Academics
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, in Terre Haute, Indiana, earns its “reputation as an excellent undergraduate engineering school” with a combination of strong academics and “personal attention, small class sizes, and a family atmosphere,” a rarity among tech schools. More succinctly, “Rose-Hulman is where nerds go to finally feel like they belong.” Sure, “the workload is fairly heavy, especially sophomore year with the engineering curriculum.” One mechanical engineering student describes the course work: “The material is difficult...but the culture is supportive, so you make it work.” Rose-Hulman features an unusually robust support system, and that mitigates the strain. “The transition is made as smooth as possible from high school to college for freshmen” with “on-campus tutoring in the learning center (an excellent resource for students to get homework help)” and “professors who are always available outside of class.” One student elaborates, “If you are walking down the hall, [professors] will say hello and usually ask how you are doing.” Not only are those professors “happy to be teaching,” but they have “real-world industry experience” to back it up. One student sums up the teaching philosophy as “theory is important, but application is everything.” All of this hard work pays dividends in the form “a great alumni base” and a near 99 percent job placement rate six months after graduation.
