So, I have been accepted to RPI which is very exciting since it was my “reach” school. I am being offered an “acceptance to their class of 2019 to begin January 2016”. I received the e-mail first which was a bit confusing. It did not lead me to believe at first that I was actually accepted (where was the "Congratulations!!..no excitement whatsoever). I had to read it along with my parents a few times and then go on the website to understand what the January start date was all about. Needless to say I couldn’t help but feel a tad bit let down. But I knew I was getting my “package” in the mail and so I waited for that. It did not say anything different from the e-mail and all they sent me was a brochure of the school (which I already have several of from all my visits) no other information regarding anything else was included in the package. Again, where is the excitement??? The overall tone of the letter was just, to me…lacking. It was lacking in excitement, lacking in enthusiasm, happiness, joy pride!!! It was just…flat. This is a college acceptance to a pretty competitive school (in my opinion) and this is how they inform their students of their acceptance? Or is this just the way they inform those offered the January start? Part of me couldn’t help but feel as if they were “throwing me a bone”.
I have been busting my butt for 5,6,7 years and have so much anticipation waiting for this time in my life to come. All the preparation, time, energy, stress, anxiety, especially over the past 8-10 months, it’s a huge deal don’t you think? And that was it??? Maybe it’s my own fault, I have my expectations up to high, I don’t know? Am I alone in this? Can anyone relate to what it is I am saying or am I making more of it than I should? Here is an example of what I am talking about, a friend of mine was accepted to Clarkson, his acceptance envelope actually cheered when he opened it up saying “Welcome to Clarkson!!!” How cool is that? Pretty exciting right? Definitely gets you psyched. I know, I have been accepted so I should just be excited and believe me, I am, I am damn proud of myself!! I do not mean to come across as ungrateful or unappreciative, like I said, I just thought it would be more exciting than this :-<
Well, I have to say - I have the feelings, somewhat of a let down…and this is for my son! He was also accepted for January. Really glad to be accepted at all, as this is a tough school to get into (I think anyways). We were pretty bummed with the January acceptance, but this wasn’t his #1 - he wanted WPI, which posted their results 1 week later - unfortunately he was waitlisted. After somewhat getting over the initial disappointment of a January acceptance (and researching such), we did send the deposit. 3 1/2 years at RPI is better than 4 years at a school he wasn’t excited about. Because we cannot make the 4/11 accepted Students day - we will be attending the alternative day this Monday 3/30. And boy do we have some questions… From what I have read on this site - there are a few with the January acceptance…my first question to RPI is, “Is the January acceptance because there is no room in the dorms?” The website stated that many Juniors and Seniors do study abroad so they then have room in the dorms. Well, if that is the case, I am thinking of getting him an apartment near RPI, so he can attend the classes like all the Fall starting freshman. I am hoping this is the case, then I will reach out to other January admits, to see if they want to share…Just one of many questions, though…How about Scholarships from outside entities - seems like these would be affected, how about Work Study?
My son was accepted for January, and I certainly felt like his “status” update was very “flat”:
“The Committee on Admissions has finished its review of your application for admission. At this time, we are offering acceptance to our Class of 2019 to begin in January 2016. Congratulations! You have every reason to be proud of your work and accomplishments, and we anticipate you reaching even greater heights at Rensselaer.”
Initially my son didn’t even notice the word “January”. After realizing the admit was for January 2016 - his first response was, “but I didn’t apply for January 2016”. We had never heard of January admits before. The “package” in the mail was a total letdown - boring letter - same old literature. I don’t mean to complain, especially knowing that some kids were waitlisted or rejected. But I have to wonder… Lots of my friend’s kids are waiting to hear from USC and they are blowing the roof off for those kids. We’re from SOCAL and are visiting RPI on a regular spring visit day - we’ll have lots of questions.
Thanks to all for posting - this is my first post!
@januarybites --I heard…not 100% but heard that being accepted in January is basically the next step before being wait listed. Not sure how accurate that is but it does make sense. If not, then I can’t help but wonder what is the criteria that determines which students are given a September start, with ALL the freshman of the 2019 class and what determines a January start with the 50-60 other freshman who are also being offered a delayed enrollment. And no where did I see anything regarding FA. Will another letter be coming in the mail with that information or does the lack of mention in the first letter basically tell me I do not qualify to receive any scholarships from the school? Isn’t this important information that I should be receiving whether I am eligible for a scholarship or not? I know I am new to all of this so maybe I don’t know how any of this works but there just seems to be a lot of guess work to this whole situation when there really shouldn’t be. Anyway, thanks for your reply. Congratulations and good luck to your son. I am sure he is going to be very happy at RPI
@FifthOfTen–as I said, I had to read the letter several times before understanding as I too did not even see the word January until my mom pointed it out! So glad it’s not just me. Thanks for your reply and congrats to your son. Good luck on your visit day. RPI is a beautiful campus
Congratulations is the 31st word and it should be the FIRST word! Whoever wrote that letter must be an extremely dry and boring person - sad. Really shocking when you think of it. Anyhow - my son has a 3.58 W GPA and a 34 ACT. He is not a straight A student but is naturally very bright. We haven’t received any merit award yet - but I am expecting one. I think every student who gets accepted should/will get some type of merit. Who can afford the retail price of 64K? I emailed admissions and they said that merit awards should be received (mail) by the end of the month. Good luck - I’ll post again with more news.
Reading as a disinterested party- this is very odd!
UC Berkeley admits for both fall and spring, but they do detail the options- get off-campus housing for a term and sign up for courses through UC Berkeley extension for the first term.
For RPI to leave you with so many questions is very odd. My first question is: “What was so amazing in your (or your DK’s) application that convinced RPI that you could handle a rigorous curriculum in 3-1/2 years, that most excellent students require 4 years to complete?” Or do they mean class of December 2019? Or do they expect you to start at a community college or online classes or something in September? Maybe you are just that good, and they expect you to spend 4 months on the beaches of Belize?
Congratulations. Happiness comes from within. Celebrate properly as a family- who needs an institution to celebrate along?
@ItsJustSchool…thank you for your reply. RPI did suggest to take some community college courses that would transfer(hopefully). And starting in Jan. leaves me out of all the meet and greet and excitement of moving into the dorm in Sept. and adjusting to campus life/classes with the rest of my class. IDK, just weird ya know? But you are right and thank you for your positive words. It is something to celebrate regardless and like I said before I am damn proud of myself, as I should be !!
It’s my understanding that RPI wants the January admits to either (a) join in January and then graduate in December of 2019 or (b) take classes at a community college during the fall semester and then hopefully catch up.
As the days go bye, just seems like I have more and more questions on the January admit… I haven’t received anything even mentioning financial or merit aid yet. When I talked about getting scholarships (in previous post), I was talking about non-RPI. My pace of employment offers a cholas ship, but just like a bunch we would like to apply for…they say, must be enrolled full-time (does January admit count for that?), also, they say, send in your 1st semester grades and we will send the check to RPI…(my s won’t have 1st semester grades). I he is allowed work study, wouldn’t most of the jobs be gone at that time (at least the good ones). I don’t want to seem ungrateful, we are extremely glad and proud to even be accepted…but like someone stated previously, it is just weird!! I am planning on having my son takes classes at a CC in the fall to catch up, but am a really hoping there ends up being openings in the Fall and January admits get first priority… I also agree with Drew17, the beginning days and the meet and greets are how you make friends…I am really hoping that the 50-60 kids are all really likeable. I have read some good points though about January admits, don’t know if any of these are true for RPI, but I am hoping. (1). They get a better dorm room, maybe even a single because the juniors and seniors away at study abroad and those are the rooms that are open, (2) if you make up classes in Fall 2015 at a community college, your grades will be better, I heard a C in physics at RPI is good, some people opt for January admit, to take the hard classes elsewhere, and (3), They tend to take the kids for Jan admit, that they know will have no problem adjusting or making up the classes. Trying to look at the bright side here, but ready to call RPI and tell that my son isn’t really that adjusted!! We Re attending accepted students day on Monday, I will fill you in on anything I find out and would be open to asking any other questions anyone else may have…
@januarybites --Have fun Monday and good luck, keep us posted. I think we all have very similar concerns and questions so any info you could share would be greatly appreciated Thanks!!
I asked specifically (via email) if there was anything my son could do to be moved to start in the fall. Here is their response:
"Congratulations on your son’s acceptance to Rensselaer! This year we have offered a cohort of student’s admission to Rensselaer for a January 2016 start date. This is a unique opportunity that gives your son the fall semester to travel, participate in an internship, volunteer or even take classes before matriculating in the spring to Rensselaer. We will not be switching students from January 2016 to Fall 2015. We have a phenomenal website that may help answer some questions you might have. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have in two weeks or over the phone! Welcome to Rensselaer Class of 2019! "
I’m not crazy about the January admit - but I suppose a person could turn it into a positive. Together we’ll figure this out! We need options! Thanks for sharing everyone.
@FifthOfTen --it is a positive…it is better than being wait listed or worse…rejected!! Everything will work out the way it was meant to. It is what it is and obviously they have no intention on changing it so turning it into a positive is the way to go. And finally some excitement with their “Congratulations!” LOL
One, the first word in my son’s acceptance letter was “Congratulations!”, after the “Dear John” part. He was accepted ED. No mention of August 2015 or January 2016.
Another thing - is there any chance AP credits matter? Would they actually look at that?
I would almost rather have a January admit for my son than a fall admit. But I doubt they gave that option for ED.
My take? If RPI is your child’s dream school (do you even wonder if any girls were put to January admission?), why not go for it? It sounds really unique, and the time can be made up = YOU the parent would save one semester of tuition and room and board!
@rhandco --you are right and I totally agree. The initial realization stung, I have to admit and like I said, for me, the acceptance letter and e-mail was a dud. I just got my acceptance to Steven’s Institute of Technology and the e-mail itself had “confetti” dropping down…something so simple but it was exciting!! LOL Steven’s is my #1 pick so hopefully if all works out in my favor that is where I will be in the Fall. I really loved RPI but I just don’t see it happening. Got a sweet FA package from Steven’s too. I have yet to hear from RPI regarding any of that. Good luck to your son, If he decides that is where he wants to be,it will be an amazing experience I’m sure
I’m a bit confused by the logic. If the January admits are getting the rooms of juniors or seniors, what about after the study abroad? The seniors will be graduating I suppose, but won’t the juniors be back?
Yes , but in the Fall 2016 when everyone has new room assignments anyways. But maybe it’s just the senior rooms…I’m not sure. We are over the initial shock of the January acceptance. My husband is especially happy because of the $30,000+ we will be saving. As for the AP’s, they do count if RPI accepts them. My son is planning on having the Bio taken care of his 1st semester through AP, and maybe a couple HASS classes that wouldn’t come into play until later years. Already been looking at classes at colleges in our area, that RPI accepts the transfer credits. The site RPI provides is pretty good to see the equivalents classes at which schools. My son should be pretty caught up if this the is route we go. I am going to ask if Jan admits can get their own apartment and take the Fall classes at RPI. I would put him on the meal plan and hopefully find some other January’s to share for the 4 month period. That way they could be part of the RPI campus from day 1.
