Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Top Questions

I'm going to talk about racism because that's the first thing I think of when I think of RPI and Troy. Mind you, I'm not saying that RPI students are racist; most of them aren't. I just want to talk about the racial separation in Troy. Here's the breakdown: all the white and asian people are RPI students, faculty, or staff. All the black people are in downtown Troy. That's how it is with a few exceptions. The nerve-wracking part is that most of the black people in Troy associate with the "gangsta" label. It's pretty freaky when you walk down the street to get to campus and walk by a group of six or so black teenagers in traditional gangsta attire. It's usually not a problem, but it's an all-too-common sight to see public safety alerts around campus warning of a teen-aged African-American wearing a black hoodie and riding a tricycle. Also, it doesn't help that the vast majority of students at RPI aren't capable of defending themselves in the event of a mugging. Also, a lot of what I've said is subjective and possibly flat-out wrong. Believe me at your own risk.

There are about 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students who are legit individuals; the rest are either huge nerds who never leave their room and play computer games or major tools who are cocky as hell.

RPI is somewhat diverse, yet everyone seems to act the same.

The student body is very diverse in race, religion, interests, pretty much anything. Students of any type could fit in at this school, however they may need to search very hard to find the place where they belong.

It a pretty white student body with your fare share of asians, indians(india), and African American. Fraternities and sports teams/clubs make up many of the groups on campus, with the rest being those who tend to study and play video games more than going to parties or going out.

Well RPI is a fairly diverse place. There are people from all over the country and all over the world in attendance here. There aren't a lot of strong convictions amongst the whole student body but lots of small groups advocating certain issues. I'm not sure what kind of kids wouldn't fit in, people who are not prepared to put in lots of work and effort would not survive here. But it is a generally accepting place. Kinda generally wear whatever casual stuff they feel like to class. All student groups generally interact and the school culture is well integrated. There is a fair amount of rich kids at RPI and also a lot from poor families. The school provides a lot of financial aid so that lots of people from different backgrounds can attend. Students are a little politically active but are generally apathetic abotu what does not directly affect them.

Very diverse student body. Despite there being many more nerds than in other schools, there are still many "normal" people here, who get smashed on the weekends and throw parties. For that, go to the Frats. Everyone here knows that. But everyone else is here to work and get a good job, so most people (with the exception of frat kids) usually are very serious about their grades, studies, or technical hobby. There isnt really a social class here, everyone can talk to everyone else. Even though there are some dirt poor kids here, most kids are affluent, but i cant say it ever comes up. People don't talk about what they'll earn, and they don't talk too frequently or seriously about politics, most people are apathetic. But unlike what i've heard about liberal arts colleges, if the students chose, i believe most would be conservative. I think the kind of student who would feel out of place here, is someone that isn't wicked smart. You could still probably pass the science classes if you weren't smart, but they'd be wicked hard and people would constantly be talking over your head.

ethnicity wise, the student body is extremely diverse. surprisingly, as a white american girl i often feel as though i am in the minority. because of the painful price of tuition, i think it is safe to say that only middle and upper class families are able to send their children here. to go to this school you have to be prepapred to get technical, and pretty much throw creativity out the window. so if you have a vivid imagination and love finding questions for which there is no definite answer, then go to a liberal arts school because rpi is definitely not for you

Mostly RPI's student body consists of white males and Asians. But there is a little bit of diversity elsewhere, especially recently since RPI is all for accepting minorities. Generally, the students are apathetic about politics and world issues, which is a shame, but there are some that are involved.

RPI's student body is mostly from the east coast. MA, NY, NJ, CT, VT. Most students range in wearing sweats or jeans, sometimes people will be dressed up. Layers is always good especially in the winter because it gets nasty cold and windy and then classrooms are pumped with heat. First year most of the students live on Freshman Hill (in the Freshman Five) and eat in commons, but some upperclassmen eat there too.

Racial experiences on campus is pretty good. This school is pretty white but i don't mind that. Personally I've had good experiences with other races on campus. I personally think that LGBT shouldn't be a group but thats my personal opinion base on my religious belief. I don't think you would feel out of place at this school whether your black, white, Asian or Hispanics. Most student wear jeans, short and t-shirts to class. The interaction is good between different groups. The four tables are the jocks , nerdy of the nerds, the normals, and the minorities. The minorities hang out a lot with each other. The jocks hang out with each other because thats there teammate and they don't really have time to meet other people like that. The normals fall in between minorities and jocks. The nerds are the really weirds students who has the best heart but don't know how to interact with other students. Most students here are back by financial aid but it is a prosperous financial background. Students are not politically aware at all as they should be.Most of the students are center and left and some right. Most of the students that goes here will make it really far in their career and money is talk about more now that we are an ivy.

Relatively conservative. Not very diverse. If you like video games too much you'll like it here (or at least have a lot of other people like you to hate it with). If you're the artsy type run for the hills.

Haha, I have never met so many people addicted to WOW, Guitar Hero and GXC in my entire life. Have a basic knowledge of video games if you want a large friend base, but there are plenty of people who have real lives too.

Plenty of groups to become a part of, plenty of nerds to ruin these groups. I noticed that around junior-senior year students become overally set in their clubs, groups, fraternity, etc. that they are afraid to branch out and meet new people with different interests from different social groups.

I really like the makeup of the student body. There is a mix of students, but they all have the same friendly, laid-back qualities that make RPI a great place to attend.

realy good

The many Indian and Chinese TAs who speak English with a heavy accent are certainly the punchlines of many jokes, though mostly good-hearted. There is not much of a LGBT community here, though everyone is very accepting. The campus is very politically apathetic, so any activist would feel very out of place. Also, any liberal arts or arts student without a solid understanding of sciences might feel out of place as well. The closest thing RPI has to cliques is the various fraternities on campus, as well as a handful of student clubs that have a very distinct, close-knit community. The frisbee team, Trudge, is the closest to 'hippies' we have on campus, though they still all have a beer-chugging, science-oriented flavor to them all. Ground Zero is our bandana-wearing, vans-sporting, alternative music club on campus, and generally views themselves too cool for the rest of RPI, though in reality, their music is only sometimes marginally more interesting than anyone else's on campus. Then there are all the fraternities, each of which has its own unique flavor, somewhere along the spectrum of Animal House to a group of kids you'd never imagine in a fraternity who just happen to be there because fraternities are what you do at RPI.

The most radical anti-gay sentiment I have received on campus was while I was walking to the dining hall holding hands with my girlfriend and a van drove by with the windows down yelled "dykes" and throwing a soda bottle at us. My roommate freshman year sought a room change when she found out I was a lesbian, but changed her mind after getting to know me. Many of my friends say that they have changed their previously negative opinions about gay people after interacting with me and my gay friends and realizing that we are just normal people. I feel that there is a stronger prejudice against gay or transgendered people than might immediately be guessed when visiting the campus. Campus atmosphere is generally pretty relaxed but people tend to keep to themselves when walking to and from class. The majority of the social interaction occurs in the Union or in residence halls or off campus housing.

For LGBT students: There are very few people who are actually vehemently anti-queer. For the most part people aren't hostile; they're apathetic. You will hear "gay" jokes. But you will be able to find plently of friends who don't tell them.

RPI from my experience is fairly diverse and very accepting of all varieties of race, gender, sexual orientation, or economic status. I personally have not focused or noticed anything I dislike about RPI's student body and have not experienced anything I've been dissatisfied with - although I'm sure others may disagree. I've been fortunate enough to not have any problems in this area.

You only feel out of place if you let yourself. Seriously, your race, religion, culture etc should not dictate your judgments of other people. If you accept people, they will accept you. And if you feel out of place, you probably need to be more social.

I can't think of anyone who would feel out of place at RPI, outside of A) stupid people and B) liberal arts majors. Most students dress very casually for class (I wear hoodies and jeans usually). Most RPI students are from the NE, but I've met plenty from all around (MN, CA, TX, NV). All financial backgrounds exist here b/c of financial aid. Political awareness is generally commonplace, and no one side (liberal/conservative) dominates campus. RPI grads make a lot of money generally (especially those from the school of engineering), so we sometimes find ourselves looking to the future with hopes of nice paychecks.

At RPI, I haven't felt any negative tension between those with diverse racial, religious, sexual, socio-economic,etc backgrounds. Generally, everyone here is open-minded because there is such a diversity of students here. There are also so many different student-run groups that you are bound to find someone you can relate to. Students wear a lot of different things to class - you won't feel out of place in RPI sweats, or in a skirt and nice shirt. In the winter, be prepared to bundle up. Most people layer up because it gets so cold and the weather can be unpredictable. All types of students interact. It's a really friendly campus, especially if you have something in common, like classes, a funny experience, the weather, anything. The four tables in the dining hall would be mostly full of groups of friends, with maybe one student sitting by her/himself studying, or grabbing a meal between classes. The students sitting together would be talking about a class they just got out of, or that they have a test in soon, or their plans for the weekend. Most RPI students are from all over the US, and some are international. There are a lot of students from the East Coast/New England, but I've met students from all over. Middle class financial backgrounds are the most prevalent, from what I've seen. Most students are at the very least politically aware, although not all are active. Since it's known that RPI grads are usually pretty in demand once they graduate (or at least, have good networking opportunities to find a job), and tuition is not exactly cheap, we often joke that we'd better get a high paying job when we graduate in order to pay off student loans.

RPI seems like any other college as far as the student body goes. Some people dress in their own unique ways while others conform to the standard. RPI lets you form clubs as long as there is even a minimal amount of interest in the topic. That's great. You get to meet a wide variety of people from all over the world. It's like a miniature melting pot. If you have some interest you think you're alone on you're wrong.

Most students wear casual clothing. Most RPI students are from the northeast, but there are some from other parts of the country or from outside of the country.

Really I think RPI is a pretty standard college campus. There are the standard social cliques, something for everyone, and usually its easy to find. Sometimes the cliques interact but it varies based on settings. If there were 4 tables at the dining hall, there would be a super geek, jock, frat, and average joe table. Most RPI students seem to be from the north east. It seems as though most students are politically active, but there are plenty of both left and right wingers. People talk about future earnings all the time.

Similar to high school, there are jocks, greek fraternity kids, popular people, geeks, and every group u can imagine. Students interact, its not a very large school. Given the tuition, its mainly middle to upper class students. Politics depend on the person and whether they are active. Talk of future jobs is prevalent and students are excited about it ($$$).

There are lots of groups to support "minority" (i am using the term very loosely) students on campus. I think that overall RPI is a VERY accepting campus. I don't think anyone would feel out of place at RPI, as long as they were able to be accepted. Most students wear jeans and either polos, long sleeved t's, or fitted t's to class. A few students dress up, but not many. There is a lot of overlap between different types of students, and I think that a lot is due to the dorm living. The four tables of students in the dining hall would all look the same. they would be groups of friends sitting together, not separated by dress or race or anything. The majority of RPI students come from New England, but there are many students from all over the country and the world. Most students come from an upper middle class financial background, but the school is very accommodating of other backgrounds as well. Students are politically aware, but not necessarily active. Many will vote, but there aren't protests or rallies on campus or organized by campus groups. I think that more students are on the political left, but I am not really sure. Students do talk about future income, but mostly in relation to how the cost of our education will be worth it one day.

There are so many activities and clubs at RPI that every student is bound to find something that is right for them. Students are able to be themeselves and find their own little nitch. RPI is very culturally diverse, so students are able to meet and interact with all types of people.

I don't really make a point of thinking about this as I go around campus, so the topic is kind of difficult for me. However, I like the student body we have here. Most people here are the type that like to be intellectually challenged, whether with art and media or the more traditional, technical fields of engineering. People are relaxed but respectful of both the teachers and the other students on campus. We do have little cliques, like the RPGamers and the EMAC majors and the school of science, but we are friends no matter what group we're usually associated with.

There are some crazy Republicans on campus. Not all Republicans are crazy; some of them, including ones here, are nice and agreeable people. But we've got some crazy backwater bigot baboons here, country boys who were raised in barns. College should be a wake-up call for them, but sometimes it isn't. Our on-campus Republican organization is one of our stupidest student collectives. Who'd feel out of place here? Floridans. Liberal arts majors. Literature majors. We're a polytech, with a very small number of women. Do the math. Most students wear coats and backpacks to class. Smart ones wear boots. Students tend to interact with other like-minded students. We're a stubborn bunch, I think, and very proud. Most of us form sets of small friend circles that overlap. People come from many financial backgrounds here, and RPI has a work-study system that allows less monetarily endowed students to earn some dough. We're predominantly liberal, politically. And we tend not to talk about money, unless we're blasting the tuition costs.

RPI's student body is at best painfully boring and at worst completely detestable. Freshman generally have the average starting salaries for various types of engineers memorized within the first month of school. Essentially the students are from that category of graduating high school seniors that is rich and white enough to get into a "top school" but boring enough to really only care about salary after college, and despite the school's best efforts to make the student body more heterogeneous, the fact that "RPI as an employment factory" isn't being challenged at any level means it will never really change. There are a lot of nerds too, but the range of nerd goes from "yes I like World of Warcraft and I'm not ashamed to admit it" to guys that bathe once every two weeks and shave never. There are more of the former than the latter, and truthfully, the "nerd issue" isn't a big one. It's just people who like technical things. The "women issue," however, *is* a big one. RPI is mostly male. This isn't a problem because "there are no women so I can't find a girlfriend." The problem is that female attention becomes a resource to be fought over. This isn't even necessarily a conscious process - I've seen women completely fuck up their own social groups unintentionally merely by being the only woman in it (and don't get me wrong, they weren't happy about it either). And then sometimes you get woman that are well aware of the situation and take advantage of it at every opportunity. These aren't common, but they exist, and they should be kept at arm's reach at all times.

The students can be very inconsiderate at times. I feel that we all need a crash course on political correctness. We could also use a class on politeness and tastefulness.

As far as the LGBT scene goes, the campus is generally accepting. There is a decent sized gay male population. If you are a lesbian though, your options will be limited on campus. There is an all girls college downtown though, and supposedly there are some lesbians there. Bisexual women at RPI normally end up dating men because the ratio is in their favor for finding a man they like.

There is something for everyone at RPI, although the general population tends to be white, conservative, upper-middle class males. That having been said, there are plenty of minority groups on campus, religious groups, LGBT, etc, but they are small. As a generalization, most students are very book smart in their field, but are not intellectual or well-rounded.

RPI has a very diverse student body, and the only overarching thing that seems to be prevalent is that most of people here are from the east coast.

A lot of the student body is stereotyped as really nerdy guys who just stay inside all day playing World of Warcraft. To an extent, this person certainly exists at RPI but I find that there's plenty of interesting people to meet as long as you take the effort to go out there and find them.

I have never had an issue with anyone on campus, generally people are open to everyone on campus. Their are different organizations on campus that are geared towards certain racial, religious or other groups of people; but they are not limited to these people. RPI students are rather accepting of pretty much everyone, i think to feel out of place at RPI is more towards people's lack of understanding of the culture of RPI. RPI is a Nerd school! Students never get dressed up ever! For class most students go in sweatpants, sweatshirts, ugg boots, jeans, t-shirts, flip flops, shorts, and gym clothes. The only time I see people more dressed up is in the Spring Time, because of the warm weather. All different types of students interact, however as you get older you become better friends with the people who are in your major and department. This is mostly because you have similar schedules then for any other reason. Most students at RPI are from the Northeast. Most of my friends are from the New England States and from all over New York and New Jersey. And then there is a weird West Coast bond with students who are from the West coast, i think this is because we are so far away from home and its just being able to relate stuff from home. 85{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students at RPI are on some form of finicial aid, either loans, federal aid or aid from the school. However, you wouldn't know the difference between a student on a full scholarship to a student whose parents are paying for the education. Students are less politically active then at almost every other college i have visited. RPI students live in this bubble that nothing outside of RPI matters. However, if i were to put an opinion on the political mentality of RPI i would say it is more Republican socially and more liberally fincially.

There are a few "normal" kids on campus, with the right amount of balanced social skills, common sense, and brains..but a lot of people fit into the category known as "creepy RPI kids." They are generally nice though. I haven't come across too many mean people. Everybody is nice when walking around campus, I don't feel unsafe anywhere.

RPI is pretty diverse, although it's a private, expensive school meaning majority of students are mid-to upper class and white. If you aren't into science in the least bit you will not fit in. RPI does attract a specific kind of person and it isn't for everyone. RPI is a relatively conservative campus and in my opinion not very politically active. Most RPI students are from New England. Also lots of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. T

The student body is pretty diverse, but the male female ratio is definitely noticeable. It's only maybe 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} girls here, at best. The guys don't like it much, but the girls don't have a problem with it. And, a word to the girls, just because there's like 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} guys doesn't mean they're better than at other schools. Actually, they're worse.

I am from NYC so I can honestly say that RPI is pretty diverse. There are clubs and organizations for everyonne to participate in and the best patr is that they do not exclude.

Most RPI students are from the Northeast. You can usually pick out who isn’t from the area from their accents, but Northeasterners are generally pretty accepting of other people so it’s a non-issue. If you go to RPI, you were probably one of the “smart” kids in high school. Unless you are absolutely brilliant, you’re probably going to see the type of people that are here as humbling for awhile, until you realize that instead of being the smart kid all of the time, you’re at a school that has thousands of your peers. RPI gives out a lot of financial aid, so there are people from nearly all walks of life here. As such, people here are tolerant of all backgrounds, races, etc. There isn’t much of a gay population here, but nobody I know here has any problems with that. It really doesn’t matter who you are, you’ll be accepted and respected as a person if you come to RPI. The student body is a genuinely friendly bunch.

There's a lot of diversity on campus, I know people from Argentina, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and China. There are a lot of cultural and ethnic groups on campus. The Black Student Alliance is especially popular. Most students wear nasty sweatshirts and jeans or cargo pants to class, although there is considerable variation across majors. You are more likely to find sweaters and button up shirts in the Management department or even some of the Humanities and Social Sciences majors such as Economics and Science, Technology & Society. Most students are from NY, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, although there are also many internationals and people from all around the country. The vast majority of students know little about politics, although there are active Republican and Democrat organizations.

As I said earlier, we're a bit of a bubble, and most of the students here come from families that fall into the middle- to upper-classes. But that doesn't mean a whole lot in the end, because we each student has their own distinct personality and experiences to bring to the table. The great thing about RPI is that we all have something to bond over, be it classwork or anything else. Yes, there are cliques, but I've found very few people who are unwilling to interact with others. Sharing stories with the other students is fascinating because many of us come from different parts of the USA and other countries as well, and there are a huge number of viewpoints and opinions on any given topic (as you would expect with 7,000 students).