Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

Marcel

You do find students of all races, genders, ethnicities, etc, but the school is predominantly white males from the midwest. I wish it were a more diverse place, however there is merely a lack of diversity, not an absence. There are lots of different culture clubs and such on campus. I would say about half of students are socially confident and half are a little more awkward. There are students that just play world of warcraft or whatever all day in their dorm. There are also a few "faces" on campus that people know well due to how they dress/act. One guy used to ride his bike around speed lake on campus wearing chain mail... One guy wore a bath robe to class all winter quarter. There are a lot of athletes in general, and there are a bunch of really interesting, unique people on campus that you'll be glad to have met. I really like how the small campus size encourages you to get to know everyone. I can never make it to class without running into tons of people i know There is a lot of financial aid handed out, and a lot of people are here on some sort of scholarship, so there are many diverse financial backgrounds. There are no obvious cliques formed as a result of financial background. Many of the people that come from indiana/midwest are quite conservative and relatively close-minded on issues. I would say the school is majority republican but all sides are represented. A lot of people do talk about how much they'll be earning after school, as a kind of motivation. The avg starting salary of a rose student is $62500, so it is a big deal. People post job/internship offers in the hallways outside their room and you can walk by and see how much everyone was offered.

Ellissa

Rose-Hulman has a such a close family like community that we can lean on each other for anything.

Marcel

You do find students of all races, genders, ethnicities, etc, but the school is predominantly white males from the midwest. I wish it were a more diverse place, however there is merely a lack of diversity, not an absence. There are culture clubs, LGBT clubs, and such on campus. I would say about half of students are socially confident (normal) and half are a little more awkward. There are students that just play world of warcraft or whatever all day in their dorm. There are also a few "faces" on campus that people know well due to how they dress/act. One guy used to ride his bike around speed lake on campus wearing chain mail... One guy wore a bath robe to class all winter quarter. There are a lot of athletes, who i find to be socially confident, and there are a bunch of really cool, unique people on campus. I really like how the small campus size encourages you to get to know everyone. I can never make it to class without running into tons of people i know There is a lot of financial aid handed out, and a lot of people are here on some sort of scholarship, so there are many diverse financial backgrounds. Most of the exchange students are loaded and have brand new cars, but i don't ever feel like anyone thinks they are too good to hang out with other people. There are definitely no cliques formed as a result of financial background. Many of the people that come from indiana/midwest are republican and relatively close-minded on issues. I would say the school is majority republican but all sides are represented well. A lot of people do talk about how much they'll be earning after school, as a kind of motivation. The avg starting salary of a rose student is $62500, so it is a big deal. People post job/internship offers in the hallways outside their dorm and you can walk by and see how much everyone was offered.

Alex

There are a fair amount of white males here. I mean, it's Indiana. But, we also have a ~1:4 girl/guy ratio, which is higher than most engineering schools (and than most engineering colleges at larger schools). We have more international students this year than we've ever had before. We have strong local representations of SWE, NSBE, SHPE and have an active GSA (called Unity).

Kendra

Since everyone at Rose has a nerdy side to them they tend to be very tolerant. Students are not expected to dress fashionably or have expensive accessories. Most students are from the Midwest but there is a growing International population as well as students from other regions. The population is majority male.

David

Students are very friendly. They hold doors for you and will start up a friendly conversation with complete strangers in the hall. Even the exceptionally nerdy kids come out of their shell at Rose in the academic environment cracking jokes and having fun. Everyone is so tolerant with little negativity being said about other students. While the majority of students consider themselves to be politically and morally conservative, even for people like me (a liberal democrat) there no contention. Everyone is very respectful of others views and if someone were to attack another's political or spiritual beliefs the student body would come down upon them and protect the accused, despite their own beliefs. There is literally a place for everyone at Rose. Except Liberal Arts majors... Engineering and Science are the only degree programs here. Still, many students speak eloquently and have a passion for the arts. You would be surprised by how athletic and artistic the Rose-Hulman community is with most people being on a sports team and having played an instrument at some point. It's definitely not your typical nerdy engineering school.

Sara

Everyone is very accepting of everyone as far as I have ever experienced. No acts of violence or anything racist or anything. Most people wear jeans and a tshirt to class, typical college apparel...but there are those are dress up more or wear a costume.

Kate

Overall, the student culture is socially conservative, but there isn't much political activism on campus. There are several diversity groups that are active, but the population is overwhelmingly white male, with an 80/20 male-female ratio. Dress is very casual.

Anna

Because Rose is such a unique school, there are all sorts of personalities here. Everyone has their own quirks and nerdiness, but because everyone is a little goofy, everyone easily is accepted and finds a group for themselves. Most students come from a variety of social and financial backgrounds and come from all parts of the United States and around the world. Overall, there is an acceptance for all races and beliefs, and the growing diversity has grown acceptance of all people. The atmosphere here is generally conservative, but there always is an openness to new ideas. Also, because most students are very excited for the jobs they will obtain because of their hard work in school, most students do talk about how much they'll earn one day. They're very excited, and generally Rose students to make a very reasonable starting wage.

Bryce

All of my classmates are focused on math, engineering, and/or science. Rose Hulman is an Engineering school, and , as such, attracts these types of students.

Jordan

Very white, very male, very conservative, and very boring. "Work hard, play hard" doesn't really apply to Rose students. It is more of a "work hard, and occasionally get a little rascally and pretend we are partying when we are really just drinking away our sorrow of choosing such a boring school/town"

Michael

I have only visited the campus a few times, but I found all the students to be very friendly, dedicated to their studies, fun-loving, and helpful.

Alex

My classmates are hard working and very engaging in class. Lots of questions are asked during lectures and if the students do not understand a topic they will go to their proffessors office durring office hours and ask for individual help.

Anthony

My classmates are hardworking individuals who strive for success everyday.

Jake

My classmates are very intelligent, especially when it comes to computers and technology.

Jacob

Intelligent individuals who enjoy learning, puzzles, and being nerdy.

Matthew

For the most part, it seems like students here come from wealthier families (no surprise because tuition is very expensive) so I sometimes feel out of place, but they're all pretty nice for the most part.

Robin

The student body isn't as diverse as big schools, but there are opportunities for everyone in terms of religion, race, and hobbies. I haven't witnessed any discrimination at Rose-Hulman. Everyone seems to get along fine and I'm friends with people from so many different backgrounds.

Whitney

We aren't the most diverse student body, but its been improving greatly since my Freshman year. I always say that if you were to randomly pick a student from Rose you'd get a white male from Indiana majoring in Mechanical Engineering. This is mostly true, but the admissions office has been doing some great international recruiting lately. Another downside to being an engineering school is a skew towards a male dominated student body. We're somewhere in the 80/20 guys to girls range, but that's improving too. Since the school is small, around 1600 undergrads, you'll recognize people all over campus and it isn't uncommon to know people from different classes or majors.

Whitney

Rose-Hulman is majority white students, but we do have a lot of diversity. We have NSBE and Engineers Without Borders, as well as SWE to try and make a more diverse environment on campus.

Alex

We have many different clubs on campus. All of the students are cooperative here also. Most of us just wear whatever we can find to class. Students that want to meet different people everyday of classes may not enjoy Rose because the people you meet orginially will be the people you see the rest of your time here.

Anna

My classmates are very intelligent, friendly young people who are all at school to change the world or help people with the degree they are pursuing.

Kendra

my classmates are geniuses! but they are always willing to help anyone who struggles with the difficult curriculum.

Caleb

Our class is very classy, and we generally have a lot of respect for each other; we are willing to help out underclassmen if they need help, but they better not be a butthole about it (too many folks in the freshman class this year think they are entitled to everything they want, well, they'll learn when they get a real job, I guess), and we look out for ourselves: we're all friends and we're in this together. And more importantly, we're seniors, so we're almost done!

Andrew

Extremely helpful in every aspect of life.

Isaac

This school has a 6:1 ration of guys to girls.

Matt

My classmates are a very diverse group of people; not just racially and ethically, but the way they dress, act, and activities they participate in.

Ryan

My classmates are intelligent, sometimes socially awkward, and driven individuals.

Emma

Intelligent, interesting, friendly people.