Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

General Information

Founded: 1824

Control: Private

Setting: Mid-sized city

Academic Calendar: Semester

Religious Affiliation: None

Overall Experience

RPI provides many advantages to its students—the most important of those are the prospects post-graduation. This is perhaps the most compelling reason to come to RPI—although the economy has been slow in the past few years, most graduates find their way into the workforce with decent entry-level jobs. The school itself is very challenging and provides an education and a name that few other universities can match (especially in the science and engineering fields). The social life isn’t what you can find at other schools, but there are still fun things to do if you’re willing to look for them; students who get into the social scene tend to remain friends with the people they meet, even after graduation.

Before deciding if RPI is where you want to spend your college years, be sure to take into account a few important points. The first is that this is not a party school—work comes first. Partying is fine, but not at the expense of schoolwork. If you can’t manage your time well, you won’t be staying in Troy for long. The second thing to remember is the male-to-female ratio is three to one. The third is the weather. This isn’t a pleasant place for most of the school year. If you’re from the Northeast, you should be fine, but if you haven’t seen snow before, you might be in for a shock. If you can handle these things and are serious about one of the courses of study that RPI offers, then RPI is your ticket to a good education and a promising post-college life.

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