I typed this post up on my MacBook Pro in the back seat of a car on the way home from RPI; it’s fresh from my head and notes. I had a fun day, it’s a great school, I grabbed much more than a course guide, and I took plenty of photos and notes to share. Today, I share my notes.
After arriving in Troy, my parents and I found our glorious destination of a welcome parking lot where we were shuttled to the main facility for the Summer Visiting day. There, my parents and I were given the option to eat luxurious food. We chose turkey wraps, which my parents loved and I merely tolerated.
Then, my family and other families were greeted by the Dean of Admissions and Aid at RPI. He was a really nice guy, funny and genuine, too. He offered advice about getting admitted to RPI and other ’selective schools’, defined as schools with an admission rate under 50%.
He started with the notion that admission is a game of chance, and not to take it personally in case of rejection. He joked that he could kill everyone in the Freshman class, replace them with those who were turned down, and no one would notice. He explained that RPI does a holistic review for the admissions process including high school transcript, SAT scores, a recommendation letter, and extracurricular activities. The Dean said that every piece counts, but clearly stated that the high school transcript is the most important component at RPI. “What you took, and how you did,” he put it. Here’s the rest of his talk, broken down by category:
SAT. He said taking the SAT two or three times is sufficient, and that RPI takes the highest score from each section. Further, he believes that taking them six through nine times makes you look ‘psychotic’. He also added to switch up taking the SAT with the ACT, because often times students fare better on the other test.
Essay. RPI requires one essay.
- Don’t build yourself up by putting others down. I love this point, and think it’s something to watch out for everywhere in life.
- If you’re angry about something, put the essay down and walk away. He explained that he once got an essay where a girl entirely ripped into her ex-boyfriend. I’d love to read that.
- Pay attention. Don’t send your RPI letter to MIT.
Teacher recommendations. He admitted that ~25% of applicants at RPI are rejected due to their teacher recommendation. It was explained that RPI requires one recommendation from an academic instructor, and that a teacher from Junior or Senior year is preferred over one from one’s Freshman or Sophomore years. He said to be nice to teachers, give them plenty of time, and to hand them a résumé of sorts, to remind them of your positive qualities. Don’t forget Thank You Cards!
Interview. He said the most important thing is to smile, have a firm handshake, and to relax. Next, he assured everyone that their shoes would not be stolen throughout the course of the interview, and it isn’t required to check up on them. Look up, folks. Last, he said to have questions for the interviewer. Pretty basic stuff, but it always bears repeating. Interviews are optional at RPI.
The Dean took the time to raise a question frequently asked by parents. Should one take Physics and get an A, or take AP Physics and get a B? His solution: Take AP Physics and get an A. He also joked that going to RPI was like going to school with MacGyver, and in case of an emergency, liberal art students would starve while engineering students would think of a solution. I’m only sharing the information, not preaching it. 
I wonder where my blogging experiment fits into this. In all honesty, it probably doesn’t. At least it was helpful to me to have to go back and review my notes to share. I hope it’s helpful to someone out there.
We wouldn’t starve, we’d cry and then write a poem about it.
This is great, very comprehensive. Although I’ve found that colleges just may be (of course this doesn’t by ANY means apply to all colleges, don’t get me wrong) easier than you might think to get in to. When I applied to my college in April, (last minute, I know :/) I literally completed the enitre admissions application in one day. A long day, yes, but the essay, resume, everything had to get out, and fast if I had a prayer at getting in considering how late I was. No interview, not even a campus visit. It all boiled down to serously wanting out of the Plattsburgh deal. …And a week later, an admissions letter arrived even with some cash, all a great surprise to an April applicant. Messiah is pretty competitive, too. So you just never know. I was always terrified of the admissions process and skinny letters that determined my destiny, but sometimes colleges are picky and ridiculous, and sometimes they’re alright. So there’s a rather lengthy, perhaps to excess, contribution to the thread on admissions.
Well Christine, that’s *exactly* what I look for on this blog. Exactly. Bravo, and thank you.
Wow, that’s an amazing story. What’s the “Plattsburgh deal” you speak of? I’m shocked that you received a response that quickly; most likely though, they simply didn’t have enough students and you lucked out. Seriously lucked out. That assumption doesn’t belittle your accomplishment, I’m just saying that you had help from above with luck.
Thanks, Ricky! And yes, I agree, I definately recieved some serious divine intervention there. I think the help we speak of really played a role in Messiah’s usage of rolling admissions. Because there wasn’t an exact application deadline, I still had a chance of getting in, however slim that chance was.
Okay, last summer I became interested in SUNY Plattsburgh, an interest that was not well thought out and only increasingly provoked by an appealing offer: honors program and a scholarship yielding my college tuition bill to be $800 every year. I could also receive my master’s degree after 5 years there in Plattsburgh’s BA/MST program for teaching. So I figured that took care of grad school and is an overall simple way to get through college on a path to a set career.
What I hadn’t known for a long, long time was that Plattsburgh had quite a reputation. Now I realize that all schools have reps and whatnot, but the partying there is, well, often, this fact solidified by an 83 average allotting for definate admission in most cases. Many may disagree with me and I don’t blame them, but honestly, I think that average stinks, especially for high school.:( in a matter of weeks after months of an established plan, I began to look around with a thought of transferring after a year. I then discovered Messiah, which had a great reputation for academic rigor and seemed to have a more focused student body. After contact with two professors there, they encouraged me to apply, and I was in very quickly after that, and much, much more content with my college choice.
I never before paid mind to school rankings, but now I find them very important. It really isn’t about bragging rights or a nice college sweatshirt, it’s about finding a quality school that’s a good match socially, spiritually, and of course, intellectually.
I also discovered that talking to Dr. Hundersmarck not about the honors program can be a good thing. He told me that schools like to make enticing offers to ‘hook students in’ (complete with hook hand motion), although later on students find themselves unhappy.
So again, you never know. Admissions is a crazy thing!
That’s a story for the books, and I agree with what you did – trying to find a solution rather than being content with a less-than-great situation. Good for you, Christine!
Crazy thing, yes. Very very crazy.