Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (rpi.edu) was founded in 1824 in Troy, New York. Programs are offered in biomedical sciences, engineering, business, and computer and information sciences. More than half of its four-year graduates earn a degree in engineering. The student population is just less than 7,000, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 16:1.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (mit.edu) in Cambridge, Massachusetts is ranked seventh among national universities by U.S. News as of 2011. MIT consists of one college and five graduate schools. The graduate programs include mathematics, biology and earth sciences. MIT selectively admits about 11 percent of applicants and has a student-to-faculty ratio of 7:1. The university's mission statement describes "the essence of MIT [as] our appetite for problems--especially those big, intractable, complicated problems whose solutions make a permanent difference."
Founded in 1891, the California Institute of Technology (caltech.edu) is located in Pasadena. As of 2011, Cal Tech was ranked second for best undergraduate engineering programs by U.S. News. Cal Tech's mission statement is to "expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education." Computer information, physical sciences and engineering are areas of study offered. The student-to-faculty ratio is 3:1.
The Georgia Institute of Technology (gatech.edu), commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, was founded in 1885. Located in Atlanta, the Institute consists of six colleges. Its mission is to be "one of the nation's leading research universities, providing a focused, technologically based education to more than 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students." Engineering degrees were earned by 57 percent of its students in 2009. Georgia Tech admits 58 percent of the students who apply; its student-to-faculty ratio is 20:1.