Wendy Lin-Cook is the vice provost for enrollment management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
U.S. News: What’s your best advice to a student stressing over their application to RPI?
Lin-Cook: Be yourself! RPI is a place where your authentic self is celebrated.
- We look beyond your transcript to understand who you really are: your curiosity, resilience, creativity.
- Show us a passion project you pursued independently, obstacles you’ve overcome or contributions you’ve made to your community.
We’re not looking for perfect students who fit a mold, but a diverse community of problem-solvers with different experiences.
- Don’t stress about having everything figured out or presenting a polished persona.
- Instead, be genuine about what excites you and what you hope to explore.
- The RPI students who thrive bring their whole selves and aren’t afraid to ask bold questions.
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U.S. News: How can high school students be sure enough about their future path to choose a more narrowly focused school like RPI?
Lin-Cook: You don’t need to have your future mapped out; you need to be curious about solving problems and ready to explore.
- RPI gives you the intellectual tools and real-world experiences to thrive wherever technology and innovation intersect with your passions.
RPI isn’t as narrowly focused as you might think, as technology touches every industry and career today.
- What we’re really teaching is how to think – problem-solving, analytical reasoning and adaptability.
- Our unique Arch program reinforces this versatility: Students spend a semester in experiential learning through internships, co-ops or research in health care to finance to entertainment to sustainability.
- Many discover unexpected career paths this way and return to pursue dual majors combining technical skills with business, arts or emerging fields like quantum computing.
U.S. News: How are artificial intelligence and other tech advances changing RPI’s programs?
Lin-Cook: RPI researchers have been at the forefront of advancements in AI and machine learning technology for years.
- In partnership with IBM, for instance, RPI faculty are developing the algorithms for the next generation of AI platforms and the hardware they’ll run on.
- AI is a core focus of RPI’s Future of Computing Institute, a hub for interdisciplinary research in advanced computing.
AI is already deeply integrated in RPI’s curriculum.
- AI is part of fundamental computer science coursework and its own minor. Students in any degree program can pursue an AI minor, from engineers to artists.
- As the first university in the world to host an IBM quantum computer on campus, our students work at the forefront of future-defining technologies.
Student organizations, such as the RPai club and the quantum computing club, offer hands-on experience with cutting-edge technologies.
- Across these different environments, students at RPI learn to build with AI tools while critically examining their ethical implications and limitations.
