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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a private research university located in the city of Troy, New York. RPI, as it’s commonly called, was founded in 1824 and is one of the oldest technological universities in the States. Ranked moderately among the top 50 schools in USA, Rensselaer is a well known college for Electrical, Computer and Financial courses. However, it isn't too popular among Indians; the only ones who end up here, do so because of it's proximity to New York, and nothing else.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is located on a hillside in the city of Troy, New York. The university overlooks the historic city of Troy and Hudson River. Most of the students find the city pretty boring owing to many historic events and thus a lot of places are barren and dull. The city is well connected to a major part of the states. The scenic beauty of the city and the picturesque view gives a thumbs up to the location.
The RPI campus is spread over 275 acres and has an amazing blend of modern and traditional architecture. The college buildings tend to lack the aesthetic appeal though students often boast about the modern architecture. The Folsom Library which is the main library has truckloads of books and thousands of volumes of all the possible courses offered in the university. There are multiple cafés on the campus followed by clubhouse which is the drinking place, thus the most crowded place. The facilities at Rensselaer are excellent as it comprises a fitness centre, swimming pool, basketball court, weightlifting court, etc.
Barton Hall, the best dorm on campus, will cost you roughly around $7,000 per year. Most of the post graduation students live off campus where the rental charges are anything from $600 to $1100 per month depending upon the size of the room and the number of roommates. Downtown Troy and areas near the campus are the standard places where you see most of the students residing.
Weather conditions are pretty erratic in Troy. Summers are VERY hot while winters are terribly cold. The only pleasant period in Troy is the start of the Fall and the end of the Spring period. December and January are extremely cold and you can expect to see piles of snow. RPI students, though, are pretty used to the weather conditions and are rarely found complaining.
Almost all the teachers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have completed their Ph.D degrees from high ranking schools in the States. Most of them have crazy multiple degrees. Professors are extremely well versed with their subject and students make sure that they attend all the lectures. Seniors say that it’s advisable not to mess around with a few teachers especially the senior professors. At RPI students can expect rigorous studies both inside and outside the lecture halls owing to the strictness of the faculty and too much course work. Some students complain about the professors being engaged in their respective thesis and research work but they are still quite approachable when it comes to doubts and problem solving.
Scholarships at RPI are very difficult unless you’ve a mind blowing profile which impresses the admission committee. Owing to the private funded nature of the university, financial aid is certainly tough to get. If you maintain your academic scores and are up-to-date with your assignment work, Research Assistantship and Teaching Assistantship are gettable, but don't count on anything.
The biggest advantage at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is its strategic location. New York certainly has the maximum number of MNC’s in the States along with California and Chicago. GE, IBM, Procter & Gamble are the major recruiters at RPI. Students have to apply to the company of their choice in the career fair. Better the profile, better are the placements. Definitely, higher is the pay package.
RPI quite clearly has more number of boys than girls. The ratio would be anything around 4:1. Girls enjoy the liberty of having more boys in the campus and the sex ratio is a very common topic of complaint in this university. You can expect to meet students from various regions of USA and other parts of the world. Indians are a handful, though most of the people are white. There are numerous café bars on campus and thus it becomes a standard hangout for most of them. Students generally hangout in Albany as Troy is very boring and lacks good places. Despite New York, the overall off campus life is not something that one would boast about.
Marcian Hoff - Father of the microprocessor. Allen B. Dumont - Perfected the cathode ray tube and considered as the father of modern T.V.
Firstly, its not a great college. Secondly, its not in New York City. If you're still considering it, you probably don't have a choice.