Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
School info
3.6
Overall Quality
Reputation
4.4
Food
2.8
Clubs
4
Facilities
3.6
Internet
3.6
Location
3
Opportunities
4.1
Safety
3.2
Social
3.2
Happiness
3.4
Basic Information
Location
- Troy, NY
Institution Overview
- Public/Private: Private research university
- Established: November 5, 1824; 199 years ago (November 5, 1824)
- Founder: Stephen Van Rensselaer, Amos Eaton
Academic information
Degree Courses
- Over 145 programs
Key Area
- Biotechnology
- Energy and the Environment
- Nanotechnology
- Computation and Information Technology
- Media and the Arts
Student and Staff Numbers
- Students: 8,142 (2019)
- Undergraduates: 6,203 (2019)
- Postgraduates: 1,366 (2019)
- Academic Staff: 488 (2019)
- Administrative Staff: 1,291 (2019)
Notable Alumni
- Raymond Tomlinson
- Steven Sasson
- Curtis R. Priem
- Robert "RJ" Scaringe
- Marcian E. Hoff
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Students talk about this school
Good reviews
Overall 5
I was accepted to Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, and Carnegie Mellon for Engineering and after all the time I've spent at RPI already I know without a doubt I made the right choice. The rigor is tough and you will only get through each course if you genuinely know your stuff. Grades are not inflated and might even be deflated but in the end all is even.
Overall 4.9
Very good courses, top-notch undergrad education. A lot of research opportunities
Overall 4.7
With new admin coming in and our new president actually doing things for the students and staff, it seems like RPI is at a turning point for the better. People seem happier again and the school's potential is rising. Great professors and classes most of the time, and very active student population when it comes to study and academia.
Overall 4.7
RPI's reputation for producing quality graduates stems from its emphasis on challenging students through rigorous coursework and projects. After constantly struggling in classes I feel as though my ways of thinking and logic have greatly improved. The campus is very nice and the food is ok.
Overall 4.6
A lot of people like to complain about RPI due to the difficulty of the courses, but I really enjoy it here. The campus is nice and the people here are ... interesting.
Overall 4.5
Extraordinary institution. First engineering school, home to figures like the co founder of NVIDIA/inventor of the gpu, father of the television, George Low, etc. Opportunities are amazing here and most all the professors are great. Food is not as bad as most say, but its nothing amazing. Its fair college food, sometimes meh.
Overall 4.5
This is really a great school for engineers
Overall 4.3
blown away by the quality of this school. I've heard great things about it's reputation in industry and academia. Just joined this year and already have an internship and various opportunities I didn't think I would have access to until later in college.
Overall 4.3
I can't recommend RPI enough. Clubs are fantastic, academics are rigorous but rewarding and I've met so many incredible people and formed lifelong relationships. Yes, the food can suck sometimes and Troy isn't much more than a few nice streets and a farmer's market but you'll be so busy that it won't even matter.
Overall 4.3
I'm a gamer cs student who stays inside most of the time and goes out occasionally with some friends on campus, so I have less complaints. For how I live my life, RPI was pretty awesome. Food sometimes is banger at commons, other times mid to bad. Choose professors wisely, skip sage, don't get robbed, ez
Bad reviews
Overall 1
Horrible, my mental health has progressively gotten worse here. Save your money and dont come here!
Overall 1.5
Horrible administration, very pricey
Overall 1.6
Everything non-academic about the school is pretty bad. Academics is about average though, not really worth price tag.
Overall 1.6
RPI is far below my expectations. It is good at marketing itself but is nowhere near as good as it likes to market itself as. I would not recommend.
Overall 1.7
Quite unsafe area. Safety alert practically every other day recently. Food is not nutritious typically and unless you're eating desserts as your meals doesn't exactly taste appealing. Sometimes bugs get into the food as well. Low funding/usefulness of clubs and such. Reputation has gone down the gutter recently. Not recommend.
Overall 1.9
Most elements are very mediocre/bad. A few positive aspects though such as a few decent professors, a few of the dorms are good, some of the dining halls are occasionally good, some of the courses (Prof-dependant) seem good and helpful but most seem like an excuse to dump work. Mostly self-studying. The tests are pretty bad/unfair.
Overall 1.9
This school is not worth 58k. Weather is miserable. Troy isn't safe at night and bleak. The food is meh. The student clubs are small, often disorganized, just starting, or not running anymore. Some majors require useless classes i.e: Compsci -->Bio. Lots of cliques. Professors are hit or miss. Campus shuttle doesn't follow a schedule.. Just no.
Overall 1.9
Girls that are 5's think they're 8's, parties are whack with drinks that are watered down af. Better off partying at Albany or going upstate to the other state schools.