Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Date: Jun 01 2006
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
STRENGTHS

I. Technical Knowlege

By far, I find the technical grounding that RPI has given me to be invaluable in my work experiences, and to supercede the training of my co-workers in both the IT and education realms. The education you get in systems design and work flow processes is invaluable to any field.

II. Brilliant classmates

To this day, my classmates are top in their field. The ones who are not "top" in terms of money have chosen instead to be "top" in terms of being on the cutting edge of what's possible in technology. They are exceptionally street/school smart, creative, collaborative, and generous. These are friends and co-workers for life.

III. Great work ethic

You will learn to work hard and work smart. If you want to. You can survive at RPI by just going through the motions (one camp). The other (more popular) camp works hard and collaboratively. Engineering and Science make it pretty hard to goof off. Management and EMAC make it easier, but the quality of those who make the easy choice are not reflective of the majority nor of the programs.

IV. Name Brand

For every job to which I have applied and been offered a position, RPI's name has been a deciding factor screening me in. For the technical jobs, it was a reinforcement of my technical and entrepreneurial abilities. For the education jobs, it was a proclamation of technical aptitude, and general academic excellence.

IMPROVEMENTS

I. Lack of social justice awareness

You don't learn much about yourself and your personal character/development at RPI. The Art of Leadership classes scratch the surface, but it would be great to have something more substantial integrated into the highly academically rigorous environment.

II. Troy, NY

Our surrounding town is quite poverty-stricken, and there is an interesting class dynamic between students and locals. There's not much to "do" in town, but I think that's beginning to improve.

III. Slow Social Life

For the most part, social life is lived vicariously through the Greek system and social networks (theater and a cappella groups are tight). You have to find the fun. And find the time to have it. There are, again, two camps: the "play LAN games" parties and the greek scene. Something for everyone.