@retiredfarmer I wouldn’t exactly put RPI and WPI in the same “caliber” of schools. WPI is barely ranked top 90 for engineering and is only top 60 in general according to US News. RPI is top 40 overall and top 30 for engineering. WPI also conducts significantly less research than RPI (like a third of what RPI does), has a significantly lower graduation rate (only 76% graduating in four years compared to 82%, accepts 49 percent of applicants (so roughly half), and the class metrics, in general, are much much lower (1315 versus 1420 SAT, 68% versus 78% in the top 10%, etc). An 100 point difference in the average SAT score is a very large deviation, even if scores aren’t the only factor in admissions and this doesn’t even consider the number of APs students take and their average scores. I’m willing to bet many more students at RPI came in with a lot more APs and higher scores on those exams. Also, even if you did work in the admissions office, neither school is “need-blind.” I’ll leave that to be dissected but anecdotal information about someone wealthy being rejected doesn’t change that. My argument is that RPI’s financial aid budget is A LOT larger in comparison to the number of students so need does not need to be considered as much during the admissions process.
https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/us-news-college-rankings-yes-they-matter/?_r=0