The Rochester Institute of Technology

As a 2008 grad, I have to say RIT is a great academic school.. but it is very challenging. The school is based on a quarter system so the classes change every 3 months. If you are looking to attend with a Computer Science major, I would recommend taking a course or two in highschool to make sure you like it first.. otherwise you may want to drop it.

The social life is pretty non existant.. You will make friends, but it wont be the whole "college" lifestyle. I was OK with this, but if you are a partier, you may want to look at other schools.

Overall, I recommend RIT. I learned a lot and am using what I learned directly toward my career. The co-op program is also unbeatable.

Pros: Education, Job OpportunitiesCons: Social Life, Weather, Challenging

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

RIT is not for everyone. Honestly. It is career-focused, teaching you things you need to know once you get out of college. If you graduate from RIT, you are pretty much guaranteed a job right there because RIT has mandatory co-ops (kind of like paid internships but more serious) so you get set up in the kinds of jobs you'll be looking for after you graduate.

This is not a big party school. You can find big parties if you look for them, but this isn't the the place if you're looking for that. However, the college activities board is really good and there is usually some sort of event every night, and there is *always* something to do. Not everyone is a total reject geek. Not everyone sits in their room in the dark playing WoW. Sure, there's a small population that does, but most people are friendly and looking for the same amount of social interaction you are. RIT is a good school, but people who come here for the wrong reasons tend to complain about it louder than the people who like it can praise it.

1st Year Female -- Class 2010

Extracurricular Activities: A, Campus Aesthetics: D+

I am a freshman Industrial Design major.So far(end of second quarter) I love it here. I see people posting completely horrorable comments about this school and as I understand it it is all a matter of personal preferance and desire to achieve what it is that you are lacking.

Social life. There is not much of it. But it is not like a deserted island where everyone avoids everyone else. If you have desire to obtain friends/party you can. There are parties here, I don't go there so I don't know much about them. Though another detriment to making friends might be the fact that people here are nerdy/geeky/techy for the most part. Still, if you seek, you find.

Classes. Truthfully, I love my classes. They brutally rape me, but the amount of knowledge I gained is immense. Ity is again your choise of classes. There are easy ones, and there are good one. I chose the good ones and payed with my sleep...2-4 hours a night. On the contrary my room mate is constantly playing games, watches movies and hangs out with friends and still has time to get 8-12 hours of sleep a night.

Good classes are good and if you are willing to do the work, they are just as good/better as other leading schools in Industrial Design.(RISD..AASF..Parsons..) Teachers are good too. All of the ones I have had so far were very knowledgeable, supportive and lenient when needed.

Campus and weather. This year was warm, except for a few days. Generally it is cold,gray,snowing and a little depressing once in a whiule when it rains. But when you seriously work, weather gets lost somewhere outside of the warm dorm filled with happy music and the smell of fresh paint.Ending: If you are serious about learning something and are willing to dedicate yourself to it. This school is good for that..no distractions unless you want them. On the other hand, if you want to be a fully socially dependant person with no interest or knowlegde of what to do with life, please don't go here.

1st Year Male -- Class 2010

Innovation: A+, Surrounding City: C