WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE E-9

100 Institute Rd.
Worcester, MA 01609-2280
Tel: (508)831-5000
Admissions: (508)831-5286
Fax: (508)831-5875
E-mail: rgvoss@wpi.edu
Web Site: http://www.wpi.edu/

Description:

Independent, university, coed. Awards bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and post-master's certificates. Founded 1865. Setting: 80-acre suburban campus with easy access to Boston. Endowment: $314.1 million. Research spending 2003-04: $11.7 million. Educational spending 2003-04: $14,868 per student. Total enrollment: 3,817. Faculty: 351 (232 full-time, 119 part-time). Student-undergrad faculty ratio is 12:1. 3,708 applied, 75% were admitted. 55% from top 10% of their high school class, 86% from top quarter, 99% from top half. 23 National Merit Scholars, 117 valedictorians. Full-time: 2,764 students, 24% women, 76% men. Part-time: 104 students, 20% women, 80% men. Students come from 42 states and territories, 35% from out-of-state, 1% Native American, 3% Hispanic, 2% black, 6% Asian American or Pacific Islander, 5% international, 0% 25 or older, 60% live on campus, 1% transferred in. Retention: 92% of full-time freshmen returned the following year. Academic areas with the most degrees conferred: education; computer/information sciences; biological/life sciences. Core. Calendar: 4 7-week terms. ESL program, services for LD students, advanced placement, accelerated degree program, self-designed majors, independent study, double major, summer session for credit, part-time degree program, adult/continuing education programs, co-op programs, graduate courses open to undergrads. Off campus study at Colleges of Worcester Consortium. Study abroad program. ROTC: Army, Naval (c), Air Force.

Entrance Requirements:

Options: Peterson's Universal Application, Common Application, electronic application, early admission, early decision, early action, deferred admission, international baccalaureate accepted. Required: essay, high school transcript, 2 recommendations, SAT and SAT Subject Tests or ACT. Required for some: interview. Entrance: very difficult. Application deadlines: 2/1, 11/15 for early decision plan 1, 1/1 for early decision plan 2, 11/15 for early action. Notification: 4/1, 12/15 for early decision plan 1, 2/1 for early decision plan 2, 12/15 for early action.

Costs Per Year:

Application fee: $60. Comprehensive fee: $39,294 includes full-time tuition ($29,930), mandatory fees ($200), and college room and board ($9164). College room only: $5288. Room and board charges vary according to board plan and housing facility.

Collegiate Environment:

Orientation program. Drama-theater group, choral group, student-run newspaper, radio station. Social organizations: 100 open to all; national fraternities, national sororities. Most popular organizations: student government, Masque (drama group), music groups, intramural sports, ethnic clubs. Major annual events: Homecoming/Parents' Weekend, Traditions Day, Winter Weekend. Student services: health clinic, personal-psychological counseling, women's center. Campus security: 24-hour emergency response devices and patrols, student patrols, late night transport-escort service. College housing designed to accommodate 1,242 students; 1,260 undergraduates lived in college housing during 2003-04. Freshmen guaranteed college housing. Options: coed, men-only, women-only housing available. George C. Gordon Library with 275,299 books, 109,800 microform titles, 7,822 serials, 2,614 audiovisual materials, an OPAC, and a Web page. Operations spending 2003-04: $2.9 million. 700 computers available on campus for general student use. A campuswide network can be accessed from student residence rooms and from off campus. Staffed computer lab on campus.

Community Environment:

See Clark University.