Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by mjohnson

I never thought of it as a "suitcase school" as most students were from far across the country and the world - not just the front range of CO. And for "experience", every place is different and you make from it what you do. For athletics, they're booming. They want to be the "Stanford of the Rockies" and made it to the D2 football championship game. Lots of other NCAA finalists in other sports. And for non-organized things, just look around. Mountains to the west, Denver to the east...

We have been there many times during the school year (lots of smart kid events there my son as gone to)....My impression is a lot of students don't live in Golden or nearby, they choose to live/drive in from Denver/Boulder/etc so I guess that is what gives it the suitcase school feel. I'm sure that is changing as you mentioned. It's a great school yes. We were surprised they gave my son the "Pathways" program acceptance where he has to go to another CO school for 2 years than can start at Mines...surprised b/c his numbers exceed their acceptance requirements. Totally not interested in that program so Mines is out for us, but I guess it's a testament to very high application rates there now. Nothing against them, like I said my son was not super interested in Mines to begin with so no heartache.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Nick PM if you'd like concerning Navy ROTC and waivers for medical, etc. The Navy always needs nuc power officers.

I still know folks at BUPERS that may be able to provide insight.

My son was Army ROTC and a lot of folks get their ROTC slots after others drop out or decide ROTC is not for them, especially at VMI.

Except for the winter, I like the Albany area (friend of mine went to Union College) especially if he is outdoor oriented.

Congratulations, btw, to all.

Thanks I will PM you. Yes Albany would fit him great for outdoors, he's an Eagle scout and loves physical fitness and outdoor stuff.

[NY65912]

My cousin went to RPI, it's a top engineering school graduated with degree in nuclear engineering. Smart guy, tough school. A high school friend went as well, chemical guy.

Very cold during the winter months.

They both said that you need to join a frat and become socially involved because there was not a whole lot to do other than winter sports.

But, this was way bay in the 70's and 80's.

[jhynesrockmtn]

One of my good friends has a nephew who did his education at the University of WA, Navy ROTC and is now a nuke sub officer. I would also check out the ROTC Cadre while looking at the academic side. That can make a big difference in his experience in college. My son looked at Navy ROTC but the school he wanted had a small Navy program and shared PT and other resources with a neighboring University. He ended up going Army ROTC and is now a Captain coming up on year 9 active duty. With engineering and ROTC he won't have a normal college experience or really any free time at all.

[911boost]

Following as my son wants to go the Navy ROTC route as well.

What Nick is saying about Mines is what I have heard also, and know a few kids that have gone there.

[aigel]

Exciting times Nickshu!

RPI is the best known and highest ranked engineering school out of the bunch discussed. At least from my West Coast perspective of decades in the industry. So RPI seems to have more reach than the others.

I would not get a nuclear engineering degree in undergrad. Too narrow. What if he finds out that he'd rather be a pilot after he gets to experience the different branches? What if there is a bump in the road in the long and uncertain road to commissioning? And how about life after the Navy?

Good luck and keep us posted!

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by aigel

...
I would not get a nuclear engineering degree in undergrad. Too narrow.

Agreed +lots... ChemE with a few nuke-adjacent things might be a good choice.

And (just ask mrs mjohnson) they do get paths to lots of interesting things - but the downside is that as ChEs they always have to do the plumbing at home. (joke, ChE is lots of fluid stuff - I are metallurgist so if I can't whack it on an anvil...)

[Alan A]

Originally Posted by otto_kretschmer

A friend of mine went to RPI. Private, pricey, should be comparable to MIT

The Navy isn't going to care if he went to an Ivy League or state school. Any engineering degree should qualify him for nuke O gang job.

The "college" experience for engineers is doing homework six days a week. A friend who went to MIT called it akin to drinking from a firehose.

Actually it costs more than MIT…

[Alan A]

Originally Posted by berettafan

Hesitate to mention this as it's not a great sample size and baseball parents are known to be the worst but....somewhere around 11U or 12U my sons travel baseball team played a team from Troy. In 6 or 7 years of travel ball we played teams from all over the country and never once did I see behavior even approaching the classless, obnoxious ignorance of those parents and kids.

It was remarkable. Almost as if the parents were feral and lived their entire lives on the outskirts of civilization never learning proper behavior.

Stick a pin anywhere within 15 miles of Albany to get the same.
But then is there any state capital that’s actually pleasant to live near?

[cstreit]

I grew up not far from here.

Chicago winters are worse and my oldest doesn't seem to mind.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by aigel

I would not get a nuclear engineering degree in undergrad. Too narrow. What if he finds out that he'd rather be a pilot after he gets to experience the different branches? What if there is a bump in the road in the long and uncertain road to commissioning? And how about life after the Navy?

Interesting perspective. I highly doubt he would want to be a pilot, but I guess anything is possible. He originally wanted to do mechanical engineering but after looking into the Navy nuke path and talking with a couple friends of friends who are current or past Navy nukes he gravitated towards a nuke major. He is aware that if the Navy doesn't work out he could be a civilian nuke of some sort. He really is interested in that field in general.

I know the Navy will send him to nuclear power school anyway, so maybe a more general engineering major would be fine too. We have discussed this with him, and will discuss more. Auburn is one of his top choices, they don't have a nuke program but do have NROTC. If he ends up there he would likely just do ME.

[RedBaron]

First off, congratulations to your son for getting into those schools. I work with a quite a few RPI engineers. Everytime I mention RPI, their overall impression was that it is a lot of $$$ to go to school in a bad area. These are relatively recent graduates (the last 10 years or so).

What exactly does he want to do with nuclear engineering? I have a friend who works at the NRC and he went to U of Roch for a Chem E degree. Some schools offer Nuke Engineering minor degrees - It might be worth pairing a mech engr degree with a nuke minor.

I still think an acredited engineering degree is an acredited engineering degree. Regardless of where you go, you'll still have a few tenured professors who don't care about the students. State schools are a good bang for your buck. After that, if you really want to pick a niche area, go for your masters.

[Skytrooper]

RPI was one of the schools my son had looked at. He like the school, but Troy is the pits. He decided on RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology). Got his Masters in Imaging Science, spent 2 summers as an intern at Naval Research in DC, then, while still doing his Masters, was hired by Sandia Labratories. He went big very fast, and is still reaping the benefits. So really...it isn't the school, but the student. Congratulations to him and I hope for great things in his future !

P.S. My BIL was a Navy Sub Service officer. He went on to create a multi-billion dollar company Known as Trident Systems.

The possibilities are endless...

[zakthor]

With exception of MIT I never saw much of a pattern of a school reflecting on a graduates quality.

I 'no hired' an intern we had from RPI - that is the only contact I've ever had with the school's output - can't tell much from one person.

I think the important thing for a school is that the kid identifies with the environment and connects with the profs. Its up to the student what they get out of it.

wrt MIT: absolutely everyone I ever worked with from there had been put through the wringer and was seriously prepared to buckle down and work hard. All the same story: they entered the school as the best and brightest and were beaten senseless for 4 years. I am pretty sure they all have ptsd but were all fabulous hires.

[pavulon]

I know nothing about RPI or your kids but would be wary of sending them to any place that appears hyper-competitive or "cut throat." I'm sure some will want to chime in about work or life being those but plenty of people are ruined unnecessarily by it and if any of us want anything for our kids it's for them to be genuinely happy (or at least content) no matter their situation or station. YMMV.

[red-beard]

I grew up in Niskayuna, not far away. I attended a semester there and knew a lot of RPI students over the years (GE interns, high school friends, etc.).

GREAT engineering and technical college. When I looked at it in the early 1980's, it was just behind MIT, Cal Tech and Stanford. It was one of the first universities to split Computer Science from Electrical Engineering. Great professors and the Campus can be beautiful (old buildings).

But not a "well rounded" university. It has a good Greek scene if you are into Frats. And Troy is the pits. No further explanation needed.

You really need to LOVE Hockey. Union was the same way...I don't get it...

I was accepted VERY late to RPI. I did do a semester there, but that is a long story.

Long story short, I went to Union in Schenectady...

[Nickshu]

Update...He got into Virginia Tech, VT College of Engineering, and the Corps of Cadets there. He's over the moon about it, so looks like that's where he's going. Thanks for all the info everyone.

[red-beard]

VT is a great College.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by red-beard

VT is a great College.

It is...congrats, Nick. If he doesn't go Navy I am done with both of you

Best.

[berettafan]

Congrats! My Hokie got home late last night for a week long spring break. My son won't know much about Cadets but any other questions please feel free to ask. He is CoE as well in his second semester.