Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Data & Information Overview
Find out more about how Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ranks, how diverse it is, what majors it offers, and other essential facts below. If you're interested in learning more about a particular stat, just click on its tile to go to a new page that covers the topic more in-depth. Also, you can jump to any section of this page by clicking one of the links below.- Rankings
- Admission and Acceptance
- Faculty
- Retention and Graduation Rates
- Diversity
- Cost
- Student Debt
- Average Earnings
- Location
- Majors
- Online Learning
- Related Schools
Featured schools near , edit
How Well Is Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Ranked?
2021 Rankings
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was awarded 91 badges in the 2021 rankings. The highest ranked major at the school is civil engineering.
Overall Quality
According to College Factual's 2021 analysis, RPI is ranked #58 out of 1,715 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Out of the 132 colleges in New York, RPI is ranked at #8.
See all of the rankings for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Is It Hard to Get Into RPI?
Acceptance Rate
If you're applying to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute you'll face some tough competition, since the school's acceptance rate is only 43%. Definitely don't wait until the last minute to submit your application, since applying early may be in your favor.
Average Test Scores
About 66% of students accepted to RPI submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 640 and 730. Math scores were between 680 and 770.
Learn more about Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute admissions.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Faculty
Student to Faculty Ratio
With a student to faculty ratio of 13 to 1, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it's a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
Percent of Full-Time Faculty
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is 88%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Retention and Graduation Rates at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Freshmen Retention Rate
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has a freshmen retention rate of 93%. That's a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It's also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Graduation Rate
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor's degree is typically four years. This rate at RPI for first-time, full-time students is 63%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Excellent Overall Diversity at RPI
During the 2017-2018 academic year, there were 6,366 undergraduates at RPI with 6,340 being full-time and 26 being part-time.
RPI Diversity Score
For each college and university, College Factual calculates an overall diversity score that takes four factors into account: gender, ethnicity, age, and home location of the student. Then, the schools with the best mixtures of students with respect to these factors are ranked the highest.
With an overall score of 90.81 out of 100, RPI is one of the most diverse schools in the nation.
How Much Does Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Cost?
The overall average net price of RPI is $36,159. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.Net Price by Income Group for RPI
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $21,259 | $20,731 | $28,821 | $33,990 | $44,553 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.Note that the net price is typically less than the published for a school. For more information on the sticker price of RPI, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Student Loan Debt
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At RPI, approximately 60% of students took out student loans averaging $10,477 a year. That adds up to $41,908 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at RPI is 1.2%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Get more details about paying for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
How Much Money Do RPI Graduates Make?
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor's degree recipients from RPI make around $82,000 per year during the early years of their employment. That's great news for RPI students since it is 106% more than the average college graduate's salary of $39,802 per year.
See which majors at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute make the most money.
Location of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a private not-for-profit institution located in Troy, New York. The location of RPI is great for students who prefer living in an urban area.Get more details about the location of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Contact details for RPI are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 110 8Th St, Troy, NY 12180-3590 |
| Phone: | 518-276-6000 |
| Website: | www.rpi.edu |
| Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/RPI.EDU |
| Twitter: | https://twitter.com/rpinews |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Majors
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 60 majors graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Of these students, 1,359 received undergraduate degrees and 516 graduated with a master's or doctor's degree. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.| Most Popular Majors | Bachelor’s Degrees | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | 197 | $91,900 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 191 | $66,700 |
| Chemical Engineering | 115 | $66,000 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 85 | $66,500 |
| Electrical Engineering | 83 | $74,000 |
| Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering | 77 | $69,000 |
| Business Administration & Management | 76 | $57,700 |
| Computer Engineering Technology | 72 | $88,400 |
| General Architecture | 58 | $50,200 |
| Civil Engineering | 52 | $66,000 |
Learn more about online learning at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Find Out More About Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Related Schools
If you’re considering Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, here are some more schools you may be interested in knowing more about.
- Case Western Reserve University
- Lehigh University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Northeastern University
- University of Notre Dame
Curious on how these schools stack up against RPI? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare college on the features that matter most to you!
References
- National Center for Education Statistics
- College Scorecard
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
- Image Credit: By UpstateNYer under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
College Factual provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© College Factual – All Rights Reserved.
