College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

NYMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #392 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the 73rd percentile nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a private nonprofit university in Troy, New York, built around engineering and computer science. Return is among the highest we track, and the degree mix is overwhelmingly technical.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model adds for the factors it measures and subtracts for what it cannot explain, and the STEM component adds to the measured share.

Affordability is below the levels seen at many peers. The spread between the lowest and highest income bands is wide, and the published cost is high, so the net price a family sees depends heavily on aid.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid program is also the largest, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

RPI at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
63.5%
Six-year completion[2]
83.6%
Four-year earnings[3]
$98,311

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$28,212
Median student debt[4]
$23,750
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$52,241

RPI rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a private nonprofit university in Troy, New York, enrolling 5,714 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the top third of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, with return as the strongest .

The university admits 63.5% of applicants, a rate below the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 90.7% return for a second year and 83.6% finish within six years.

Both figures run well above the peer medians of 83.4% and 68.8%. An estimated 5.3% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes a large majority of the student body.

The four pillars sit far apart. Return is the strongest (94th percentile), while affordability is the weakest (6th percentile).

Mobility and access fall between them (77th and 48th percentiles respectively), creating a profile where strong graduate outcomes coexist with a high net price.

Return is the clear high point in this profile, placing Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Azimuth’s 94th percentile among nonprofit four year institutions. Azimuth puts mobility in the 77th percentile and access in the 48th percentile.

Affordability is the weakest pillar, at the 6th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Strong return and mobility measures sit beside a much weaker affordability result, so outcomes and price measures point in different directions.

19.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, the measure of financial access at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Those students complete at 81.3%, 2.3 percentage points below the rate for the cohort as a whole.

For access, Azimuth ranks the university #767 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #341 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $12,250 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with a Pell completion rate that runs close to the overall rate.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

RPI rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#392

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 77
Access & reach
National percentile: 48
Affordability
National percentile: 6
Return on investment
National percentile: 94

Top-ranked majors

  1. Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians#1
  2. Architecture#5
  3. Design and Applied Arts#5

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / RPI briefing

RPI cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the published cost of attendance is $82,404, setting a high starting price before aid. Tuition and fees are $64,081, and room and board add $18,120 to the published budget.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $36,228. Average aid reduces the sticker price by $46,176, and aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $27,371; Rensselaer’s average is $8,857 above that figure. Azimuth ranks the university #1,327 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The aid discount is substantial, but the resulting average cost remains above the peer benchmark.

The published cost of attendance at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is $82,404, but the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, tells a different story. For families earning under $30,000, the is $24,078, rising to $28,212 for the $48,001–$75,000 band and $42,541 for those earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $18,463. Azimuth ranks the university #1,327 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a savings of $46,176 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $36,228, which is $8,857 above the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Tuition and fees alone are $64,081, with room and board adding $18,120. Borrowers who complete a degree leave with a median of $23,750 in federal student loans, $449 below the peer median of $24,199.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $270 a month if repaid over ten years. Nearly all undergraduates borrow: 96.8% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $52,241.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$28,212

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at RPI

Most undergraduates at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute take federal loans, so the completion debt figures matter for families weighing the university's cost. 96.8% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Among borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $23,750. For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $24,199, and the university's median is $449 below it.

For separate parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $52,241. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 55% of graduates borrowed from any source, including 54% with federal loans and 15% with private loans.

The average cumulative amount per borrower was $39,539, with averages of $22,381 for federal borrowers and $66,262 for private borrowers.

Graduates of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute earn a median of $98,311 four years after completion, a figure in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,250 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome at the 87th percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $79,295 in a downside case to $136,706 in an upside case, with $98,311 as the typical outcome. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $23,750 in federal student loans, $449 below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $270 a month.

For the separate population of Parent PLUS parent borrowers, median borrowing is $52,241. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $270 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$23,750
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$52,241

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$270/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$664/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / RPI briefing

RPI career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Return is a leading part of the picture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Azimuth puts its return pillar in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,250 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are in the 87th percentile nationally. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $15,907.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $3,657. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $12,096.

Four years after completion, median earnings are $98,311, in the 97th percentile. For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median, the middle value, is $68,250; the school’s figure is $30,061 above it. Above-expected earnings and the peer comparison point the same way.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduates reach median earnings of $98,311 four years after completion, a strong early outcome for the earnings cohort. The figure covers 1,399 federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled.

Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,250 more than the model expects for similar students.

This is earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. The typical scenario matches the median earnings figure.

An estimated 25.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. High median earnings and above-expected earnings point in the same direction.

The return picture starts with median earnings of $98,311 four years after completion; Azimuth places that figure in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, putting the institute $30,061 above it.

Graduates earn about $12,250 more than the model expects for similar students. That is an earnings-beyond-expectations result—the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students—in the 87th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $15,907. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $3,657.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $12,096. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $79,295 in the downside scenario to $136,706 in the upside scenario.

Azimuth ranks Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute #84 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Higher earnings than peers and the positive model gap point in the same direction.

Computer Science is the largest program, with 284 degrees awarded and median earnings of $141,528 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #30 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field, and its median is 1.70x times the national median for that field.

Program choice comes with a wide modeled earnings range: the downside scenario is $79,295, the typical scenario is $98,311, and the upside scenario is $136,706. These scenarios are modeled from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

Among programs, Computer Science completers earn a median of $141,528 four years after completion; Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians completers earn $125,531, and Computer and Information Sciences completers earn $115,100. The scenario range and program figures both show that earnings vary by field.

Borrowing sits below the comparable-college median, though the price families face remains higher. At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, borrowers who complete with federal student loans have median federal student loan debt of $23,750.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the median is $24,199; the university is below that benchmark. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $270 a month if repaid over ten years.

The term earnings beyond expectations means the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. Graduates earn about $12,250 more than the model expects for similar students.

For first-time full-time Title IV aid recipients, average net price, what recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $36,228, above the $27,371 peer median. Above-expected earnings and below-peer borrowing point in the same direction, but the higher average net price remains part of the decision.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$15,907
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$3,657
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$12,250

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / RPI briefing

RPI acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

For applicants, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute reported an admission rate of 63.5%, below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In practical terms, the rate is the share of the reported applicant pool that was admitted.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 14,356 first-year applicants, 9,655 admitted applicants, and 1,394 enrolled first-year students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
63.5%
25th percentile
1380
Median
1450
75th percentile
1500

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / RPI briefing

What are the largest majors at RPI?[12]

At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians is among the ranked fields on four-year earnings, making program choice central to the return picture. Its median earnings are $125,531 four years after completion, with 80 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #1 nationally within its field. The more moderate-earning ranked fields show a different range.

Architecture reports median earnings of $75,551 and 57 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #5 nationally within its field. Design and Applied Arts has median earnings of $87,358 alongside 41 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #5 nationally within its field. These figures show higher and more moderate earnings across the ranked fields.

Engineering accounts for 45.9% of bachelor’s degrees awarded. Azimuth assigns national ranks to 15 bachelor’s programs, while earnings data cover 18 fields.

Azimuth ranks Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians #1 nationally among nonprofit four year institutions in its field. Architecture ranks #5, with 57 degrees awarded and median earnings of $75,551.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute awards the large majority of its bachelor's degrees in two families: Engineering, at 45.9% of degrees awarded, and Computer & Information Sciences, at 21.4%. Mathematics & Statistics is a distant third at 5.4%.

Across the university, 83.1% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields. Azimuth ranks 15 programs.

18 programs have published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Computer Science, at 284 degrees awarded, followed by Mechanical Engineering at 212 and Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering at 112.

The highest-ranked program is not the largest. Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians is the second-highest-earning program, with a median of $125,531 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #1 in New York within its field. Architecture ranks #5 nationally and #1 in New York within its field, with median earnings of $75,551.

The program awarded 57 degrees. Design and Applied Arts ranks #5 nationally and #1 in New York within its field, with median earnings of $87,358.

Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians reports the second-highest median at $125,531, from 80 degrees awarded, and Computer and Information Sciences follows at $115,100 from 46 degrees awarded. The earnings picture is consistent across the top of the program list.

Four-year earnings in fields where graduates commonly pursue graduate study understate later trajectories. Mathematics and Electrical Engineering round out the highest-earning list at $105,768 and $104,596, and both are among the largest programs by degrees awarded.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Computer Science 284 degrees awarded
$141,528
Mechanical Engineering 212 degrees awarded
$92,952
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering 112 degrees awarded
$94,750
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering 107 degrees awarded
$104,596
Mathematics 83 degrees awarded
$105,768
Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians 80 degrees awarded
$125,531

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / RPI briefing

How does RPI serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion and modeled earnings give Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute a favorable mobility picture. Among the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 83.6%, while Pell recipients complete at 81.3%, below the overall rate by 2.3 percentage points.

Azimuth places its mobility pillar in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 87th percentile.

Graduates earn about $12,250 more than the model expects for similar students. High completion and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

For applicants, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute presents a middle-range access picture: its admission rate is 63.5%, and 19.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. The private nonprofit university in Troy, New York enrolls 5,714 undergraduates; an estimated 5.3% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places its access pillar in the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The enrollment profile combines a moderate admission rate with a smaller estimated transfer-in share.

06 / RPI briefing

What colleges are similar to RPI?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with RPI.

Admissions peerUniversity of Massachusetts-Amherst59.7% admitted
Comparison with RPI
MeasureRPIUniversity of Massachusetts-Amherst
Peer earnings · 4 years$98,311$78,620-$19,691 vs RPI
Average annual net price$36,228$22,383-$13,845 vs RPI · lower cost
Admission rate63.5%59.7%
Explore University of Massachusetts-Amherst →
Higher-admission alternativeWentworth Institute of Technology91.2% admitted
Comparison with RPI
MeasureRPIWentworth Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$98,311$95,027-$3,284 vs RPI
Average annual net price$36,228$34,170-$2,058 vs RPI · lower cost
Admission rate63.5%91.2%
Explore Wentworth Institute of Technology →
Nearby alternativeUnion CollegeNearby option · NY
Comparison with RPI
MeasureRPIUnion College
Peer earnings · 4 years$98,311$81,583-$16,728 vs RPI
Average annual net price$36,228$34,561-$1,667 vs RPI · lower cost
Admission rate63.5%43.9%
Lower-cost alternativeDartmouth College$29,519 average net price
Comparison with RPI
MeasureRPIDartmouth College
Peer earnings · 4 years$98,311$111,883+$13,572 vs RPI
Average annual net price$36,228$29,519-$6,709 vs RPI · lower cost
Admission rate63.5%5.4%
Explore Dartmouth College →
Similar profileLehigh UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with RPI
MeasureRPILehigh University
Peer earnings · 4 years$98,311$101,748+$3,437 vs RPI
Average annual net price$36,228$36,931+$703 vs RPI · higher cost
Admission rate63.5%25.9%
Explore Lehigh University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings