Why I loved (and still do love) Worcester Polytechnic Institute WPI

I loved my undergraduate university.  Growing up I knew I wanted to be a civil engineer, but I never gave any thought to going to WPI since it was in my home town.  In my mind I wanted to go to a program in another state with a good football and maybe even basketball or hockey program.  There were a number of things that brought me to ultimately apply and attend WPI.  These factors also played heavily into what made my experience so amazing.

1.   Ability to play an NCAA sport – It was my dream growing up to play a college sport.  I attended camp my senior year and the field hockey coach asked if I was thinking about playing in college.  It really planted the seed in my head that I could make that dream come true.  It was a lot of hard work that paid off and that I enjoyed doing, but I got to play a varsity sport for four years, including being a two-year starter, a senior captain, and junior year leading the defense in our number one ranking of the lowest goals against average in a pretty competitive conference.
2. Study” abroad program – Engineering programs require a lot of specific classes in a predetermined sequence, so it is usually tough to get that experience “overseas”.  WPI sends about three quarters of its students (far and away more than any other engineering school/program).  I got to experience Puerto Rico and the cultural differences, understand the difficulties of island life and discover the lack of both infrastructure and good infrastructure that served as a barrier to a healthy population with access to affordable, clean water.  My friends went to Thailand, South Africa, Namibia, Hong Kong, London, Australia, Italy, and others.  I heard Panama is in the works for coming years!  You’re also working on a real project that effects the lives of those in a certain community – no classes.  For two months you’re immersed in activities to make people’s lives better.
3. Projects based curriculum – The idea that you get to select and direct projects you are interested in instead of one project everyone has to work on was incredible.  It really prepared me for a projects based workplace.  Team work, managing others, time management, self teaching (I designed the foundations for my project without having yet taken the class), deep investigation, creative problem creation and solving, technical writing, and practical technical applications were just some of the skills I developed
4. Quarters instead of semesters – Seven weeks and you’re done.  If you love the class, you get to dive in deep right away.  If you hate it, hunker down and its over in less than two months.  Definitely prepared me for a fast passed professional environment and encouraged me to really learn the material. 
5. Small campus – WPI was (and still is) very much like a family.  Everyone knows and is friendly with everyone else, but its large enough that you’re able to find a group with your sense of humor and values.  There was also the ability to rise to the top and be a very big fish in a little pond.  Definitely an ego booster, but also a skill developer.
6. Growing prestige – The rankings keep going up and our presence on lists where only a handful of schools are selected to receive an honor is expanding rapidly.  Google (or Bing) WPI and you can find out all sorts of things, like how they are among the best in ROI and have the #1 part time MBA program in the nation
7. Greek Life – I was very interested in the prospect of joining a sorority.  I wasn’t 100 percent sure if it would be something I wanted to do. In the end, I became a sister of Alpha Gamma Delta in the Zeta Zeta chapter and alongside WPI for my education was the best decision I’ve made in my life.  I was an officer and executive leadership positions, planned and participated in philanthropic and community service, gained a group of friends to study with and get advice from on classes, and made the most amazing friends I could ever ask for.  I didn’t know friendship was this incredible.  I grew as a woman, gained confidence, and I believe my Alpha Gam sorority experience at WPI served as a solid foundation for early career success.