<p>I was accepted, and they are giving me pretty nice aid so I think I will most likely end up going to RPI. </p>
<p>I'm curious about you guys- if you are going, why? And can you list a basic rundown of your stats? I am only interested in the people who have committed or are most likely going to commit to RPI. I would like to gauge the 2013 entering class.</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch!</p>
<p>Yup, I’m 90% sure I’m going.</p>
<p>Most of it is because of the money. I got a merit scholarship worth about 35K. It lessens the burden on my family by so much and my dad’s pretty happy that he won’t have to pay nearly as much. Also, as a teenager who wants to be independent, it’s also away from home.</p>
<p>My stats are posted in the new results thread, where you should also go and post your stats since you were accepted as well. ;)</p>
<p>My son is almost certain this is where he will go, he is waiting until after accepted students day to make a final decision.</p>
<p>My D is going, and her merit package knocked our cost to state tuition levels, which was our objective. She is a Rensselaer medalist with 2180 SAT, 3.95 GPA, mostly AP classes, and many extracurriculars/community services. We are still waiting to hear about several scholarships that will hopefully bring expenses down further.</p>
<p>We are 50/50 on the decision. We are waiing until after admit day.</p>
<p>Pros</p>
<p>Many great programs so if DSs changes major, all are good
Well regarded gaming program
Great aid
ROI considered great.
Easy access to NYC for fun adventures and national travel.
Smaller than other schools considering
DSs geeky crowd
Will be a good intellectual bump/eye opener.
Social sounds good considering lopsided M/F
Theybwant my son.</p>
<p>Chances just went up to practically positive! We got the result of our financial aid appeal back, not much net gain, but they did convert a portion of his loans to merit award. He was not comfortable with taking out $8500 in student loans for his first year :eek:</p>
<p>Please advise on what sort of thing you said to get them to switch the type of aid.</p>
<p>Thx</p>
<p>My husband called and found out exactly who he should send it to and how he should do it. They said email was fine. I did not read the letter he wrote, I felt I was already too heavily invested in the process to be objective. Since we were asking for more merit aid as opposed to need, he said he reiterated my son’s accomplishments, explained some obstacles he had overcome, and his continued involvement in his community service related EC. And basically told them that how much my son loves RPI! He did not follow any kind of form letter, it seemed like it would be too fake. They did tell him you have one shot at it, so include everything you think would make a difference. It took 7 business days for them to get back to us. They ended up converting $1700 worth of loans to merit award and gave him an additional $1300. So not a ton, but I still think it was pretty great of them.</p>
<p>1) Really good aid package that brought the total cost down to less than 30,000 per year (with some small loans), which I feel is a great deal for a private school like RPI.</p>
<p>2) Small size which allows for more attention from professors (and better chanches at getting good letters of rec), smaller classes, and help with the demanding engineering curriculum. </p>
<p>3) Offers other good programs outside of engineering in case I switch out, which I don’t plan on doing, but you never know.</p>
<p>4) Good location for me. 3 hours from home so going home on breaks is not a pain but I still feel like I’m going “away”. Nice campus as well and lots to do in Albany. </p>
<p>Really it was between RPI and my state school (Stony Brook) and I felt like I would be much happier at RPI despite the extra $10,000 or so more it would cost per year. </p>
<p>95% sure I’m going to attend but next weekend’s admitted students day will seal the deal if I enjoy it.</p>
<p>I submitted my deposit! 
There are a lot of things that I like about RPI–the academics, work ethic, environment, student body, et cetera. Plus, their GSAS program is incredibly impressive. My financial aid package (after an appeal in which I was given an extra grant and a laptop) sealed the deal.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t think my academics were very competitive with the rest of the pool, so I’m still trying to figure out how I got in. I have a 3.5 uw (with only one AP, but my school only offers 5 or 6 in total anyhow) with a 1920 SAT superscore (with math ironically being my lowest). However, I’m not arguing! Ever since I set foot on RPI’s campus for the first time, I knew I had to go here.</p>
<p>My son submitted his deposit yesterday. He really liked accepted student’s day. So to answer OP’s original question, gpa was approximately 3.6/4.2, ACT 35, 800’s on subject tests. Only 3 APs (which is normal at his school), almost all of his others classes were honors. Glad that part is done!</p>