It is common wisdom that gorgeous, costly, and well-known colleges must, in turn, come with low acceptance rates as if to say that it is an exclusive honor to be a part of them. So when such a gorgeous, costly, and well-known college like the Worcester Polytechnic Institute has a high acceptance rate, that seems fantastic, but it only makes you think: why?
Why is WPI’s acceptance rate so high? This article will help you alleviate any concerns you have and guide you to making those surprisingly high chances even higher.
What is Worcester Polytechnic Institute Known For?
What is Worcester Polytechnic Institute Known For?Worcester Polytechnic Institute is a private research university located in, well, Worcester (That’s without the ‘h,’ mind you), Massachusetts. It is honored to be part of the United States’ first engineering and technology universities in 1865, when Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone was the most impressive technological achievement. You can tell they were on the ball with what the future holds for future researchers, innovators, and students.
With such a notable history, Worchester Polytechnic Institute is no small college. Their mission, as stated on their website, is to take in passionate and innovative students who want to make their potential ideas and dreams into reality and be willing to weather the storm by asking tough questions and coming up with clever solutions. WPI is a university for students who not only love science, mathematics, and technology but students who feel like they can make it.
But can you make it is the question? Is WPI hard to get into?
Is Worcester Polytechnic Institute Hard to Get Into?
With all of the details, status, and money that the minds behind the Worcester Polytechnic Institute put into it, you would think it’s an ultra-exclusive university to get into, on par with the state’s most famous universities. But in reality, this is not the case.
WPI has a surprisingly high acceptance rate of 60%. The early acceptance rate is even higher at 71.7%. More than half of the people who apply for WPI can get in. For comparison’s sake, the average acceptance rate for a college in the United States is 68%. While the acceptance rate for Worcester Polytechnic is lower than average, it still boasts excellent chances for anyone looking to join. To bring up another comparison, those who want to join the University of Texas at Austin must contend with its astonishingly low rate of 28.7%. Suddenly, WPI is looking much more attractive.
The University of Texas at Austin is, like WPI, very prestigious. Also, like WPI, students who can make it into UT-Austin have a high chance of graduating. This means that WPI is a relatively easy college to get into.
This begs an important question: why is Worcester Polytechnic Institute so easy to get into? Is there a reason to be alarmed that such a prestigious and praised school allows a relatively high number of students into its fields?
Why is WPI’s Acceptance Rate So High?
Worcester Polytechnic Institute is, as we’ve stated, a private research university. These universities are typically the sort to pay for themselves; because of this, WPI has a high tuition of around $40,000 a year. For another comparison to make things clearer, Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is another private research university that shares similar characteristics with WPI, including a high acceptance rate and a high cost of tuition. These colleges give a lot to support their students but may also ask for something back.
However, please do not take this to mean that Worcester Polytechnic Institute is behind in academics. It is indeed worth its high tuition. It is a clear example of how a high acceptance rate is not necessarily evidence of an easy or cheap school to get into. However, it is still worth noting why WPI has a high acceptance rate. Reasons include that the university has to endow its payments to stay running. Private research universities primarily focus on how their students and professors produce and publish research for future students and educators.
However, WPI is less insistent on publishing research than other universities, taking priority as a college of learning and growth. However, in turn, WPI’s results are more lucrative and focus on the economic benefit of results those companies and other institutions can put out immediately. Graduates who leave WPI have an average starting salary of $72,951, which is a good result for students who want to get into work.
In other words, Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s acceptance rate is so high because of how the college runs itself compared to other similar colleges, which is thankfully not a cause for alarm like some may think.
To get a better idea of what it will take to get into WPI, let’s look at its admission requirements for students. What will a student need to turn their Worcester Polytechnic Institute admission into an acceptance letter?
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Admission Requirements
A good idea of the kind of students WPI is eager to accept and join their ranks is through their admission requirements. The university’s home page gives several tips and guides for succeeding in admission, including credit requirements and a timeline of application so that a student can present the best popular application. We will go into how you can get into WPI in the next section, but for now, we will outline the admission requirements and other details worth noting.
The first detail is the specific academic requirements listed on the website. Specifically, for a student to join WPI, they must have completed the following:
- Four years of mathematics, which includes pre-calculus classes,
- Four years of English reading and composition,
- and two years of lab science.
These are typical requirements for many colleges.
What WPI accepts in their students regarding scores and class rank is more interesting. The average student that WPI accepts has graduated high school in courses with a strong emphasis on math and science, as we’ve made clear earlier, with an average GPA of 3.92 and whose class rank by graduation was in the top 9$. Additionally, WPI is a “test-blind institution,” meaning that standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT do not factor into admissions.
WPI is a college that, despite its acceptance rate, does want students who achieve many high marks and are willing to take even create chances while they are at the university. If you are interested in becoming one of their students, what can you do to help guarantee a spot?
How to Get into WPI: 3 Tips to Improve Your Chances
It would be best if you had a good idea why WPI’s acceptance rate is so high. You must think that it is effortless for you to become one of Worcester’s future researchers and alumni. However, an attitude like that will get you nowhere. 60% is an above-average chance, but it’s still a chance; a student can fail that chance and not make it into the university if they do not meet what WPI expects.
What can you do to make that 60% chance closer to 100%? We have three straightforward tips and advice that will make your chances of success much more likely.
Time Your Application
WPI, like every college, has a deadline for a student to apply. While having a good application and transcript is good for getting in, it means nothing if you dawdle for too long to make an effort. Additionally, some schools have an option for students to enter their applications early: this is known as “early decision” and “early action.” The primary difference between the two, besides whether a college has both or neither of these options, is that early decision plans are binding, meaning that if your early Decision goes through, you have to attend the school. Early Action, however, is non-committal, which is an excellent option if you are unsure of your chances of success and want to leave space for another college.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute not only uses multiple Early Decision and Early Action periods but are both a month or two before the standard application form. If you want to enroll in WPI, it would be in your best interest to apply for Early Decision (if this is the college you want to go to) or Early Action (if you want to leave yourself space to apply to other colleges) for the Spring and/or Fall semesters.
Study for Success
Academic requirements and success are some of the first things a university or institution looks at when deciding who to accept into their school. Keep this tip in mind if you think your test scores or grades are an obstacle to your chances of success.
Develop a tight study schedule to turn your test scores from Bs and Cs to As and A+s. Developing this habit will be especially useful if and when you can get into WPI because you can replicate your studying success. Also, your SAT and ACT scores can be repeated as many times as you want, so if you think you can delay your enrollment, you can try to achieve a higher score to make up the difference you need.
Gather as Much Information as Possible
For the last tip, this is one that many people overlook: even if you are not currently a student of WPI, you can go out there and collect more information on the institute to better your chances of success. You can always look up information and details online, but getting a second-hand account from people currently attending the school is a privilege many other students do not know how to seek.
Speak to the college staff, faculty, and professors to gain an idea of what they come to expect out of their students, as well as how difficult it would be to attend the university at all. You can also speak to other students attending WPI or the alumni who graduated from there to see what it took for them to become a part of the college. With this information, you can gain an almost precognitive understanding of the challenges you may face and become more prepared.
Wrapping Things Up: Why is WPI’s Acceptance Rate So High?
Why is WPI’s acceptance rate so high? Despite the college’s prestige, they want students to join them. Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s mission is to turn potential students into scholars and researchers, and there is no point in playing games when there is research to do. Joining WPI will still not be an easy feat, but so long as you follow our tips, you, too, will become a researcher at Philadelphia’s finest research institute!
