Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Top Questions

While RPI is mostly comprised of white male engineers, they don't always lack in social skills. And while a lot of them are in a fraternity or play WoW, it doesn't consume their life. And there are some girls here, not many, but some. It's possible to find a niche of more 'normal' people who just happen to be in a frat or play WoW occasionally (or both). But any way you look at it, RPI is definitely full of nerds of all kinds.

Some engineers are dorky or nerds, and some Greeks are obnoxious, but for the most part, RPI students are just normal folk. RIBS does have some grounding in truth, but the majority of female students are focused on learning, making friends, and interacting with their fellow students in a normal, non-bitchy manner.

Depends who you hang out with. Some people fit them absolutely; others not at all.

Personally, I am very happy with my decision to go to RPI. RPI does have a rigorous program and I've found myself many times overwhelmed with work - however my desire to do well in school and prepare myself as best as possible for a career I will be happy with keeps me going, despite the many hard days filled with work. Despite the difficult workload, I find time to take part in the activities I enjoy most - mainly my a cappella group which provides a good break from the studying and work my curriculum requires. I also enjoy my position as an RA and TA very much and am happy to have all these opportunities as a college student. In addition, I've met a few professors during my years at RPI who I've been able to create close ties with and who are very eager to help me understand my courses and even plan for a career. The stereotype that RPI students are all nerdy and don't socialize is also largely inaccurate. I've made many good friends at RPI through my activities and mostly through classes - we're able to help each other out with learning classwork and just to share experiences outside of class in internships or with career ideas. There are extremely smart students at RPI and yes, there are definitely students to maintain the stereotypes, but overall, the student body is vastly composed of those who were at the top of their class but who still are able to have a healthy balance of work and social life. I've always felt - college is what you make of it, not where you go. If you want to go out and party, you can always find somewhere on campus or off to do that - if you're looking for an educationally-focused and forward-looking student body, you'll definitely find that sort of concentration and mentality among most of the students at RPI; that's what I value the most, knowing my peers and I are striving to make the most out of such a great expense - not to have a party 24/7 like the media likes to play college up to be.

Some are some aren't. Stereotypes only develop because there are a good handful of people who fit them. There definitely are alot of people who are geeky and alot who play video games all the time. Some girls do develop RIBS, alot of guys are greek, etc. But once you find the people who you fit in with, it doesn't matter what the stereotypes are.

To some, yes. Others, hell no. Its a college campus, you get a little bit of everything. People here do tend to be on the smart side.

Most of these stereotypes aren't really accurate. A good percentage of the school is male, but with the freshman class that just came in, the school is 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} female. Although that still may seem like a small amount, the guys here that ARE gamers/computer geeks (there are definitely a large number of them) usually hole up in their room, so the ratio seems a lot more even. There are definitely more than just engineers and scientists here. There's a strong digital media/communications program here, as well as intensive architecture, and management programs. Those who ARE engineers and scientists aren't just into that kind of thing - there's a huge number of people here interested in music, sports, and other extracurriculars. After all, we all needed a little something extra to get in here.

To some point yes. Think back to your highschool. Most of the smart kids were of the nerdy variety. Most of this happens due to high school bullying and selective group forming. How are they supposed to learn how to interact with people when they keep getting abused for trying? College lets everyone have a fresh start and many if not most of those kids learn this pretty quickly and become extremely social in addition to being brilliant.

These stereotypes are not accurate in the slightest! I see plenty of girls whether it be when I am walking to class, attending class, eating at the dining halls, or just hanging in the dorm. As for the TAs, all of them speak English, some may just be harder to understand than others. Nevertheless, they are all always willing to help. And while some of the students may fit the stereotype of Weird Al's "White and Nerdy", most of us are just down-to-earth students.

Sometimes. The thing to remember is that college is what you make it.

I would say for about 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the people, the stereotype is accurate. A lot of people are just normal college kids. Lack of girls is kind of a problem, but we hangout with many other schools.

not at all, except that sometimes the weather isn't great, but it could be a LOT worse. It doesn't even get that cold here in the winter. there are always things happening on campus, movies, parties, events, performances, really just about anything If you are into drinking and partying there is plenty going on that you can get into, but if you don't want to be in that scene, there are tons of things to do on the weekends Even though the coursework is tough, there is still plenty of time to have fun

I dont think so. If you are involved either on a sports team or in Greek Life you become very social and involved in many fun actities

Most of this is false. Yes, we are all geeks and/or nerds (I'm not really sure what the difference is between the two). However, we're not antisocial or social outcasts, we make really strong friendships, we don't lock ourselves in our rooms playing videogames and tinkering with electronics, and we're not all technologically proficient. I'm a biology major, I know absolutely nothing about electrical engineering or computer coding, and I didn't even know what an RPG was when I got here. Sure, we have groups of people that do that sort of thing, but it's not all of us! And, the guys here are really cool. They don't all have thick glasses and greasy hair, like the stereotypical nerd. Just 'cause there's a lot more guys than girls doesn't mean that they're all antisocial. That was the biggest stereotype I got coming here, and it's just not true.

If you sit in your room all day and complain about how boring RPI is, of course it's going to be poor. Go join a club or something, and you'll have a great time. And yes, everyone plays games, but no, everyone here is not really smart. Far, far, farrr from it.

Sometimes. The majority is like this, but you can find a few people that arent.

They weren't pulled from thin air, I'll tell you that much. We have some social barriers at RPI, which accentuate the awkward elements in students' personalities. That said, most of the major-specific stereotypes are either shared with other colleges and originate from popular culture, or are generated by ignorance.

Not entirely, but that's not to say that only a small percentage of the student population is stereotypical and the rest are fine people. The rest of the student body really isn't fine people - they just don't match the "nerd" stereotype.

A lot of RPI students act very obnoxious especially when it comes to their studies and competition. We do not exert much school spirit in this school mainly because our spirit is in graduating and getting the highest rank possible. If there is a test coming up, no club activities, events, or anything else that would allow us to have a life would matter. It is why nothing outside of classes gets done. Progress is very limited here. Girls are a rarity here. Let's face it. However, there are some women on campus that act like they are hot stuff just because they always get into parties, etc. This is known as ratio-induced bitch syndrome. It exists. Everyone knows it! The Board of Trustees needs to stop making this school such a bureaucracy and let the departments run on their own. I spoke with someone about the RPI websites. They are totally under the control of the Institute and they suck! They pay thousands of dollars for a photograph not of campus but of random cells?!?!?! We have thousands of pictures that are website quality that we can load up for FREE!?!?!? STOP WASTING OUR TUITION. Don't even get me started on EMPAC.

Generally yes, there are many people who do fit the stereotype, but just as many who break it. There are some hot girls, but a lot of the girls who act as if they are really hot wouldn't be hot anywhere else.

Generally speaking, RPI students are pretty nerdy. Some are socially inept, but you don't really see those people much anyway. The social ones go out and find their crowd- there are plenty of opportunities to find this. There is a friendly group here for everyone. As for the women specifically, the guys like to complain that the women are unattractive, but really, I've seen some pretty beautiful women here. There aren't many of them- that is the problem- but RPI is working on improving this.

Yes.

No, the most definitely are not. Sometimes they hold true, but RPI is growing to have a broader student base.

The stereotypes are somewhat accurate. I know a few friends who came here because they were rejected from MIT or CMU. The stereotypes about RPI is filled with a bunch of hermits who just play video games in the rooms alone is somewhat true. My roommate freshman year played WoW for 12 hours a day, and stayed in the room most of the time. Although there are a fair amount of geeks/nerds here, not everyone is. There are the standard frat guys and sorority girls, and other "normal" people. Some people here are introverted and it is obvious that some people here have Asperger's, but on a whole this is a normal college, that just happens to have smart students. The stereotype about the RIBS is not true in my experience here. RIBS stands for Ratio Induced Bitch Syndrome, and just does not seem to be true. The women here are nice, and though I know a few bitches there is not a higher percentage at RPI then there is at other colleges.

To an extent. I think that there's plenty of fun characters around campus if you're willing to go out and look for them. With a lack of really accessible social events on campus you can't just wait for people to rush up and introduce themselves to you.

Some of these sterotypes are correct. But like all sterotypes they are more the minority then the majority of the students. Properly, the one that stands out the most is that people don't leave thier rooms, because they are playing computer games all the time. All the nerds and geeks from high school are in one school, this is bound to happen at RPI. But its not a huge porportion of the population.

mmmm yep. There are some exceptions but a large number of people here are nerdy and lack some social skills. And statistically there are fewer girls. It happens. If you are outgoing you will probably meet somebody, though it is much harder here then maybe some other places. Remember, that girls are nerdy too here, and many don't know how to deal with attention, so it's a weird environment.

That's not really the story whatsoever. RPI is very diverse - yes there are the dorky types but overall everyone is relatively normal.

Well, some of them are. Not everyone are nerds, although most are at heart a bit. A solid part of the population prefers to stay in their rooms and play World of Warcraft and stuff, but there's also a lot of people that like going out and having their fun. A lot of people work really hard here, but there are also a lot that don't. But, yeah, RPI is tough. Real tough.

A large population is pretty geeky but RPI is so diverse so to say that all are is wrong. None of us can spell though.

It?s true that there are more guys than girls at RPI, but you won?t see a lot of guys too much after laptops are distributed in the beginning of the year. This evens out the ratio to the point where you rarely notice that it?s not equal. Most of us aren?t very awkward; it?s just a few legendary people that tend to shape people?s opinions. And as for RIBS, there isn?t really anyone like that. RPI guys may occasionally be desperate, but there?s always Russell Sage right down the hill, so the girls can?t do whatever they want and still expect to have guys all around them.

Yes

Quite the opposite, in fact. First of all, RPI isn't exclusively engineering anymore. The students are a diverse population, and we cover a wide range of majors, from many types of engineering to management to mathematics to electronic arts. We also participate in a huge selection of activities, including but not limited to Greek life, sports organizations, and humanities clubs. Students at RPI must have an interest in science in math, as those are core requirements for all students, but we're not necessarily all geeks. I'll admit to it, proudly in fact, but you might be surprised to know that I actually get a lot of strange looks and comments when I mention my love for Stargate, or that my fiance and I play Lego Star Wars like madmen. After all this discussion it should be clear that the majority of us do have social lives, and we do have a rich selection of events to attend and sports or clubs to join. It's actually a bit like a bell curve--the extremities being those who aren't geeks at all, and those who do hole up with their laptops each night to go on guild raids. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle.