, but RPI is a possibility should he get rejected from the flagship. This is a school that likely requires multiple for visits before deciding to attend. My son really liked the academics but I’m not sure that’s enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The good: Great education, solid job opportunities, strong reputation in STEM fields.

The bad: Ugly campus, depressing town, heavily skewed gender ratio (two guys for every girl)

The ugly: The coeds. This ain't Arizona State, to put it mildly.

it was 8-1 when i was there!

Yes Troy is filled with Troylets, but if you love skiing its an awesome place to be. Boston and NYC are 2 hours away and exotic montreal is about 4 hours away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asked and answered a couple of months ago. Hope this helps.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1160226.page

Thanks! Yikes!

+1

Definately research the ARCH program and visit troy.
Also understand that RPI is in financial trouble, only time will tell if the new president can correct this. When we visited 2+ years ago, the buildings were in bad shape---outside everything was in desperate need of painting/repair. The ARCH program is likely a ploy to get more money---forcing kids to live on campus for summer after sophomore year and have a meal plan, then forcing them to only "be on campus for fall OR spring of junior year", which means many just live on campus because that is easier than finding off campus for only a semester.

For my kid, we drove into Troy and my kid said Nope, no way will I be coming here. We still did the tour but I agreed with them, it was depressing and not somewhere I would want to live. And it's not just the weather, my kid is 3 hours away in similar weather, but a much nicer city (not that exciting but still much better and the campus is much better )

RPI is not in financial trouble, they have a billion dollar endowment.

[Anonymous]

I grew up locally and reiterate what’s been said. When you visit, go see the pretty parts of Troy (River Street, which has wonderful restaurants and independent shops, and the area around Emma Willard is pretty too). It is truly beautiful and historical. I know many, many alums who are having wonderful careers.

I happen to love the whole Capital district but let’s just say its charms aren’t obvious at first glance. Saratoga, the Berkshires and the Hudson Valley are all awesome, but recognize college students probably aren’t exploring too much beyond the immediate campus!

[Anonymous]

Always happy to hire an engineer from RPI.