B-R High School junior wins prestigious scholarship. Will he accept it?

BRIDGEWATER – Scholarships can help ease the burden of college costs and can sometimes sway one's decision on which school to attend. Bridgewater-Raynham High School Junior Cole Bridges has some tough decisions ahead after receiving a great scholarship opportunity.

Earlier this year Bridges was offered the Rensselaer Medal, a scholarship worth $160,000 over 4 years from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. He was the only B-R student offered this medal this year.

He didn’t even apply for the scholarship, nor had he even heard of RPI. Teachers and administrators at B-R High School nominated him for the award.  “It came as a surprise.  I wasn’t even pursuing it,” said Bridges, who is from Bridgewater.

While by no means a free ride, $40,000 a year goes a long way to paying for all of the expenses associated with higher education.  He hasn’t accepted it, nor made a choice yet regarding his higher education path.  “I’m thinking hard about it,” said Bridges, 17, who only just began his college search.

What is the Rensselaer Medal?

Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is one of the oldest technological research universities in the country.

The Rensselaer Medal is STEM-focused as its purpose is to encourage careers in science, engineering, and technology, according to its website.

Only math and science students can be nominated for the medal.  Criteria for the nomination doesn’t include prior knowledge or interaction with the Institute.  According to RPI’s Admissions Department, the Institute relies on schools to tell them who are the best STEM-focused academic achievers they have.

Participating high schools can only nominate one junior student for the medal each year.

Around 5,000 schools worldwide partner with RPI to nominate a student.  On average, only about 2,000 of these schools submit nominations annually, based on RPI's strict criteria.

Representatives from admissions couldn’t say how many students nominated each year accept the medal and scholarship annually. However, about 10% of the Institute’s undergraduate class are recipients of the Rensselaer Medal, according to the admissions department.

The undergraduate resident student population for the 2022-2023 academic year at RPI was 5,823.

“It seems very exclusive,” said Cole's father John Bridges, who speaks with great excitement over his son being offered this opportunity.

According to the admissions department, the student is nominated in their junior year giving the student sufficient time to decide.

There is a medal awarded, but that’s only if you accept enrollment at RPI.  It’s awarded during the fall semester of the student’s freshman year during a special Honors Convocation ceremony.

Exceptional student

Bridges academic focus is computer science.  He explained he “always liked technology” and a freshman year course on computer coding “opened up my view into the field.”

He explained his high school career has yielded consistently good grades, with his weighted GPA is currently at 4.867 (4.0 GPA unweighted), with many of his classes being STEM-focused and AP level.

He is presently class president and a member of the National Honor Society. He said he’s currently tied for the highest GPA in his class.

Bridges is also the captain of the varsity soccer team, a member of the school's varsity track team and on the school's swim and dive team.

Plans

Bridges has not determined his future career path yet. Presently, he’s very interested in computer coding, application building, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.  He said he’s excited to take a cybersecurity course in his senior year.  After that, “college will help me explore.”

According to RPI's website, the cost of attendance for undergraduate living on campus for the 2023-2024 academic year averages around $82,000, which includes $60,000 in tuition.

Cole’s father John acknowledges the $40,000 annual tuition scholarship would help out tremendously.

Cole said “he definitely noticed some of their programs are pretty strong” at RPI, like IT and web science.  He said that even without the scholarship opportunity, RPI would still be an option.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Bridgewater-Raynham High junior Cole Bridges offered Rensselaer Medal