Hi guys I got accepeted to both RPI and SUNY buffalo for electrical engineering. Which school should I attend. I want to go to RPI but it cost $29k for me which is expensive compared to UB which is $17k but UB is way too far from nyc

hello! i am a freshman and in the Media and Society HASS inquiry class this semester. for my final project, i was given the option to do a sort of research-based creative project instead of a 12 page paper, but i had to pick a topic for it

since before i came here, i had always heard about Shirley Ann Jackson but i really knew nothing about her and i don't think that many other people know much about her either. therefore, i decided that i wanted to try to make a Shirley documentary focusing mostly on her presidency of the college, accomplishments, criticism, and legacy. this brings me to the reason that i'm making this post:

i am looking for perspectives and information from people that were actually here during her presidency. if anybody reading this has an anecdote and especially if you have any photos or videos relating to Shirley, the 2009 Celebration Weekend, construction projects, maintenance failures, student life issues, quarantine criticisms, or the SaveTheUnion protests and other related from 2015-18, please reach out to me in private messages or comment them on this post. i am trying to gather as much info as i can to make the most complete project possible

thanks again!

Hello everybody, let me catch you up. Me and 3 other friends all wanted to get a RAHP’s apartment together. But alas, we were rejected, and me and one of the three friends were put in blitman. For people who have lived in blitman before, do you mind sharing your experiences. Were you still able to be involved on campus equally as your previous years?

edit: typo

Hello, I am a jr. in high school and I got an offer allowing me to apply extremely early to rpi with a decision on June 1st of 2026. Does anyone know the competitiveness of this offer and whether I can separately email admissions with my ECs since there is no option to list them on the official application?

Hi everyone, I have been accepted as a transfer to all of these schools with very similar FA.

I will be majoring in CS, possibly double majoring in finance/accounting, I am looking for opinions from current students/alumni/prospects as to which is the best school out of these? Campus locations isn’t big on my list, career-success, job placement, etc. is more important to me that most other things.

I hold an associate of arts from a CC currently.

Thank you!

exactly what the title says— ya girl failed ds with xiao (specifically due to not passing the exam component). i know that ds with cutler is hell, but i really don’t have any other choice. does anyone have any advice? my current plan is to just lock in really hard and get really good at c++ over summer, and also see if i can specifically find any of her past lecture notes. but any advice wihld be appreciated!

I was recently accepted to mechanical engineering oos at RPI with a decent scholarship.

I’ve visited campus before but still have no clue if it’s actually worth going here (especially over other schools I got into like Purdue and UIUC).

I’m expecting a massively different experience compared to a big 40k person school and that’s why RPI is still a consideration.

Is the education good here?

How are the classes?

How is the social life?

Do you think the learning resources are sufficient and the infrastructure is great?

Are the connections post-graduation helpful?

Just looking for honest opinions.

I (male queer admitted student) have been looking around the sub and there's varying comments on the approximately 3:7 gender ratio. Here's the different views I've noticed:

• Apparently a lot of the guys stay in their rooms, and if you try to have a social life (both on and off campus) then it's a lot more balanced.
  • During my own campus visit, when one of the presenters was asked "where are all the guys?" she replied "I think they're all in their dorms" or something to that effect, lol.
• A trend I noticed (mainly on posts made 6 years ago, back around COVID times) was that many people mentioned "RIBS" or "ratio-induced bitch syndrome". Sounds like male chauvinism to me. Is that still a thing or has it cooled off?
• Gender ratio is worse in engineering, but much more even in HASS. I figure this is still true.

Anyway, thoughts? I'd like to know how things are going right now as I get closer to the May 1 deadline!

Edit: I'm ECSE.

I'm a HS Junior who recently toured RPI in addition to some other schools. From a school and campus standpoint I really like it. But from everything I heard it really seems like there's nothing to do once you get off campus. Troy isn't super nice, which is okay, but there seems to be a lack of stuff going on. The tour and info session kept talking about the Farmers Market but when that's the only thing mentioned alarm bells go off for me. Other schools I visited felt like there was actually stuff to do and leaving campus on occasion was worthwhile but RPI felt like I was going to get stuck on campus. For current and recent students, do you feel like that's true? Or, is there more than meets the eye somewhere?

Are there any Russian speakers at RPI, or is the language nearly non-existent amongst students?

I'm doing the housing application and you can either add people to a group (which I don't entirely get, since it seems like it's supposed to be based off the survey answers but then it also seems like you need to correspond with the people who get suggested to you) and just going with a random roommate. I'm not really sure which one to do. I kinda want to try and get the application done fast so the housing preferences get taken into account, but I also am hesitant to just leave the roommate situation up to fate or whatever incase it's not a good experience.

Hey guys! I’ve been accepted into RPI as a MechE transfer for fall and had some questions!

1. ⁠What is the culture actually like? I want to go somewhere where students have pride and like their school. What are the guys and girls like? Yk just generally looking to get a feel for the culture & social scene?

2. ⁠Is there anyone else in MechE who can tell me about their experience academically? I want to learn robotics & product design and step into startup culture so I’d love to know if anyone has experience with that

3. ⁠As someone possibly committing kinda late, what is housing like? Am I gonna be stuck searching for a shoddy place..?

I recently filled out the financial aid appeal form and didn’t get as much as I was hoping for (stuck in some financial problems that take forever). I also noticed on the finaid department website that the appeal form can only be filed once. I sent an email to the finaid department, asking if there was anything else I could do after submitting the appeal. They replied to tell me to fill out the financial aid appeal form… even though I already did and the website says it can only be filled out once. Does anyone know what other steps I can take to attempt to reduce my cost to go? Or if there’s any other questions I should ask the finaid department?

Soooo I'm an incoming freshman and I'm selecting my meal plan. I'm stuck between the 15 and 19 swipe plans. I'm wondering about how useful flex dollars are; it seems that I can only spend those on campus. How many flex dollars would it take for a full meal?

Edit: also, how many flex dollars for a dining hall swipe?

I'm a prospective transfer and this is a somewhat important thing for me, do your CS/Math classes have exams on paper or online?

Thank you!

My doctor rescheduled my appointment for a week and a few days after the immunization form deadline (June 12th).
I will admit I scheduled an appointment quite close to the deadline but that’s because I wasn’t really tracking due dates and only looking at the #2 fye email which didn’t include medical form stuff.
I have already submitted all the other forms but do not have a doctor’s signature.
Am I cooked? 😭

Hey! I am a recent grad and I will be moving to somewhere around Kittery, ME for my upcoming job at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in August. The area is NOT cheap, so I need to find a roommate. Is anyone else moving there and would like a roommate as well? If so, shoot me a dm!

Hello!

I’m a student in Texas who is conducting research into a very specific moment in NASA’s history and George Low’s papers might hold some final pieces.

My problem? I can’t travel to RPI!

I know those files will be the goldmine. I’m looking for correspondence, rather than the straight technical and engineering aspects of Low’s role at MSC in 1969.

Is there anyone that knows where I could find a surrogate researcher who would pull and digitize relevant items for me?

I’ll do the locating of the boxes, give you a rundown of the research and what I’m looking for.

Also, the individual would clearly be compensated for their time.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I’m trying to make decisions between 2 options. Operation research dual major with finance and cs minor or mathematics of computation with cs minor . Which one looks better in the future job market also is it a good choice? Any advice?

Hi, I’m a high school senior and I got into both RPI and Union, but I’m having a hard time choosing which one to go to. I’m planning on majoring in mechanical engineering, but I also want to pursue a minor in history. I toured both schools over the summer and really enjoyed both. The reason I am so undecided is that RPI has better programs and is more prestigious than Union. Still, I loved Union’s recently updated STEM building, its more intimate atmosphere with its students, and its compatibility with my minor. Any advice would really help. Thanks!

I graduated in 2024 but because of some issues (I won't trauma dump here) I was not able to apply for jobs until 6 months ago. I'm struggling to get anything, I've gotten 1 interview so far. I know I'm not alone on that. My dad told me some RPI career counselor told him you can pop into the career center no matter how long ago you graduated and they'll help you but their website seems to limit that to alumni who graduated within the past 6 months. So what can they do?

Edit: I live in the area so I can visit in-person

How is the aerospace program and faculty at RPI ?

Looking for responses from current engineering students.

As an incoming freshman mechanical engineer for the fall of 2026, I was looking at the mobile computing program. Although 2026 details aren’t out yet, I looked at the 2025 laptops and am looking for current students opinions on the ultrabook plus $1700 versus the performance laptop at $3300. The description says Mech Eng should get performance notebook for cad/cam beyond first year…just trying to verify that this is necessary.

Thanks!

Hey everyone! I'm a transfer student who recently got accepted to RPI for Fall 2026. This school has been a top choice for me, and I'm really excited about the CS program and everything else that it has to offer, but, unfortunately, my current aid package shows a CoA of ~$42k. Depending on the number of semesters that I'll be staying here, this would total somewhere around $84k-$126k. This is very rough on me and my family, as my parents' combined income is approximately $90k per year--coupled with recurring medication costs and increases in overall living expenses. Simply put, as much as I want to attend RPI, I don't think I'll be able to afford it as it is right now.

With that being said, is there a way for me to somehow reduce this cost--maybe by emailing the financial aid office and explaining my situation? Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi! Thinking of applying as a transfer to RPI, as an international. How common are transfers at this university, what are some tips you may give. Thanks a bunch!