Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Admission - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Undergraduate Program
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Application

The Facts

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a rather large primarily engineering school located in the town of Troy, New York, and is home to over 5,155 undergraduate students and approximately 3,055 graduate and part time professional students. The school is actually divided up into several smaller undergraduate divisions including programs in engineering, architecture, management and technology, sciences, as well as the humanities and social sciences. Rensselaer has some innovative programs including a electronic media, arts, and communications program, as well as a virtual stock trading floor and a Center for Industrial Innovation. The school offers its students a wide range of preprofessional majors in a variety of areas, however, some of the most popular with students include majors in the areas of engineering and engineering technologies, business and marketing, computer and information sciences, architecture, as well as biological and life sciences.

Admission to Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute is not terrifically competitive numerically, however, those students who do apply tend to be quite motivated and academically successful in the past. Last year, over 5,252 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 4,220 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 1,340 of those students actually enrolled for the coming Fall semester. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1220 to 1400, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 24 to 28. Additionally, over 88% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 3.7.

Renselaer has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of 15:1, and it is rare to find a class with more than 20 students. Most of the classes are held in small seminars and hands on lab forums where students are often able to work one on one with their professors, many of whom are top researchers and professionals in their respective fields. In general, professors get high marks for accessibility and willingness to help students out, however there are those few teachers who seem more interested in their own projects than those of students.

The Social Scene

The town of Troy doesn’t really offer much in the way of entertainment, and it isn’t the most safe of areas, however, students find a way to create their own fun on campus. There is a large Greek population, and the fraternities and sororities pretty much dictate the on campus social life. Drinking is definitely a popular activity both on campus and off, and on the weekends, students love to drown their academic hardships in multiple kegs.

Surprisingly, sports are actually quite popular, in both varsity and intramural areas. The school has a terrific ice hockey team that has a strong student fan following. There are also over 130 student clubs that tend to err on the...um...unique side...

The dating side is an interesting one; there are many many more men than women, so ladies, this just may be your lucky day!

What’s Good

“The facilities here are top notch, and it’s really nice to have such good materials that prepare you for a real laboratory.”

“There is an awesome party scene, which I was surprised by when I came. There’s always something to do on campus, especially on the weekends.”

“Even though it’s such a technical school, there is a surprising amount of school spirit and pride.”

What’s Bad

“Troy is kind of a scary place, and it’s definitely not somewhere you want to hand around at night.”

“The party scene can get pretty ridiculous on the weekends, and sometimes it can be hard to get any work done.”

“The student body isn’t very diverse. Everyone is very very white and very very dorky.”

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