The Rochester Institute of Technology

RIT is a great school that I have enjoyed for my first 5 months here. I will go over the main points that those of you looking to come here are looking for, which include the social life, how difficult it is, how nice the campus is, and how the area is.

First off is the social life. First I'll list the negatives I have found about the social life here at RIT. One, there aren't a whole lot of chicks. A saying you'll hear if you decide to come here is "RIT girls are like parking spaces, they are either handicapped (deaf school), taken, or just pulled out of." It is kind of a bummer when you do a see a good looking girl just to find out she is deaf, believe me. Second is you have to be connected to really party. Luckily, I have met a lot of cool people here and I usually do not have a problem finding a good party, but If you don't know people chances are you won't find good parties. Third, there are a lot of "weird" people that go here. I have gone into my friends rooms on Saturday nights to see their roommate sitting on their computer gaming with 50 empty cans of mountain dew code red in the corner of their room, looking like they have been staring at the screen all day. Fourth, RIT is a dry campus which means they forbid alcohol on campus. I know kids that have been caught throwing out beer cans or drinking in the dorms and were put on probation.

Now for the positives. First, Parties are often in the apartments right next to campus, which means they are a small walking distance away which means no need to worry about transportation. The Province and Park Point apartments are very nice and usually great to party at. Second, The fraternities are very accessible and are available to everyone to pledge. Everyone I know that has pledged loves it and many fraternities have mansion houses right on campus. Third, the hockey games are great. Ritter Arena is always packed and the team is pretty good, and because it is the only Division 1 sport here people really rally around it. Fourth, Intramurals are offered in a wide variety of sports and are competitive and a lot of fun. Fifth, there are a TON of places just off campus to go eat or buy stuff, as there are malls EVERYWHERE and Wegmans (supermarket, I'm from Jersey so I've never seen one till I got here) is close too.

RIT has a reputation of being a challenging school, and it definitely makes good on that word. I spent a good amount of my time on lab reports and other homework my first quarter of freshman year, but none of the work I received I would consider unreasonable. As any type of engineer here, expect to work hard but be rewarded for that work with help all around and good professors.

As for the niceness of the campus, I can't complain. Everything is fairly modern and up to date, and everything is bricks. I like them for now, but I can see how the "brick city," as we call it, can start to get old. Overall if it isn't raining the campus is very nice and I would say a plus here. For a school of 14,000 students, it definitely does not feel that big as everything is compact on 1 campus 3.1 miles around. The facilities here are also a major plus. The fitness center is huge and state of the art, complete with every weight machine, treadmills and the works, ab workout area, basically everything you need to stay in shape and more, all at your disposal. Gordon Field House is also complete with a recreational pool and an Olympic sized pool, racquetball courts, basketball courts, a suspended track, indoor tennis courts, and an indoor track.

The area of Rochester RIT is in is great. Plenty of things to do just off campus and a very safe area. Definitely a plus to coming here as it is also only 15 minutes away from downtown Rochester. Overall I am glad I made the decision to come here as the students here take their education very seriously and put it first and foremost over everything, but also like to let loose and have fun too. RIT is a great mix of fun and hard work, and I would definitely recommend you to apply.

1st Year Male -- Class 2014

Perceived Campus Safety: A+, Social Life: C+

Before coming to RIT I was kinda skeptical about whether or not I was going to like it, especially hearing and noticing some things that caused me to think it was going to be terrible. Though so far I've enjoyed my time at RIT and have had the time of my life. Its really all about who you meet and what you make of it.

At RIT you're there to get a degree which in the long run will land you with excellent job placement and salary. Academics are great and so are the professors who are always willing to give you advice on your career goals and help you with any problems you may have in regards to a class or RIT issue.

In terms of social life, RIT doesn't have the title of being a party school, but there are always parties going on every weekend. If you're not in the mood to party there is always other stuff going on at RIT and throughout the Rochester area. All in all, I know that after RIT I will be reaping the benefits of having gotten an excellent education making good money !

1st Year Male -- Class 2015

Education Quality: A+, Campus Aesthetics: B

I transferred to Rochester Institute of Technology from a small school in Ohio with 1,300 students. There is a huge difference between the two schools, but I can safely say that RIT is better than the smaller school for the majority of the aspects of college.

RIT is a big school: you can walk down campus and see a few people you know, but overall you won't recognize everyone you see.

Depending on your major, the academic buildings really vary from phenominal to crap. As a business major, it's concerning to see the three story shit building that I take courses in, compared to some other colleges. I do not believe my academics have suffered because of it, but when you see other buildings with cafe's and deli's inside, and the Saunders College of Business has one vending machine, it's quite frustrating.

I myself am in a sorority, and I find myself friends with a majority of Greek Life. Greeks are the most active members of campus, many of them participate in vast amounts of clubs and organizations outside of Greek Life. I love the Greek Life at RIT, and I believe that it improves RIT campus life.

Compared to my old school, RIT's food is fantastic. They have a huge variety, and have so many different kinds of cafe's, food, markets, and stores all over campus. I absolutely love the options, as I can find candy, food, snacks, meals, frozen food, groceries, and more just on campus. Many schools do not offer such variety.

Yes, RIT is expensive, but when it's a matter of $5,000 more a year compared to other schools, how can you sufficiently compare the costs when you're paying similiar loan payments post-college? This school is very vigorous, yet rewarding. I trust that I will find a career outside of RIT that suits my needs. For the Rochester area, it is comparable to U of R, and sized better than all schools in Rochester.

If you want to go to RIT for liberal arts, engineering, technology, arts, and designs, I would definitely recommend it. Frankly, as business major, I do not see a reason for a student to go to RIT. You might as well go to a school that specializes in your major and interests. The school may be 60% boys and 40% girls but you don't notice it as drastically as you might think. Some classes are majority boys, but it doesn't really change the school experience. Girls and guys still have standards with each other, and I do not believe guys will settle for 'worse' girls because there are less options.

3rd Year Female -- Class 2014

Collaboration/Competitive: A, Education Quality: C