The Rose Hulman Institute of Technology

1st Year Male -- Class 2014

Education Quality: A+, Campus Maintenance: B+

With very few exceptions, the professors here are awesome. They are willing to help you with whatever questions you have or just talk to you about life. The profs are at Rose to teach, not to do research or for any other reason.

There are lots of clubs to join, and it's not to hard to make it onto the athletic teams if thats what you want to do. Of course, if you play sports, don't expect anyone to actually come to your games.

It sucks how few girls there are. I didn't think it would bother me, but it does. I don't have a single girl who I would consider a good friend here. A lot of them hang out with people in their sorority or they just hang out with their boyfriend and the rest are downright strange. It sucks if you are a reasonably normal non-affiliated woman. If I want female support, I have to call one of my friends from home to talk. So, it's pretty lonely in that respect. Though if you want male company, it is not hard to find.If you are looking for a job in Indiana after you graduate, Rose has a great reputation around here, and finding a job will be easy. Unfortunately, it is not well known outside of the Midwest.

4th Year Female -- Class 2011

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Social Life: D

Granted I am bit of a nerd but, I really enjoyed my time at Rose. I loved how everyone was intelligent and capable of having an interesting discussion. I suppose that is what I miss most of now that I have graduated and left the Rose bubble. The profs are amazing particularly in the Chemical Engineering department. They are always available to help you understand anything you were unable to figure out and are generally not stuck up or anything despite the vast majority of them being razor sharp. Sure you have to work hard, but if you want to be an engineer, that is to be expected. That being said, you will find time for some extracurricular activities. If you fail to do so, I suspect you might go crazy under what is at times a crushing work load.

The best advice I can give for someone who wants to go to Rose, is to work hard, make time to relax, and sleep　when you can. Also, I really would not recommend that you go to Rose if you are going to have to take on a huge amount of debt since tuition is very high and a $100k debt is easily possible. The days when any Rose grad with an ok GPA (>2.0) would have multiple offers before they leave school are over (at least until the economy recovers). So, try very hard from the beginning to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA as many companies will not look at a new grad with a GPA lower than that. But,if you manage to keep a 3.0 you can expect a starting salary somewhere in the mid 50k region (assuming you study engineering), though it may take away in a down economy.

Other than the workload which is manageable. The biggest negative is Terre Haute.It's a miserable smelly (though many of the plants have shut down recently so it doesn't smell as bad as it used to) town with very little to do. There are several nice little restaurants in the Haute so town is not a total loss. Also, if you want to major in Chemistry, Physics, or want to do research, Rose's research is a bit limited so I would recommend you go elsewhere. Likewise, if you want a PhD, you may be better off going to a school like MIT or CalTech in the first place as they are much more PhD and research focused. But, if you want to be an excellent engineer, I suggest you look no farther than Rose-Hulman.

4th Year Male -- Class 2010

Education Quality: A+, Surrounding City: F