The Rochester Institute of Technology

First off, don't come to this university if you cannot handle reasonable pressure. Secondly, disregard every comment here that speaks of non-existent social life - yes, quite a few people at RIT are nerds, but that doesn't mean they can't party. Apparently some of them really can't party, or play too much WoW, hence all these negative comments.

To be honest, RIT does not have a beautiful campus. Most people dislike the fact that there are so many bricks. The education, however, is decent - it's not going to blow your mind, it's easy enough to get A grades, and you don't learn much in freshman year.

Also disregard comments about there being "not enough single females". If you aren't a whiny introvert, you know that it's really easy both to find single girls and to get girls with boyfriends to break up (risky, though).My advice would be to take it easy, handle coursework with care, and find a good bunch of friends right off the bat. Too many people here hit the road running and trip over little things like skipping classes, there are other nuances to college life but I'm sure you'll find those out yourself.

1st Year Male -- Class 2011

University Resource Use/ spending: A+, Campus Aesthetics: C+

Reading the rest of the views, I have to say I really don't know what these people are talking about when they claim there is no social life. Personally, I can't remember one night spent sitting in my room doing nothing. Sure there were nights a group of us spent in my room (a large triple with 1 roommate missing), but thats by choice or because it was just a good place to drink.

The social aspect of RIT depends of you going out and making friends with A) the people on your floor or B) networking through classes or orientation your first week. My problem was that the people on my floor are whats known as 'cavemen' where they rarely left the room. There were 3 people on my floor (out of 12, it was a small floor) that I would associate with. The rest were people I had networked with on my own. My advice for you and the point of this? RIT's social life is what you make of it, if you go out of your room and meet people, you'll find some really great people, I sure did.

The faculty are amazing. I had one bad class my second quarter which was taught a professor who was disorganized. I complained to the department and it was looked into to my satisfaction, good enough for me. The rest of the faculty are amazing. They will stay after class, give you their personal screen names, and even pull all nighters with you in the labs while you work on projects. It dawned on me midway through my 2nd quarter that the teachers weren't just there because it was a job, they were there to teach and they even got frustrated when kids didn't show up to class because they were there to teach.

The campus itself isn't that bad looking. Sure it's brick, but in the fall and the spring, facilities management does a great job keeping the grass green and the trees blooming. The winter this year wasn't bad but obviously thats not normal so I can't really comment on that.

The surrounding area certainly isn't as great as NYC or Boston, but theres enough to do to keep you amused. A decent sized mall, a movie theater, Walmart and Wegmans(grocery store) are open 24/7, plenty of places to eat(I recommened Philips European Bakery if you like cakes), and downtown Buffalo and Rochester aren't very far. Honestly, who doesn't want to go to Canada occasionally, if you catch my drift.

The field house, while useless to many, provides great services to those who wish to use them. An olyimpic pool, a small lazy river, a 20 person hottub, and a large gym (which is usually crowded but you can find open time), also an indoor track, many basketball courts and other stuff. CAB also has events and people come to the school as well as movies every thursday night incase you and your friends can't think of anything.

The big concern a lot of people have with RIT is the girl to guy ratio. Plain and simple, 35% of the guys don't leave their room because they love their computers. That puts the ratio of guys to girls who leave their room just about on level. Theres plenty of good looking girls and guys so don't worry.

Parties, yes we have them every weekend, meet some upperclassmen, we'll tell you where they are.
The Bad stuff:

Trying to register for classes is a 6AM ordeal which can be very frustating, but apparently it's being fixed.

Gracies food isn't horrible, but its not great either. Luckily meal options and debit can save you.
The B-lot parking lot (the one for freshmen) is a 5-10 minute walk depending on where your dorm is, you get used to it, but when its cold...

Student Government has poor participation and seems useless, never really had to deal with them or thought they could be of much help.

Depending on how you look at it, the quarter mile is part of a great fitness plan, or a long pain in the ass to walk in the cold.

Conclusion:
RIT is what you make of it. I had a great year and couldn't imagine going to another school. The classes were great, some I skipped, but overall worth the money, the people who actually leave their rooms are dynamic and cool to hang out with. If your looking for a well known school and want to feel like you learned something, RIT might just be right for you. It helped me find a great Co-op just after one year, making double what I was the previous year.Any questions, comments, or want some more advice? Feel free to email me at (account for RITIRC and to prevent spam).

1st Year Male -- Class 2010

Faculty Accessibility: A, Innovation: B-

RIT is not a bad school at all. The academics are challenging, and there is plenty of help everywhere on campus in order for you to succeed. Our College of Computing and Information Sciences is home to some of the best computer-related programs in the nation, and the art college is also regarded as one of the best in the country. I'm very satisfied with my decision to attend here, and I plan on staying until graduation, without a doubt.

And contrary to those who say the party scene is non-existant, although that is not what college is all about, there's definitely parties going on if you're about that and you want to. The problem with the people who can't find parties is that they aren't socializing with anyone because they have the preconceived idea that the school sucks. If you know the right people, you'll be letting loose every weekend and having a good time. It is a dry campus, so drinking in the residence halls is VERY risky, but drinking in the on-campus apartments is allowed and the apartments are notorious for parties all the time and one riot we had in the past. Fraternities and sororities are also big on partying, both on and off campus.

So don't let the haters fool or discourage you; RIT is a very good school with challenging academics, great co-op programs, and excellent career-oriented education. The class size allows for a more intimate learning environment; the largest class I've had was only 60 kids, at most, and usually they're 20-30 kids per class. Also, there are plenty of women despite the 2:1 ratio of guys to girls which may sound discouraging. There are enough kids staying in their dorms all the time, except to go to class, to make the ratio seem much better than what it is statistically. During the week it's all business, but once the weekend comes it's easy to find fun things to do. Whether it's staying in your room playing videogames or drinking until 5 a.m., the weekend has what you need to get away from the stress. As long as you don't mind a little cold weather and snow, RIT is a great choice for anyone looking for a tech school OR an art school; coming here for liberal arts is just weird unless you're looking to double major in a tech major and a liberal arts major.

1st Year Male -- Class 2008

Education Quality: A, Innovation: B