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.
Student Body
“The kids who attend Rose-Hulman are smart, dedicated, and consequently, nerds,” but “this is not a negative thing. Within the students here, there are no outcasts, and even our athletes are most likely also mathletes.” “Everyone definitely marches to the beat of his own drum,” students assure us. Personality types run the gamut from “geniuses, average students, student-athletes, outspoken, quiet, etc.” Demographically, undergrads are “mostly white male engineers from the Midwest” (partly a function of Rose-Hulman’s location), but “we are slowly expanding the Rose-Hulman name and getting people from all over the United States and globe.” The population “is mostly boys, although the females are catching up.” About half of the incoming freshman class played varsity sports in high school, which is about as many as had been involved in the performing arts.
Campus Life
“Life at Rose is academically demanding,” but “the community here is so supportive and safe that you get through it,” and while “students do a lot of homework and study a lot,” they do occasionally find time to close the books and relax. “It’s all work and little play Sunday through Thursday,” but come Friday “we play hard.’” Students inform us “there’s always something to do on campus, whether it’s going to a fraternity party or attending a concert or going to a dance or just watching a movie with friends.” Greek life is big, “but it’s not your typical Animal House,” and both intramural and Division III intercollegiate athletics have their supporters. There are also “tons of different groups to get involved in” on campus. Hometown Terre Haute, on the other hand, isn’t so lively. “There isn’t much to do” in town other than “go to the shadiest bars and check out the locals.” As one student points out, “We are located in the middle of nowhere...not much they can do about it, but it is not so great.”
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