Exactly one year ago, in April 2001, I was trying to decide on a college from those I had been accepted to. I was not going to go anywhere outside of NYC, so my choices were somewhat limited. I also wanted a good Computer Science program which further limited my choices. In the end, I had to decide between NYU, Brooklyn Polytech, and Stevens Institute of Technology. Where do you think the first place I got advice from was? Yep, this same site. So now, at the conclusion of my freshman year I'm back here trying to help out anyone else who is considering Stevens.

The good points are a good place to start. Stevens is quite small. There are about 1500 undergrads. You might not like small schools, but there are two clear advantages that I found. First, you get to know your Teaching Assistants (mostly) and your professors (less) more than you would at a huge school. Lets start with TAs. They are usually slightly clueless grad students in it for the money. They also grade tests and homeworks that the professors just don't have time to worry about. Of course there are some exceptions. But no matter what the case, knowing the people in charge of your grade is very easy to do here. The second good thing about a small school only applies if you are "smart." By that I don't mean those b.s. SAT or IQ tests. I mean simply that you actually care about your grades more than just partying. It is a fact that at a small school such as Stevens there is a smaller concentration of "smart" people. This almost always results in huge grading curves that almost always benefit you. Do not get me wrong, the material is not "easy," just the curve is so huge that any smart person gets easy As.

Stevens, although located in the mile-square Hoboken, birthplace of Frank Sinatra and baseball, is only 10 minutes away from the greatest city in the world. Anything you can possibly conceive you can do in the New York area. Whatever part of the world you're from, you can find ethnic groups you can get involved with. You get all that NYC offers, but not the noise and security problems involved with living inside the city itself.

The academics here are top-notch. However, other than the engineering program and the computer science program, I do not suggest you major in anything else here. I believe there's like 10 or 20 total students in non-engineering and non-CS.

The career assistance, before and after graduation is one of the best around. You can choose to do the Cooperative Education program, alternating work at a major company in your field of study with school terms. It makes you graduate in 5 years though, and I personally chose to overload and finish in 3 years instead. About a quarter of the students do Co-op. For everyone else, and for those graduating, the Career Development office helps out a lot in finding work.

A quick word on research and athletics. There are many research opportunities and environments here. Athletics are great. Sports like lacrosse are pretty popular here. Up to now I have not had a chance to do research or sports, but I may update this epinion in the future if I am involved in them.

Now lets get to some of the bad points. Just like the vast majority of technical universities in this country, the amount of female students is much less than males. I do not recall the exact ratio, but you should know that at least it's better than many tech schools.

The dining opportunities on campus are dreaded by many students. If you will be living on campus, you are forced to eat on campus by buying expensive "meal plans" that usually go to waste in favor of the better restaurants in town.

The last point is not that bad, but you should know about it. Stevens is almost 100% not known outside of the NY/NJ and maybe PA and CT area. In this local area, Stevens has ties with many companies. Most companies think that Stevens is a very challenging technical school. Not that the college you go to should matter to an employer more than your skills, but don't expect that saying "I went to Stevens" will raise any eyebrows at your job interview in California.

Not commenting on financial aid since there's not anything unique about it here. I hope this review was helpful to you if you are considering Stevens Inst. of Tech. You can email me with any specific questions at edp@si.rr.com.

Recommended: Yes