u/Mediocre_Tonight_479

Hi guys I am a international incoming freshman from italy, there are any europeans in the campus?

Hi guys I am Giacomo a bama incoming freshman from Rome, Italy, I just wanted to ask an advice for the housing application. Which housing do you suggest? I am also got accepted to honors and Blount's program if that changes something. Thank you for every response!!

Incoming freshman trying to figure out housing. Which first-year dorm is best for comfort and social life?

Would love to hear personal experiences : what dorm did you live in, what was it actually like, who did you meet, what did you wish you'd known before picking?

Any stories or advice appreciated.

International student from italy 🇮🇹 committing soon, and I keep flip-flopping between these two.

WPI would run me about $45k a year after merit. Alabama comes in around $20k. That’s a $100k difference over four years, which is real money for my family — not deal-breaking, but enough that I need a good reason to spend it.

What I actually care about is ROI in the broad sense. Not just starting salary, but the network, the recruiting pipeline, what doors are open four years from now. I’d happily pay more for a school that genuinely opens things up. The problem is I’m not sure either option clearly does that.

WPI’s project-based curriculum sounds incredible and the engineering reputation is solid, but every single thread and every person I’ve talked to says the social scene is dead. I’m 18, going abroad for the first time, and the idea of spending four years grinding in a lab in Worcester with nothing else going on kind of scares me. College isn’t just about the degree.

Alabama is the opposite problem. The campus life looks amazing, people seem genuinely happy there, and at $20k I can breathe. But I cannot find clear info on what happens to their mech eng grads. Do they get recruited outside the South? Is it mostly Mercedes and local plants, or do aerospace and defense companies actually show up? Is the degree taken seriously in the Northeast or on the West Coast? I’m flying blind on the part that matters most to me.

So I guess what I’m asking:

WPI people, is the social thing really that bad, and did the network actually pay off after graduation? Bama mech eng grads, where do you all end up? And anyone who picked the cheaper school over the “better” one, do you regret it?

Any honest takes appreciated.

International student, committing soon, and I keep flip-flopping between these two.

WPI would run me about $45k a year after merit. Alabama comes in around $20k. That’s a $100k difference over four years, which is real money for my family — not deal-breaking, but enough that I need a good reason to spend it.

What I actually care about is ROI in the broad sense. Not just starting salary, but the network, the recruiting pipeline, what doors are open four years from now. I’d happily pay more for a school that genuinely opens things up. The problem is I’m not sure either option clearly does that.

WPI’s project-based curriculum sounds incredible and the engineering reputation is solid, but every single thread and every person I’ve talked to says the social scene is dead. I’m 18, going abroad for the first time, and the idea of spending four years grinding in a lab in Worcester with nothing else going on kind of scares me. College isn’t just about the degree.

Alabama is the opposite problem. The campus life looks amazing, people seem genuinely happy there, and at $20k I can breathe. But I cannot find clear info on what happens to their mech eng grads. Do they get recruited outside the South? Is it mostly Mercedes and local plants, or do aerospace and defense companies actually show up? Is the degree taken seriously in the Northeast or on the West Coast? I’m flying blind on the part that matters most to me.

So I guess what I’m asking:

WPI people, is the social thing really that bad, and did the network actually pay off after graduation? Bama mech eng grads, where do you all end up? And anyone who picked the cheaper school over the “better” one, do you regret it?

Any honest takes appreciated.

International student, committing soon, and I keep flip-flopping between these two.

WPI would run me about $45k a year after merit. Alabama comes in around $20k. That’s a $100k difference over four years, which is real money for my family — not deal-breaking, but enough that I need a good reason to spend it.

What I actually care about is ROI in the broad sense. Not just starting salary, but the network, the recruiting pipeline, what doors are open four years from now. I’d happily pay more for a school that genuinely opens things up. The problem is I’m not sure either option clearly does that.

WPI’s project-based curriculum sounds incredible and the engineering reputation is solid, but every single thread and every person I’ve talked to says the social scene is dead. I’m 18, going abroad for the first time, and the idea of spending four years grinding in a lab in Worcester with nothing else going on kind of scares me. College isn’t just about the degree.

Alabama is the opposite problem. The campus life looks amazing, people seem genuinely happy there, and at $20k I can breathe. But I cannot find clear info on what happens to their mech eng grads. Do they get recruited outside the South? Is it mostly Mercedes and local plants, or do aerospace and defense companies actually show up? Is the degree taken seriously in the Northeast or on the West Coast? I’m flying blind on the part that matters most to me.

So I guess what I’m asking:

WPI people, is the social thing really that bad, and did the network actually pay off after graduation? Bama mech eng grads, where do you all end up? And anyone who picked the cheaper school over the “better” one, do you regret it?

Any honest takes appreciated.

International student from italy , committing soon, and I keep flip-flopping between these two.

WPI would run me about $45k a year after merit. Alabama comes in around $20k. That’s a $100k difference over four years, which is real money for my family — not deal-breaking, but enough that I need a good reason to spend it.

What I actually care about is ROI in the broad sense. Not just starting salary, but the network, the recruiting pipeline, what doors are open four years from now. I’d happily pay more for a school that genuinely opens things up. The problem is I’m not sure either option clearly does that.

WPI’s project-based curriculum sounds incredible and the engineering reputation is solid, but every single thread and every person I’ve talked to says the social scene is dead. I’m 18, going abroad for the first time, and the idea of spending four years grinding in a lab in Worcester with nothing else going on kind of scares me. College isn’t just about the degree.

Alabama is the opposite problem. The campus life looks amazing, people seem genuinely happy there, and at $20k I can breathe. But I cannot find clear info on what happens to their mech eng grads. Do they get recruited outside the South? Is it mostly Mercedes and local plants, or do aerospace and defense companies actually show up? Is the degree taken seriously in the Northeast or on the West Coast? I’m flying blind on the part that matters most to me.

So I guess what I’m asking:

WPI people, is the social thing really that bad, and did the network actually pay off after graduation? Bama mech eng grads, where do you all end up? And anyone who picked the cheaper school over the “better” one, do you regret it?

Any honest takes appreciated.