Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a small city.

Overview

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a private research university located in Troy, New York. It was established by Stephen Van Rensselaer in 1824. RPI consistently ranks among the top 50 national universities in the country, according to US News & World Report. The university offers a wide variety of degrees and programs through the following academic divisions:

• Lally School of Management & Technology
• School of Architecture
• School of Engineering
• School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
• School of Science

RPI has an active Greek life. There are more than 25 social fraternities and 5 sororities on campus. It also has more than 15 intramural sports teams. The student run newspaper is known as ‘The Rensselaer Polytechnic.’ WRPI is the campus radio station.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in engineering, mathematics, architecture and planning, science, and computer science and engineering.
• High faculty salary.
• High SAT scores (combined Verbal and Math).
• High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• High male/female ratio.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• Large number of students.
• Selective admissions.
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.

School characteristics:

• The school is private, not-for-profit.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Research Universities, Extensive.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students have meal (board) plans.
• Students may study abroad.
• Part-time classes are available.
• ROTC.
• Athlete financial aid is awarded.

Tuition and Financial Aid (2009-2010)

Financial Aid

RPI participates in US Title IV financial assistance programs.

In 2009-2010, 99% of students received financial aid of some sort.

(Please refer to BrainTrack's financial aid articles section for background information.)

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 6,777 in 2009-2010 (7,201 full-time equivalent).

About 73% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 27% of the class.

Undergrads are 80% of enrolled students and graduate students are 20%.

Students under 25 years old represent 86% of the student body. About 1% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

RPI provides on-campus housing for 3,540 of its 7,201 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Students may purchase a meal plan which includes 21 meals weekly.

Athletics

School sports include football (Eastern College Athletic Conference), basketball (Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association), baseball (Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association), and track (Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association).

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 19 male students received the aid (men were 100% of those receiving aid) .

Graduate School Focus

RPI offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Research/Scholarship).

The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Comprehensive Doctoral (No Medical/Veterinary).

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING (91 awarded)

• Architecture (BArch, BA/BS, MArch, MA/MS, PhD)
• Architecture and Related Services

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (173 awarded)

• Business Administration and Management
• Business, Management, Marketing & Related Support Services

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (149 awarded)

• Computer and Information Sciences
• Information Technology

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (5 awarded)

• Environmental Science

ENGINEERING (769 awarded)

• Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering
• Biomedical/Medical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Engineering Mechanics
• Engineering Physics
• Engineering Science
• Engineering
• Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Materials Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Nuclear Engineering
• Operations Research
• Transportation and Highway Engineering

LAW (1 awarded)

• Pre-Law Studies

LIBERAL ARTS (32 awarded)

• Economics
• Historic Preservation and Conservation
• Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
• Social Sciences

MATHEMATICS (51 awarded)

• Applied Mathematics
• Mathematics

MEDIA (68 awarded)

• Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
• Communication and Media Studies
• Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia

MEDICINE (11 awarded)

• Pre-Dentistry Studies
• Pre-Medicine/Pre-Medical Studies

MUSIC (7 awarded)

• Music

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (2 awarded)

• Philosophy

SCIENCE (157 awarded)

• Biochemistry/Biophysics and Molecular Biology
• Bioinformatics
• Biological and Biomedical Sciences
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Chemistry
• Geology/Earth Science
• Hydrology and Water Resources Science
• Natural Sciences
• Physical Sciences
• Physics
• Science, Technology and Society

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (8 awarded)

• Cognitive Science
• Psychology