Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT)

It's no surprise that students at Stevens Institute of Technology feel as if they're receiving an "Ivy League caliber education at a more affordable" price. Indeed, there's much talk of the "high job placement rate" and overall "return on investment," particularly within the "rigorous but fair" physics classes and the "strong engineering department." But undergrads also find the school itself to be "very collaborative and supportive," with plenty of attention given to teaching about the "work ethic and moving past perceived failures." That means that there's room to foster relationships with professors, which can "lead to hands-on, paid research positions and connections to the professional world." As for the faculty, students describe a decent percentage as being "very enthusiastic about their material" and who "look to pass on their knowledge as best they can." If anything, "many professors are so qualified that they begin teaching the material at a level slightly above a beginner's understanding," which can sometimes be demanding, but the overall impression is that there are some great opportunities to learn from experienced mentors.

Some students may throw around terms for their peers like "very ambitious and driven" in a negative light, but not so at Stevens. Here, "nearly everyone is very smart and intelligent without being snobby or arrogant." More importantly, they're also quite supportive of one another. "If you have a huge assignment due and are stressing over it, your friends motivate you by cheering you on and checking up on your progress." A few do complain that "there is a large chunk of students that are very quiet and won't do anything besides schoolwork and video games," but that doesn't lead to a negative impact. "Everyone finds a friend group no matter what." It does, however, leave the school "almost split between the Greek community and the non-Greek community." While some students observe that the student body's "diversity is lacking," with a population that's 67% male and where many hail from New Jersey, Stevens undergrads do have varied interests and you're bound to encounter "artistic students, gamers, athletes, and pretty much every other kind." Best of all, you'll discover that "a great sense of community" permeates the campus.

Life at Stevens can be hectic in the best way, which is to say that there's no shortage of exciting things to be involved with. Students are often "running around to different events, club meetings, eboard meetings, study groups, classes, etc.," and you'll likely find every sort of topic covered, whether it's the poker or anime club, the Society of Women Engineers, or intramural sports like floor hockey. According to some proud undergrads, "We are definitely a nerdy school with some of our most popular events being Lan Parties and the Epic Lans where people can play video games and board games and compete in friendly Melee and Ultimate tournaments." Greek life provides a nice counterbalance for some students and many find themselves busy with "service trips [and] rush events" along with the occasional party. Additionally, there are "a ton of great restaurants on the main street right next to campus." There's also the affordable PATH train just "a 10-minute walk away from campus," which means that "New York City is so close," and a frequent weekend getaway for students looking for even more to do.