The Rochester Institute of Technology

RIT is a great school for any fine arts studio major looking for something a little different from what the typical art school offers. When I was researching other schools (Pratt, the Art Institutes, etc) I found that a surprising amount of them didn't offer many non-art classes. For someone who wants to graduate knowing about more than just the arts, that was a deal breaker for me. RIT is also a great school for those who get along better with nerds and geeks than with hipsters (although we have both!). The honors program here is competitive and stimulating, you'll be provided with a lot of great resources and you'll meet a ton of interesting people. If you have the opportunity to join and live in the honors dorms I would recommend it. We have a lot of really fun art electives (non-majors can take classes in glass, metals, ceramics, woodworking, printmaking and more!). All of these things--the classes, the people, and the overall environment--make RIT a unique school for the arts.

I can only guess that RIT is going to continue to grow and develop their arts department. Based on information from my professors (Who are pretty much excellent across the board) the department has vastly improved since it first began, and it looks as though it will keep on improving. The art department is really what you make of it. If you work hard and pursue the opportunities that come your way you'll learn a lot. If you slack off and try to work the system, you might do well in school but you're not going to do well once you graduate, not to mention how much money you'll have wasted. From what I can tell, the teachers in the art department don't care if you're a slacker, because you're really only screwing yourself.

I would understand not loving RIT if you were looking to go to a party school, but honestly, it's about who you know. If you have a good group of friends there will always be something for you to do. And for those complaining about the ratio, just... Stop. There are a lot of really awesome single women at RIT (Have they never been in the art building?). The people complaining about how they're single because of the ratio generally are the type of people who would be single at any school.

While RIT is not exactly a thriving metropolis, we are close to the city of Rochester, where there are many galleries, museums, and theatres to keep you busy. RIT itself has Gallery R, a student run gallery featuring student and alumni work. We recently changed locations and the new place is very close by to some of the bigger Rochester art spots. RIT also participates in First Friday, which is a city-wide event the first Friday of every month, in which galleries and other artsy locations hold openings with great artwork, free food and drink, and entertainment. You might walk in to a stunning photography exhibit or into a crowded rave. Either way, it's fun and it's free (RIT even provides a free bus to students to shuttle us downtown and between the different buildings!)One warning: If you're not sure what you want to major in, this is not the school for you. Unless you're wavering between art and technology, you should probably go somewhere else where you'll have a lot of options.

2nd Year Female -- Class 2014

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

Overall, this school gets mixed reviews and many seem to give it a bad reputation in areas where it doesn't deserve any. Like almost any place you will go, you will find that what you get out of a school is what you put in.

The Male:Female Ratio:

Okay, this is beyond a doubt my biggest peeve with RIT's students. Everyone complains about the lack of women but the numbers barely show much of a difference anymore. Perhaps 4-5 years ago there was a huge issue with it, but my freshman class came in with a near 50-50 mix and subsequent classes have also. The issue is that the mix does not follow through when it comes to majors. A majority of the technology majors are filled by mostly men, thus why these people say that there are few girls in the school. These people also most likely rarely go to the events that do occur on campus, which are not as rare as you would be led to believe.

Social Life
This really revolves around who you make friends with. It is impossible to compare any aspects of the general social atmosphere to a school, but I shall try as many others have. There are plenty of on-campus parties and only a few actual get broken up by campus safety. Typically this happens when people are being too loud or get into fights outside the apartment. If partying isn't your scene there's still plenty to do. There's an on-campus movie theatre that typically shows something every week. There's poetry readings for those so inclined and plays every so often that are really quite good.

If sports events are your venue, then RIT might not be so forgiving. The hockey team is usually great and fun to watch. The games are also fairly inexpensive for students. I haven't been to any of the other official sports games so I can't speak to them. However, the intramural teams on campus are alot of fun and open to everyone. Its easy to get on team. All you have to do is find out when it is and show up. Like most intramurals, its more about having fun and making friends than competition. Also, Rochester has amazing wind at winter. If you like to kite or snowkite than there are plenty of places in the area. There are concerts every so often on campus too although not too many. However, these are usually top notch bands even if I don't like some of the music that they play. Many of them are mainstream and fairly popular.

4th Year Male -- Class 2009

Useful Schoolwork: A+, Individual Value: C

I love this school! But that may be because I'm not a fan of drunken college parties. If you want to go to college to party, I wouldn't got to RIT. Or if you don't have a clue what you want to study, I wouldn't go to RIT. RIT's majors are very specialized, and require a certain level of loving what you do, or you won't last.

I transferred to RIT from the university of Denver. University of Denver cared more about their lawn care than their students. But RIT, I can see the money go straight back to the students. The Facilities are very well equipped with the latest and greatest and open for the students to use.

I'm more comfortable socially around nerds. RIT is a huge nerd school. And their biggest club is Anime Club with 200+ members. They really have a great selection of clubs to be in. In addition to Anime Club, I've also gone to Ballroom Club, Taekwondo Club, and Improv Club.

RIT also has a great selection of gym classes to take. Tap, Ballet, Ballroom, Ice Skating, swimming, rock climbing...etc. That are all really cheap. I like to take gym classes to force me to exercise. I appreciate the huge selection. University of Denver didn't have any classes, except for dismal selection of classes that were open to the public to take and cost a ton with no discounts for students.

I'm a New Media Design Major. The teachers are awesome! They all have their own work outside of their teaching, but they still make time to help you outside of class. And they make you feel like the job prospects are good. Our teachers are always getting inquiries about us from companies and in the spring my major brings in a ton of companies looking to hire RIT design students.

4th Year Female -- Class 2009

University Resource Use/ spending: A+, Education Quality: F