RPI vs Fordham for value: which school gives a better return on investment for undergraduates?

For undergraduate return on investment, RPI often comes out ahead for students who are set on engineering, computer science, data, or other technical fields. Its academic brand is tightly tied to STEM, and that usually translates into stronger early-career salary outcomes in those majors, plus direct recruiting into technical roles. Fordham can absolutely be worth it, but the value case is strongest for students who want finance, business, communications, pre-law, or a broad liberal arts path tied to New York City opportunities.

If you are the kind of student who wants a very career-focused, quantitative education and expects to work in engineering or tech right after college, RPI is easier to justify at a high price. Employers know it for rigorous technical training, and undergrads often benefit from a concentrated peer group and internship pipelines in STEM-heavy industries. In that lane, the long-term payoff is often clearer because the degree connects pretty directly to jobs with solid starting compensation.

Fordham makes more sense for a student who wants location-driven opportunity and plans to use internships aggressively during the school year. Being in New York matters a lot for business, media, nonprofits, and some pre-professional tracks, and Fordham students can build a resume through part-time internships in a way that is harder at many more isolated campuses. The ROI depends more on how intentionally you use the city, though. Fordham’s outcomes can vary more by major and by how strongly you network.

Cost should probably be the tiebreaker. If RPI is only modestly more expensive and you are headed into STEM, that premium can be reasonable. If Fordham gives you substantially more aid, or if you are not committed to a technical field, Fordham may be the smarter financial choice because RPI’s value is much less compelling outside its core strengths.