2001 Data
| | RPI | CalTech | Carnegie Mellon | Case Western | Clarkson | CO School of Mines | Cornell | Georgia Tech | Harvey Mudd | Johns Hopkins | Lehigh | MIT | Rice | RIT | Rose-Hulman | WPI |
| Applications | 5,542 | 3,365 | 16,696 | 4,663 | 2,584 | 1,943 | 16,538 | 9,476 | 1,524 | 9,129 | 8,037 | 10,490 | 6,740 | 8,310 | 3,034 | 3,216 |
| Acceptances | 3,748 | 515 | 5,211 | 3,429 | 2,082 | 1,571 | 4,288 | 5,157 | 516 | 3,132 | 3,851 | 1,787 | 1,578 | 5,954 | 2,040 | 2,461 |
| Acceptance Rate | 67.6% | 15.3% | 31.2% | 73.5% | 80.6% | 80.9% | 25.9% | 54.4% | 33.9% | 34.3% | 47.9% | 17.0% | 23.4% | 71.6% | 67.2% | 76.5% |
| Newly Enrolled | 1,112 | 214 | 1,318 | 738 | 724 | 635 | 1,950 | 2,225 | 174 | 1,015 | 1,112 | 1,030 | 660 | 2,254 | 404 | 705 |
| Yield | 29.7% | 41.6% | 25.3% | 21.5% | 34.8% | 40.4% | 45.5% | 43.1% | 33.7% | 32.4% | 28.9% | 57.6% | 41.8% | 37.9% | 19.8% | 28.6% |
| SAT Scores* | 1,315 | 1,520 | 1,375 | 1,340 | 1,170 | 1,240 | 1,400 | 1,335 | 1,465 | 1,405 | 1,275 | 1,485 | 1,420 | 1,225 | 1,285 | 1,265 |
2018 Data
| | RPICalTechCarnegie MellonCase WesternClarksonCO School of MinesCornellGeorgia TechHarvey MuddJohns HopkinsLehighMITRiceRITRose-Hulman| WPI
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Applications | 20,402 | 8,208 | 24,351 | 26,642 | 6,885 | 12,661 | 51,324 | 35,612 | 4,101 | 29,776 | 15,622 | 21,706 | 20,923 | 19,335 | 4,471 | 10,584 |
| Acceptances | 8,770 | 543 | 4,170 | 7,794 | 4,894 | 6,228 | 5,448 | 8,037 | 594 | 3,417 | 3,488 | 1,464 | 2,328 | 12,765 | 3,049 | 4,402 |
| Acceptance Rate | 43.0% | 6.6% | 17.1% | 29.3% | 71.1% | 49.2% | 10.6% | 22.6% | 14.5% | 11.5% | 22.3% | 6.7% | 11.1% | 66.0% | 68.2% | 41.6% |
| Newly Enrolled | 1,778 | 231 | 1,572 | 1,393 | 797 | 1,199 | 3,295 | 3,116 | 234 | 1,413 | 1,275 | 1,114 | 960 | 2,847 | 501 | 1,280 |
| Yield | 20.3% | 42.5% | 37.7% | 17.9% | 16.3% | 19.3% | 60.5% | 38.8% | 39.4% | 41.4% | 36.6% | 76.1% | 41.2% | 22.3% | 16.4% | 29.1% |
| SAT Scores* | 1,415 | 1,555 | 1,500 | 1,435 | 1,255 | 1,370 | 1,465 | 1,465 | 1,525 | 1,505 | 1,360 | 1,535 | 1,505 | 1,300 | 1,375 | 1,380 |
17-Year Change
| | RPI | CalTech | Carnegie Mellon | Case Western | Clarkson | CO School of Mines | Cornell | Georgia Tech | Harvey Mudd | Johns Hopkins | Lehigh | MIT | Rice | RIT | Rose-Hulman | WPI |
| Application Growth | 268% | 144% | 46% | 471% | 166% | 552% | 210% | 276% | 169% | 226% | 94% | 107% | 210% | 133% | 47% | 229% |
| Acceptance Rate | -23.6 | -8.7 | -14.1 | -44.3 | -9.5 | -31.7 | -15.3 | -31.9 | -19.4 | -22.8 | -25.6 | -10.3 | -12.3 | -5.6 | 1.0 | -34.9 |
| Yield | -9.4 | 1.0 | 12.4 | -3.6 | -18.5 | -21.2 | 15.0 | -4.4 | 5.7 | 8.9 | 7.7 | 18.5 | -0.6 | -15.6 | -3.4 | 0.4 |
| SAT Scores* | 100 | 35 | 125 | 95 | 85 | 130 | 65 | 130 | 60 | 100 | 85 | 50 | 85 | 75 | 90 | 115 |
Group Comparison
| | Group Avg. | RPI |
| Application Growth | 205% | 268% |
| Acceptance Rate | -19.0 | -24.6 |
| Yield | 0.2 | -9.4 |
| SAT Scores | 88 | 100 |
RPI’s results are not meaningfully different than the group averages. The data also implies RPI’s weak yield is likely holding back any further lowering of its acceptance rate. More generally, the data implies exogenous factors have helped all STEM schools post improved results (see College Board Research Brief and “The STEM Enrollment Boom” article).
* Schools provide 25th and 75th percentile ranges for reading and math test sections. The ends of each range were averaged and the two were added to approximate median total score.
Sources: IPEDS Database, Common Data Sets, Annual Reports, Annual “Fact Books,” and direct input from schools.
