Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Statistics
Updated:
| Position | Category |
|---|---|
| #322 of 14,131 | In the World |
| #139 of 2,597 | In North America |
| #120 of 2,496 | In the United States |
| #9 of 221 | In New York State |
| #1 of 2 | In Troy |
| #18 of 1,010 | For Web Design and Development |
| Top50% | For 190 other topics |
Quick Review
- Acceptance rate
- 63%
- Undergraduates
- 5,741
- Graduates
- 1,299
- Male:Female Ratio
- 68:32
- Control
- Private
not-for-profit - Highest Degree
- Doctor's degree
- Website
- rpi.edu
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Acceptance rate and admissions statistics
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has an acceptance rate of 63% and is among the top 25% of the most difficult universities to gain admission to in the United States. The university reports the admission statistics without distinguishing between local and international students.
| Total | Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acceptance Rate | 63% | 65% | 60% |
| Applicants | 17,175 | 11,175 | 6,000 |
| Admissions | 10,901 | 7,307 | 3,594 |
| Freshmen enrolled full time | 1,314 | 892 | 422 |
3 students enrolled in some distance education courses.
171 enrolled exclusively in distance education.
SAT scores
Among admitted applicants
643 or 49%
submitted SAT
25% of them
had 1375
or below
75% of them
had 1510
or below
Typical SAT scores of first-years in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are 1375-1510 (middle 50% range).
ACT scores
Among admitted applicants
147 or 11%
submitted ACT
25% of them
had 30
or below
75% of them
had 34
or below
Typical ACT scores of first-years in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are 30-34 (middle 50% range).
Admissions requirements
| College-preparatory program | Required |
|---|---|
| Formal demonstration of competencies | Required |
| Recommendations | Required |
| Secondary school GPA | Required |
| Secondary school rank | Required |
| Secondary school record | Required |
| TOEFL | Required |
| SAT/ACT | Considered but not required |
| Other Tests | Neither required nor recommended |
Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity
| White | 3062 (44%) |
|---|---|
| Asian | 1335 (19%) |
| Nonresident Alien | 937 (13%) |
| Hispanic | 698 (10%) |
| Two or more races | 358 (5%) |
| Black or African American | 326 (5%) |
| Race or Ethnicity unknown | 319 (5%) |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | 3 (0%) |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 1 (0%) |
Costs per year: Tuition, Housing, Fees
The average net cost to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is $38,887 per year, calculated as the sum of the average cost of tuition, room and board, books, and supplies, reduced by the amount of average financial aid received.
The final cost of attendance varies for each student based on household income, residency, program, and other factors.
Average costs by household income
| <$30K | $24,078 |
|---|---|
| $30-48K | $26,289 |
| $48-75K | $28,212 |
| $75-110K | $36,230 |
| $110K+ | $42,541 |
Tuition and fees
| Undergraduates | Graduates | |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition in-district | $62,500 | $62,500 |
| Tuition in-state | $62,500 | $62,500 |
| Tuition out-of-state | $62,500 | $62,500 |
| Fee in-district | $1,581 | $1,554 |
| Fee in-state | $1,581 | $1,554 |
| Fee out-of-state | $1,581 | $1,554 |
Room and board costs
| Dormitory capacity | 3,794 |
|---|---|
| Combined charge for room and board | $18,120 |
| Room charge | $9,650 |
| Meal charge | $8,470 |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute majors
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has granted 1,247 bachelor's degrees across 40 programs, 345 master's across 31 programs, and 113 doctorate degrees across 22 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
| Major | Bachelor | Master | Doctoral |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | 237 | 17 | 5 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 146 | 32 | 16 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical & Space Engineering, General | 92 | 22 | 6 |
| Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering | 75 | 17 | 12 |
| Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 68 | 6 | 10 |
| Chemical Engineering | 48 | 11 | 11 |
| Civil Engineering, General | 50 | 18 | |
| Business Administration and Management, General | 60 | ||
| Computer & Computer Systems Technology & Technician | 53 | 7 | |
| Mathematics, General | 54 | 5 | |
| Architecture | 52 | 4 | |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other | 48 | 5 | |
| Information Technology | 23 | 24 | |
| Game and Interactive Media Design | 39 | 6 | |
| Physics, General | 32 | 3 | 8 |
| Business Statistics | 14 | 25 | |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Other | 20 | 4 | 1 |
| Materials Engineering | 15 | 5 | 5 |
| Nuclear Engineering | 16 | 5 | 4 |
| Systems Engineering | 23 | 1 | |
| Industrial Engineering | 19 | 2 | |
| Biology & Biological Sciences, General | 17 | 3 | |
| Financial Mathematics | 20 | ||
| Chemistry, General | 10 | 2 | 7 |
| Cognitive Science, General | 10 | 6 | 3 |
| Environmental & Environmental Health Engineering | 10 | 7 | |
| Pre-Medicine & Pre-Medical Studies | 14 | ||
| Applied Mathematics, General | 13 | ||
| Architectural and Building Sciences & Technology | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| Psychology, General | 11 | ||
| Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 8 | 1 | |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Neuroscience | 8 | ||
| Communication, General | 7 | ||
| Bioinformatics | 6 | ||
| Engineering Science | 5 | ||
| Physics, Other | 5 | ||
| Science, Technology and Society | 2 | 3 | |
| Environmental Science | 4 | ||
| Multi- & Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | 4 | ||
| Philosophy | 3 | ||
| Sustainability Studies | 3 | ||
| Astronomy | 2 | ||
| Music Theory and Composition | 2 | ||
| Speech Communication and Rhetoric | 1 | 1 | |
| Transportation and Highway Engineering | 1 | 1 | |
| Digital Communication and Media & Multimedia | 1 | ||
| Geology & Earth Science, General | 1 | ||
| Multi- & Interdisciplinary Studies, General | 1 | ||
| Grand Total | 1,247 | 345 | 113 |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has a graduation rate of 84%, which is among the 8% highest for universities in the US.
| Total | Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduation rate | 84% | 83% | 86% |
| |||
Publications & Citations
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a world-class research university with 59,919 scientific papers published and 1,892,198 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Quantum and Particle physics, Computer Science, Biology, Materials Science, Environmental Science, Organic Chemistry, and Liberal Arts & Social Sciences.
Publication / Citation count by topic
Annual publication & citation counts
| Year | Publications | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 798 | 9165 |
| 1994 | 748 | 10098 |
| 1995 | 769 | 10848 |
| 1996 | 833 | 11420 |
| 1997 | 767 | 11741 |
| 1998 | 833 | 12510 |
| 1999 | 748 | 13686 |
| 2000 | 762 | 14921 |
| 2001 | 788 | 16221 |
| 2002 | 1867 | 27062 |
| 2003 | 1563 | 25728 |
| 2004 | 1402 | 27825 |
| 2005 | 1719 | 34451 |
| 2006 | 1688 | 39575 |
| 2007 | 1522 | 42596 |
| 2008 | 1505 | 47631 |
| 2009 | 1570 | 52900 |
| 2010 | 1469 | 58967 |
| 2011 | 1509 | 64669 |
| 2012 | 1496 | 69992 |
| 2013 | 2142 | 74453 |
| 2014 | 1604 | 77682 |
| 2015 | 1570 | 80273 |
| 2016 | 1529 | 83102 |
| 2017 | 1492 | 87032 |
| 2018 | 1523 | 92181 |
| 2019 | 1647 | 97989 |
| 2020 | 2782 | 107662 |
| 2021 | 2202 | 112833 |
| 2022 | 1792 | 103284 |
| 2023 | 1324 | 102439 |
| 2024 | 2374 | 96257 |
| 2025 | 749 | 80555 |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni
-
Jack Swigert
- Occupations
- military officerpoliticianmilitary flight engineeraircraft pilotastronaut
- Biography
-
John Leonard Swigert Jr. was an American NASA astronaut, test pilot, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and politician. In April 1970, as command module pilot of Apollo 13, he became one of 24 astronauts who flew to the Moon. Due to the "slingshot" route around the Moon they chose to safely return to Earth, the Apollo 13 astronauts flew farther away from Earth than any other astronauts before or since, though they had to abort the Moon landing.
-
Matt Patricia
- Occupations
- American football coachcoach
- Biography
-
Matthew Edward Patricia is an American football coach who is currently the defensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He previously served 15 non-consecutive seasons as an assistant coach with the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL), including six seasons as the defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2017. During Patricia's tenure as defensive coordinator, the Patriots won two Super Bowls and allowed the fewest points in 2016. He also served as the Patriots' offensive playcaller in 2022. Patricia was also the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2018 to 2020. He was named the defensive coordinator of Ohio State in 2025.
-
David Hayter
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directortelevision actorvoice actorfilm actor
- Biography
-
David Hayter is a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is well known as the English-language voice actor for Solid Snake and Naked Snake in the Metal Gear video game series. He wrote the superhero film X-Men, for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Writing. He also co-wrote The Scorpion King (2002), X-Men's first sequel, X2 (2003), and Watchmen (2009), and was a writer and producer on the streaming television series Warrior Nun.
-
Raymond Tomlinson
- Occupations
- inventorprogrammer
- Biography
-
Raymond Samuel Tomlinson was an American computer programmer who invented the first email program on the ARPANET system, the precursor to the Internet, in 1971; it was the first system able to send mail between users on different hosts connected to ARPANET. Previously, mail could be sent only to others who used the same computer. To achieve this, he used the @ sign to separate the username from the name of their machine, a scheme which has been used in email addresses ever since.
General info
| Alternative names | RPI Rensselaer |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1824 |
| Motto | Knowledge and Thoroughness |
| Colors | cherry, white |
| Academic calendar | August to May (August - December; January-May) |
| Total FTE staff | 1,740 |
| Carnegie classification | Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity |
Location and contacts
| Address | 110 8th St Troy, New York, 12180-3590 United States |
|---|---|
| City population | 51,000 |
| Phone | 5182766000 |