Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Admissions

Interested in attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute?

On this page, you'll learn how difficult it is to get into Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, we'll dig into high school grades and test scores, and you'll find out the factors the school considers when reviewing applications.

59
%
Acceptance rate
3.8
Average High School GPA
1428
SAT Midpoint
January 15
Regular admission deadline
Test Optional
Testing

Admission Rates

Is it difficult to get into Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute?

59%

Using the most up-to-date data on record, Rensselaer accepted 59% of applicants. We classify this as somewhat selective.

In the most recent year, 15,938 people applied and 9,330 were accepted.

Applied/Accepted
Women
3153 / 5389 (59%)
Men
6177 / 10549 (59%)

Acceptance rates at colleges can change over time, with some becoming more competitive and others accepting more students. Here’s a look at the acceptance rate trend for the past 2 years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute:

100%
88.0
76.0
64.0
52.0
40.0
2023
2024

Acceptance rates at schools can vary depending on if the student is in-state, out-of-state, or international.

17%
Enrollment of those accepted
Medium
Yield rate

Of those accepted, 17% ended up enrolling at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, making their yield rate Medium. The yield rate is the percentage of accepted students who enroll at the school. You can use the yield rate to find out how coveted a school is for the students who apply to it.

Application Factors

You can increase your chances of getting into Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by looking at what the school considers during the application process.

Here are the things Rensselaer considers:

Grades & Testing

Do you have the grades and test scores to get into Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute?

3.8
Average High School GPA
1428
SAT Midpoint
Test Optional
Testing

Grades

Students who recently attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as freshmen had an average unweighted high school GPA of 3.8. 55% of freshmen who attended Rensselaer were in the top 10% of their graduating high school class, and 87% were in the top 25% of their graduating high school class.

These are the high school grade point averages (unweighted) of students who enroll:

High School GPAs
4.00
33%
3.75-3.99
38%
3.50-3.74
19%
3.25-3.49
7%
3.00-3.24
2%
2.50-2.99
1%

Rensselaer is Test Optional. This means scores are considered if they are submitted, but applicants do not need to submit scores.

Applicants submitting SAT Scores

57%

Applicants submitting ACT Scores

13%
SAT Math Scores
25th Percentile
690
Math Mean
730
75th Percentile
780
SAT Verb Scores
25th Percentile
670
Verbal Mean
698
75th Percentile
740
SAT Composite Scores
25th Percentile
1370
Composite Mean
1428
75th Percentile
1490

Application Deadlines

These are the deadlines for applying to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Application deadlines are subject to change, so please verify all deadlines with the school.

Regular Admissions

January 15
Regular admission deadline
March 11
Application notification

Early Decision

Early Decision is a program in which students commit to attend a school if they are accepted. Some schools have a higher acceptance rate for Early Decision than regular decision. Rensselaer's Early Decision acceptance rate is 59%, compared to 59% overall. If you’re sure you want to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, you might consider applying Early Decision.

November 1
Applications Due
December 11
Notification Date
59%
Early Decision Acceptance Rate

Mistakes were made

(But not by you!)

These are the top 10 mistakes people make when searching for colleges

Top Ten Mistakes

CollegeIQ relies on data from government and private resources. Always confer with the individual college or university for the most recent data. Learn more about our data and methodology.

© 2025 Whittier Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service