Is RPI harder to get into than Duke?

Duke is harder to get into than RPI. RPI is selective too, especially for engineering and STEM-focused students, but it does not operate at the same level of overall admissions difficulty.

One big difference is the applicant pool itself. Duke attracts enormous interest from students applying to highly selective universities nationwide, including many with top grades, rigorous coursework, and standout extracurricular profiles. RPI’s pool is strong, particularly in technical fields, but it is more specialized and not as broadly compressed at the very top.

Another factor is institutional positioning. Duke is a major research university with strong demand across arts and sciences, engineering, public policy, and pre-professional paths, so competition is intense no matter what academic direction you are considering. RPI is best known for engineering, computer science, and technical disciplines, which makes it very compelling for a narrower slice of applicants rather than the same all-around level of national admissions pressure.

In practical terms for building your list, Duke should be treated as a very high-reach school for almost everyone. RPI is still selective and should not be treated casually, but for many strong applicants it sits meaningfully lower on the difficulty scale than Duke.