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Graduate AdmissionsWhat is the application deadline? In order to give you full consideration for financial aid, we need to receive all your materials by January 1 for fall admission or August 15 for spring admission. We will not look at your application until we have received all required documents. After the deadline, we will look at your application whenever we receive all required documents, but the later it is, the less likely it is that there will be aid available and that we can get the decision to you in time for you to make arrangements to enroll. How do I apply for financial aid? There is no separate application for financial aid. On the admission application, just indicate that you want to be considered for aid, and you'll be considered for all types of RPI aid available. RPI aid includes fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships. For non-RPI aid, such as external fellowships and federal student loans, contact the institution offering the aid to apply. For example, to apply for federal student loans (available to US citizens and permanent residents), go to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. What are the chances I'll be admitted? What are the chances I'll be granted financial aid? Research. Our graduate program is research-oriented. We are seeking students with research experience in an area related to the research done by the department. When you apply, you should indicate on your application which research group you wish to apply to. A list of research groups is available at http://www.cs.rpi.edu/research/groups.html. Financial aid is normally given to the applicants with the strongest potential to make a research contribution to the department. Because it takes some time to get up to speed as a research group member, those most likely to make a contribution are those who will stay for a PhD, or M.S. applicants who have already joined one of our research groups while an undergraduate. If you are seeking an M.S. and are more oriented toward business applications than academic research, you may be a better fit for our Hartford program or for a degree in Information Technology. Academic background. An undergraduate major in Computer Science is not required, but some academic background in Computer Science is needed. At a minimum, applicants should have taken the equivalent of the Rensselaer course CSCI-2300 Data Structures and Algorithms. You should also have some math background, including courses in calculus, discrete structures, and linear algebra. Students applying for the specialization in Computational Science and Engineering should also have studied elementary differential equations, and numerical computing. Students applying for the specialization in Computational Molecular Biology should also have taken introductory organic chemistry (CHEM-2210 or equivalent) and introductory biology. Students applying to either of the specialization areas may be admitted even if they have not taken all the background courses, but they will be expected to make up the knowledge after enrollment. This may require taking courses beyond the normal degree requirements. An academic background in Computer Science is more important than professional experience in the field. GRE. There is no required minimum GRE score. The average GRE scores of admitted applicants for Fall 2008 were Verbal 560, Quantitative 776, and Analytical 4.4. However, applicants should not place too much importance on these numbers and should keep in mind the following points:
TOEFL.
In the case of non-native English speakers who are exempt from the TOEFL requirement because they have been studying in the US, phone interviews may be required at the discretion of the Graduate Admissions chair. General chances. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. In fact, because we have hundreds of applicants with outstanding qualifications, we must even turn away many who have undergraduate degrees in the field as well as very high GRE scores and grades. Often what distinguishes admitted applicants from other highly qualified applicants is research accomplishments. For Fall 2008, we received 355 applications to our Troy campus graduate degree program. Fifty-four applicants were accepted, and 35 received aid offers. Do you offer financial aid in the spring semester? Do you offer financial aid to international applicants? Do you offer aid to MS students? Financial aid is offered to international and domestic students in both
the Fall and Spring semesters. What kind of aid is available to first year students? Financial aid for new students is usually in the form of a teaching assistantship which pays for tuition and provides a stipend for living expenses. Research assistantships are usually awarded to students after they have been enrolled in the program for a while, but occasionally a new student with significant research experience is awarded a research assistantship. A few fellowships are awarded to outstanding students applying for fall admission. These fellowships most often go to domestic applicants. Do I have to take the TOEFL? The TOEFL is required for applicants whose first language is not English, except for those who have been in the US as full-time students for the past two years. If you have been in the U.S. for a while but not as a full-time student, the TOEFL may be waived based on an interview. After the Admissions office receives your application, contact Terry Hayden (518-276-8419, Lally 208, haydent@cs.rpi.edu) for the interview. The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) may be substituted for the TOEFL. The minimum required score is 7.0. Only the academic format is acceptable. Do I have to take the GRE General test? The GRE is not required for students who have received or will receive a BS in Computer Science from RPI. If you have taken the GRE but your scores have expired, we will sometimes accept photocopies of your old scores. If this applies to you, please submit a copy of your old scores and a letter requesting a waiver along with all your other materials. For all other applicants, waivers are usually not granted. We do not waive the GRE based on an applicant having already received another graduate degree. Is the GRE Subject test required or recommended? The GRE Subject test is not required. Most of our applicants don't take it. For those that do take it, it is not weighted heavily in the admissions process. It could be beneficial to take it if you feel that your Computer Science knowledge is greater than what is indicated by your transcript. Is the TSE required or recommended? No. The TSE is not taken by most applicants and failure to take it will not decrease your chance of admission. If I apply online, can my recommenders submit hard copy letters? Yes. Do I have to submit two copies of my documents? We used to require two copies of your application documents, but the process has been changed. Only one copy is required now. Will you accept a photocopy of my test scores or transcripts? The Admissions office will consider your application incomplete until official copies are received. However, the Computer Science Department will review your application with photocopies. If you are admitted and choose to enroll, official copies will be required. Will you waive the application fee? The application fee is not required for Rensselaer students, alumni, or staff. For others, it will not be waived. My school does not compute rank/GPA. Is that okay? Yes, just submit your transcript. What address shall I mail my application materials to?
Rensselaer Admissions Can I send my materials directly to the department? No, your materials must be processed by Admissions before they can be reviewed by the department. If you send your materials to the department, we will then send them to Admissions, and then after Admissions processes them, they will send them to us. You can save a step and speed up the process by sending your materials to Admissions.
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Admissions
