TROY, N.Y. — The 1,090 members of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Class of 2008 begin arriving on campus today. Nearly two-thirds of the students come from the top 10 percent of their high school classes, a record 26 percent of the freshman class are Rensselaer Medalists, and the class’s average SAT score of 1321 is also a record for Rensselaer.

“As a top-tier world-class technological research university, Rensselaer offers students an outstanding education,” said Rensselaer Provost G.P. “Bud” Peterson. “Because of its strong academic tradition and the excellent quality of its student life programs, Rensselaer attracts bright students from across the country and around the world.”

Freshmen from 37 states and Puerto Rico and 33 countries are moving into residence halls and beginning a week-long program of welcoming events and team-building adventures, known as “Navigating Rensselaer and Beyond.” The events are designed to help ease the transition to college life by connecting new students to each other and to resources available on campus and in the community.

The Class of 2008 includes a record 115 legacies (students who are related to Rensselaer alumni). “There’s a wonderful message in that figure about a Rensselaer education, the possibilities it brings, and the longstanding connection Rensselaer makes with its graduates,” said Teresa Duffy, dean of enrollment management.

Students are arriving to a Rensselaer campus alive with renovation and new building initiatives. Events to mark the opening of the Institute’s new Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies will be held Sept. 9-11. Construction is under way on the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC). Some returning students will be moving into newly renovated residents halls. This summer renovation work was also done on the Harkness Field and Track, Robison Pool, and the Houston Field House. In the last year the Institute has opened the new Keck-Terahertz Laboratory, the Social and Behavioral Research Laboratory, and completed renovations on the Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center and the Darrin Fresh Water Institute.

Contact: Robert Pini
Phone: (518) 276-6050
E-mail: pinir@rpi.edu