To my knowledge, the department did not even look at the applications of those who scored below a 750 on the GRE Math this past year, so I do not think that what you are saying is quite accurate. At the same time, I know that
CMU only accepts people around 790, so there is a difference. Beyond that, I am not sure what the application procedure is.
I know that the new department head has been restructuring and a lot of that is starting to make a big difference. Any school is a decision that you need to research, and Poly is definitely geared more towards the blend of qualitative and quantitative thinking, so those of you who are looking for a ton of
C++ will be disappointed. That said, there is a lot of exposure to stochastic calculus if you take the computational track.
It's just a shame that no one from Poly is really on this website to defend it. I just don't have time, but whenever I make it on here, I find that the department is grossly misrepresented. The alumni who are disappointed with their experience have a fair argument, as I have heard that it has had an unstable history, but the department is actively reworking the program and hopefully it will start to integrate the alumni into activities and alter their perception. If you are a Polytechnic Alumni, please let me know your information and I would enjoy speaking with you further.