Rindge entered Harvard College in 1875, joining the Art Club, Glee Club, and Hasty Pudding Club, and rising to the top of his class as an inductee of the Institute of 1770, "one of the most important social honors on campus" whose purpose was "to identify the one hundred members of each class most fit to join society, all by a process of cascading elections." His appointment opened the door for him to join the A.D. Club, "one of the oldest and most exclusive final clubs on campus" in which he met and became close friends with Theodore Roosevelt, whose conquer of his own health ailments inspired Rindge, leading to his realization that "he, too, was strong enough to travel the world and seek out the experiences that would give him the sense of making up for lost time."