The enrollment process for the Class of 2012 is under way with the completion of the first round of Early Decision Application and Accelerated Programs notifications. Already, the number of students applying to RPI has increased: The number of Early Decision applicants is about double that of last year, coming in at about 700. Some early trends that have been observed are that there are more students applying from outside of the Northeast and there are increases in the amount of students applying to non-engineering degree programs.
According to Director of Undergraduate Admissions Karen S. Long, RPI Admissions is also offering a second round of Early Decision for students who were unable to commit by the November 1 deadline. As this is a new practice, it is too soon to estimate the size of the second-round applicant pool. Applications for the second round of Early Decision and for Regular Decision will be due on January 1 and January 15, respectively.
One of the reasons for the larger pool of early applications is the accidental e-mail that was sent out by the Office of Admissions at the end of August. The e-mail had told a couple hundred prospective students that they had received the Rensselaer Medal, which is accompanied by a $60,000 scholarship should the recipient chose to enroll at the Institute. In an attempt to ameliorate this, the Office of Admissions offered scholarships to any student who received this e-mail and was accepted under Early Decision a scholarship
In addition to addressing the current influx of applications and considering the makeup of the Class of 2012, RPI Admissions is also considering new outreach practices for next year’s admissions process. According to Long, there are plans for an international recruitment trip in the upcoming fall. Admissions has already worked with current faculty members who have traveled internationally for academic purposes. Long anticipates the expansion of all of these outreach efforts as they consider applicants for the Class of 2012 and for future classes.
