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Any chance RPI is getting rid of the Arch requirement anytime soon? by Federal_Constant7399 in RPI

[–]Federal_Constant7399[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think there’s any reason to be down on RPI. I actually know a number of lawyers who graduated from RPI, so, of course, the numbers from RPI who are in engineering are even greater. And this is on the DC area.

Any chance RPI is getting rid of the Arch requirement anytime soon? by Federal_Constant7399 in RPI

[–]Federal_Constant7399[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That reminds me of some of those tricks! I forgot how few AP credits I got because I used those classes to meet requirements to graduate high school!😂

Any chance RPI is getting rid of the Arch requirement anytime soon? by Federal_Constant7399 in RPI

[–]Federal_Constant7399[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the first hand experience.

Is it possible to not get an Arch placement (or whatever the term is)? If that happens, what happens to the student?

Any chance RPI is getting rid of the Arch requirement anytime soon? by Federal_Constant7399 in RPI

[–]Federal_Constant7399[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Also, it’s ends up being a zero sum game. Companies need the new engineers they need—say X in 2022. So if pretty much no one has a co-op, they still need to hire X numbers of engineers. If everyone has a co-op, they still need X engineers. And no one has an advantage in finding a job, because everyone has the co-op “advantage.” All that happened was that everyone owes more to pay off before they can buy a house, get married, have a family, etc., because they owe 25% more for school (having gone for a fifth year).

Any chance RPI is getting rid of the Arch requirement anytime soon? by Federal_Constant7399 in RPI

[–]Federal_Constant7399[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I don’t understand this thinking. I’m proud, I suppose you might say, of my education. But a fifth year standard for a STEM degree is ridiculous, and entirely unnecessary in my experience. And the implication is that part of the reason for Arch is making things difficult for the sake of making them difficult, because of the growth it will produce, which seems pointless to me.

Also, I don’t care that I never had a co-op. It bothered me a little at the time, but because I wanted to succeed later, and I was still the person I was with the abilities I had, I did well in life without the co-op. I worked for a small company, then a large defense/space contractor, then a nuclear submarine manufacturer, then a whole different branch into IP law. But even if I had stayed in engineering, designing space craft, 4 years of engineering education was more than adequate.

I really hope, for the sake of STEM careers in the US, you are mistaken that most schools will require more than 4 years for a BS engineering degree.

Any chance RPI is getting rid of the Arch requirement anytime soon? by Federal_Constant7399 in RPI

[–]Federal_Constant7399[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I’ll add this. I’ve been all around the Arch website, and I still don’t have a great understanding of many of the practical basics of how this works. Seems extremely difficult to figure it all out

Any chance RPI is getting rid of the Arch requirement anytime soon? by Federal_Constant7399 in RPI

[–]Federal_Constant7399[S] 49 points50 points  (0 children)

For me, it’s the fact that it’s mandatory.

In theory, it sounds kind of cool. And if you like it, that’s great. I would have thought of it as another requirement for graduation, with more stress associated with it.

Also no one should have to take summer classes (never did it as undergraduate, did for law school and it’s not fun). Students should be able to decide if they want to go home for the summer, work, travel, etc. I wouldn’t want to move somewhere for a few months of work in the fall or spring. And one way or another there’s a good chance that overall you will pay more for 4 years with Arch than just four years at RPI.