Looking back, it got better...
Written: Jun 03 '00 (Updated Oct 30 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Strong academics, great programs...
Cons: Sterile, cold, often boring...
The Bottom Line: Great academics, cold weather, nice (mostly) living arrangements, populated commercial area...a good choice for many.
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| xiphoid's Full Review: Rochester Institute of Technology |
Foreword
You may notice that my affiliation, major, and graduation year are blank. Well, rest assured that I did attend RIT. I attended as a college freshman, and left the school on a leave of absence during the second quarter. I then fully withdrew from the institute. During my time as a student at the school, I feel I've gained enough information about the quality of life at RIT to inform incoming students. Keep in mind, experiences will vary. This school might be perfect for you, or it might be your worst nightmare...
Campus Environment
Building Exteriors
I hope you like bricks. If not, be prepared. The entire campus is overflowing with dark red bricks. Hence deeming itself the 'Brick City.' Sound like I'm exaggerating? Sorry. I wish I was. It's very sterile.
Building Interiors
Freshman must live in the dorms, and after that, they move into the many apartments on campus...
Now that all of the dorms have been renovated, they're as new as they're gonna get. They're for the most part, clean and organized well. Although, due to the incredible irresponsibility of most of my classmates, nothing was ever clean. There was garbage everywhere, the floors were sticky, and strange smells seemed to emanate from the elevators. The rooms were a relatively large size for dorm rooms, just big enough for 2 people, and roomier when the beds are lofted.
Again, the dorms have all been renovated, so ignore the following...
The non-renovated dorms were downright awful. The carpet was worn, stained, and torn, as were the walls and ceilings. The beds were reminiscent of WWI cots, or old hospital beds. It was pretty terrible. Well, the dorms are supposedly all renovated now, so this shouldn't be a problem. But don't be surprised when you see piles of garbage in the hallways or spilled liquids on the elevator floors.
The apartments were a little old, but not terrible. The newly renovated ones were great, and came with all of the amenities, but were never available because of high demand. They also plan to renovate the other complexes, but don't hold your breath.
Oh, and read this There are too many students for the campus living to handle, so the unlucky students don't get a room on campus. They get to live in the nearby Radisson. It may not sound too bad, but with all of your luggage, electronics, and other essentials, it falls far from the dorm rooms.
Campus Social Life
There wasn't much going on for me. You have your run of the mill clubs and organizations, but I'm really not one for student clubs, so maybe it's not fair for me to comment on it. But, I really didn't find much activity or action. Especially as the weather got colder, no one seemed to ever do anything! Mind you, I'm not a party animal. I'm not into getting drunk and mingling. But, I understand that most college students are...and they should be warned against this school. If you're looking for parties, and a lot of gatherings, forget RIT.
I remember one particular night; a computer science student I knew was walking through the halls handing out fliers. They were messily put together by the Computer Science House. Well, the flier said "live music, food, etc..." and I love computer science nerds...so I was curious. Well, it turns out to be on one floor of a particular dorm, and the "live music" was a guy with an acoustic guitar and the "food" was a bowl of pretzels. Yeah, it was funny. I don't know about other parties. Once you get into the apartments I'm certain it's parties aplenty...actually I know this for a fact based on a recent visit.
I actually know some people who transferred out of RIT because there wasn't enough fun and partying. Even the fraternities don't party. I heard one of them chanting in the middle of the night, but that's about as crazy as it gets.
Keep in mind, I'm not saying that a lack of keggers is a bad thing! I'm not into parties and drinking and whathaveyou, so in tha respect, I was happy with the low party occurence freshman year!
Off-Campus Environment
A little boring. And most of my fellow classmates would back me up on that. Nothing to do, nothing to do. The nightly chant of Rochester students. If you don't have a car, forget it. Even if you do have a car, Rochester isn't anything wild. I live on Long Island, and it's pretty dull here. So, I really mean it about Rochester. I found it to be dull, especially in winter. It's suburbia...it was the same environment as where I live, same stores, same restaurants...just not a whole lot to do.
But you do at least have a few movie theaters, malls and shopping centers to choose from. Also, there are many places to eat...it is civilization.
Monroe County
Well, it's a county all right. On the campus bus line is a mall, and a whole bunch of shopping centers. The shopping centers have all of your run of the mill stores and restaurants...Old Navy, Blockbuster, Hooters, Ruby Tuesday, JoAnn Fabric, BJs, supermarkets, and yes...there is a Starbucks.
The thing I liked most, was the dollar theater. If you can wait a month or two, you'll only have to pay a buck or two to see those 'blockbusters' on the big screen.
City of Rochester
Ok, granted RIT is listed as residing in a "suburb." This is true. But it's also advertised as being minutes away from Downtown Rochester. Yes, Rochester is considered a city, but it seemed to be mainly business.
The 'city' is mostly office buildings and whatnot. Downtown isn't much more exciting. Maybe it's because I'm used to NYC. Rochester is small, and I know that there are some nice shops and cafes, but I suppose the dead of winter kept me from exploring.
I did go to the Arena downtown, which was pretty nice...
Niagara Falls
I had pictured Niagara Falls all my life to be a desolate, quiet, serene and beautiful waterfall. Well, it's not. Sure it's majestic, but you'll have to brave your way through an extremely tourist inhabited area. Not such a natural environment. The only reason people ever went there is because legal ages are different in Canada. Once you turn 19 you're good to go...
Safety
I never had a dangerous encounter on the campus. But if I did, I would pray to be near a campus Emergency Telephone. If not, well...who knows. The campus is rather dark at night. The paths are lighted, but you won't want to walk them alone. Granted, I did...but at that point I really didn't care. I was so tormented, that walking alone at 2am in 4 feet of snow was more fun than anything. Anyway, back to safety.
The campus really has no high security, since it's pretty enclosed into its own community. There are no check-ins, ID showing, or signing in and out of visitors. It really is it's own tiny, sterile, city...so safety wasn't a prime concern.
Students
Males vs. Females
The student body is diverse in many ways, but keep in mind that it's an engineering school...so, don't be stunned to see a ration of male/female 5/1. If you're a guy looking for a sea of women, look somewhere else. All the guys do is complain about the limited pool of which to choose from. Sorry.
Drive
Those Engineering and Computer Science kids can be crazy. This is a challenging school. It's not impossible to get an A, but don't slow down. The academic calendar is on the quarter system. The quarters are Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. Assuming you're not staying over the summer, that's three sections, which fly by like high school. If you need time to learn and absorb, this probably isn't your cup of tea.
Weather
Wow. If you absolutely love snow, and intense wind-chill, this is your school! I remember several inches of snow a day, and freezing temperatures. The fact that the school is built like a giant wind tunnel didn't help. The academic buildings are set far from the dorms, so freshman beware. Bring your skullcaps and about 4 layers of wool. And plenty of Chap Stick.
But seriously, during the academic year, the weather is mostly very dry and icy. It can get quite severe!
All things aside, the weather is plain depressing. I love being outside, and I eventually got used to the snow. But it makes you want to stay inside all the time. It got quite boring and repetitive, and since I didn't have a car, it made it difficult do do much of anything...I should have brough some hit cider!
Well, if you're ok with the cold weather, and you have a car, it makes RIT all the better. The most popular majors tended to be IT, Engineering, and many within the vast art program.
Recommended:
Yes
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