The Rochester Institute of Technology

I don't know what it is about this school. It's a great place to learn, tops in many of its degree programs. Most students are eager to learn and very motivated. But over and over again, I have seen friends - some with only a year left to graduation - leave RIT for other, less highly ranked schools.

It might be Rochester itself. The weather is frequently overcast and drizzly. The area around the school consists of highways and shopping malls (although the campus itself it quite nice). Downtown Rochester is run down and depressing.

It might be RIT's quarter system. You get one- or two-week breaks at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and in the spring, so you are never on break at the same time as your friends at other schools. This was something I never took into consideration when choosing a schhol. To my surprise, it does make a big difference.

It might be academic pressure. The quarter system means you cram a semester's worth of learning into a 10-week period. The pace can be brutal, especially the final two week of each quarter.

Social life? There are things to do if you look for them. This is not a party school. If that's your goal for your college years - to party as much as possible - go elsewhere. But RIT has its fair share of on-campus events, and there are bars and clubs near campus.

The reason I am very positive about RIT is that I CAME HERE TO LEARN. I'm not overwhelmingly concerned with the weather or the city or my social life. I wanted to go to a school that would give me a top-notch education, and I feel RIT has provided that. I'm excited by my classes, challenged by my professors, and I learn something every day. My program (photography) is highly regarded in the professional community. Photographers are so impressed when I tell them I'm studying at RIT that I feel like I'm attending the Harvard of photography schools.So RIT can be a compromise. There are negatives and positives, but the quality of the education I'm getting outweighs the negatives by far.

3rd Year Female -- Class 2008

Education Quality: A+, Surrounding City: C-

I transferred to Rochester Institute of Technology after finishing a couple of years from the University of Hawaii. Yes, the two campuses were very different in terms of the weather and demographics. Academically, I love RIT and I am glad that I went to that school. Upon graduation, I took fond memories and career-oriented skills with me.

I learned to be an independent learner, taking charge of my own education and direction in life, while I was a student at RIT and living in Rochester NY. In the midst of all the complainers and lazy students at RIT, I did not let their negativity bother me. They tend to be bitter because of the cold winters and lack of motivation.

RIT is a tough school and it trains you for real-life situation. If you do not do an internship (which for some majors is a requirement, but it was not for me), you will not learn about potential career paths (and what to avoid). I did several internships as a student and gained a lot of valuable insights. RIT encourages students to participate in internships and co-op, which attracted me to the school.

RIT is face-paced, which is quite different from what I was used to in Hawaii. But I wanted a faster pace of life, which I got in RIT. I got to meet wondeful people and lifelong friends. I was able to also travel through various parts of the country because of friends, internship opportunities, and scientific conferences: Niagara Falls, Toronto, New York City, Charlottesville VA, Boston, San Diego, Washington DC, New Orlearns, Seattle, North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and other places. I got to go to many of these places for a reduce price because of traveling with friends and acquiring travel funds to attend conferences. If you work hard, you can play hard as well.

I love the RIT fieldhouse. The gym is awesome! I love the sauna and jacuzzi too. Those are the things that kept me very warm in the winter.

If you are a go-getter, an over-achiever, very motivated, and you know what you want out of life, then RIT would be the thing for you. If you don't know what you want, you won't succeed at RIT. I think that RIT is mostly tailored for those who have a good idea of what they want to do or is at least motivated to explore around. I think I was able to take advantage of what the school has to offered.

Some of the students at RIT are sometimes anti-social and uniquely eccentric. The dorks or geeks of high school strive in here. I was a dork in high school and I felt comfortable and at home at RIT. I got to meet people like me there with the same passion that I have for science and technology. There are social activities to do here on campus, but some students don't take advantage of it though. I hate how some students complain that there's nothing to do there when there were stuff to do on campus. Some would just stay in their apartment or dorm room and play on the computer when they could have been meeting people and hanging out. RIT sometimes attract some loners and some anti-social people and I just hope some were able to find people they can relate to just as I have.

I miss the computers and internet connection at RIT. You get hook on the high speed and the amazing computers there. When you leave the campus and go home, all other internet connections icluding cable is just too slow. You get so spoiled in the quality of technology in school.

I like the RIT Library and the coffee shop in it too. It's a cool hang out place and to study late in the evening. The art students are cool and balances all the techies.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

I am a sophmore student in computer Engineering, I originally came to RIT for Information Security and Forensics, but soon realized that networking was not for me, and fell in love with the hardware/software aspect of RIT.

I would say that the snow is a serious part of RIT life, it makes winter travel a pain if your not used to the northeast. Plus 8am classes when its 9* outside sucks, especially if your walking or waiting for a bus that is late.

Fall and Spring at RIT seem to be much livelier and more fun. Its a shame the winters often over shadow this. RIT does not have something to do every night, however usually weekly there is something to do, and you can get involved with things and find things to do every night. However myself I am more a hermit and tend to stay inside. I find alot of the groups are often not so approachable as I would like, its often like you need to know someone or be very friendly and socialable already.

The academics make you feel like youve actually learned something useful, however at times you wounder if the staff has even read over some of the work. Often my lab instructors have to change many things just so a lab will work or make sense. Its very frustrating that rit is not so upto date with academics and prefers to spend so much time focusing on making rit more popular, and being the buisness they are. I wish they would focus on the aspects of the school they dont show the tour groups, and update the old parts of rit instead of building new useless water fountains they can't even run all year...

Professors are usually willing to help you as long as you are responsible in approaching them in timely manners. Sometimes you get a foreign teacher and that complicates things sometime, but usually everything can be worked out.

Much of the work you will have to do on your own, and learn which i do not like, i feel like it should be more spoon fed, then figure this out yourself.

I get by with minimal studying but you really need to study at rit to do well.
Partys, - okay, i will say that RIT is NOT a party school, if you want crazy partys look somewhere else .at rit you come to learn. That being said, you can FIND partys, and some are actually pretty good. RIT has this strange atmosphere, where we all are very friendly and like to get along and have a good time. if you leave your room and ask around and get involved you will have a great time. the occasional RIT events are usually amazing and tons of fun.

3oh3 came to rit and we had a pool party with them. Seriously rit is a great school for having fun and getting a great education.Rit for me was a really great school, my first year i met a ton of friends in my dorm, which shifted through the year. Now they are part of my life and im really happy with it. For me everything worked out and i am enjoying my time here. I would say RIT is a frustrating school, but if you can put up with all of its faults, you will get a great paying job and walk away with a great knowledge.

1st Year Male -- Class 2014

Surrounding City: A+, Campus Maintenance: D