The Rochester Institute of Technology

I do not know why others have been so harsh in rating this school. RIT does have quite a good reputation in fields other than Business like Computer Science and Engineering.

If the business students who posted on this site feel as though they were not challenged enough at RIT, they should have picked a different major. If they feel as though RIT has not prepared them to ``innovate'' then they are incorrectly placing their blame. Innovation requires personal talent; it cannot be taught in a course. If you want to innovate, do it! It's that simple.

This does not mean I totally enjoyed my experience at RIT. The workload was quite "heavy" which made life miserable at times. No question about it-- RIT's undergraduate CS department is one of the best and most demanding departments in the nation. Their undergraduate program in CS is rigourous and comprehensive.

Your college experience is all what you make of it! Do you want to challenge yourself at RIT? You can! Take some hard courses. Don't be afraid to take difficult professors. If you tailor your course sequence so that you take the easy way out, you have no one to blame but yourself!

I am glad that RIT is not a research university. Most schools look at undergraduate programs as a way of paying the bills. RIT does not. If you are looking for respect from people by getting an undergraduate degree from Princeton or Harvard then you should reprioritize so that your learning experience comes first. You cannot judge a school's undergraduate program by its graduate program. If you come to RIT for CS (I cannot speak for other majors), you will get your money's worth. That is, of course, you do not avoid opportunities which present you with challenges.When you get here, ask around. Ask upperclassmen who the best teachers are, and what are the best courses. You will find upperclassmen to be very responsive.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

All of these negative comments are just wrong. RIT definitely has a social life. albiet you do need to put in a little more effort to find it, but you can. The kids who complain about there not being a social life would be sitting infront of their computers playing games on friday night at the biggest party schools in the country. The weather sucks, yeah. But you knew that coming Rochester so stop complaining. For those who complain about our mythological 'dry campus'... thats never stopped me from partying, i dont think its stopped anyone. And stop complaining that your working too hard, you did come to college didnt you? If you didnt want to work why not go live in your parents basement till your 40? Yeah, ill agree that the male female ratio sucks here, but the U of R, and a number of other schools are right near by, if you want to meet a girl, make the effort and do it.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2006

Education Quality: A, Campus Aesthetics: F

There are a lot of bitter people at RIT, and the reviews on this site reflect that. Here's my take:

Academically, RIT is very good. There are better schools in all of the majors, but for the money it is an incredible value to CS, engineering, photography, or deaf students. Classes can be tough, but for the most part I have found that you can do well if you just do the work assigned to you. Many people don't do homework (some teachers opt not to collect it), then complain when they fail a test.

Socially, things here are not NEARLY as bad as they have been made out to be. I have been to several parties, and have not had any difficulty finding them, despite this being a "dry campus" (not enforced in the least...). Even if you aren't into that, there are things to do, provided that you leave your room and find them. I've had lots of fun at on- and off-campus concerts, and Rochester has those "tourist-y" things like museums and historical sites to take your parents to when they come. Even as a floor, we have all sorts of special events in my building. Granted, I am in Honors housing right now, but a good RA will make life much more enjoyable.

Otherwise, there are some good things and some bad. Bricks are everywhere, but honestly I don't mind. I even think they look good! The wind tunnel effect can be quite amazing, but that is more a product of geography than architecture. It is cold and windy here - that's the truth of the matter. We do have lots of tunnels for movement during the winter, but going to class can be *fun*.

Overall, this is a good school to study one of the aforementioned majors. For other majors, I have no idea how the program compares. Those who hate it here do so for one of two reasons:

1. They play Counter-Strike in their room all day with the door shut, then complain that the social life here sucks, or...

2. They expect college to be nothing but a 24/7 party. Go to U. of Colorado then...Sorry, but it isn't either. College is what you make it to be, and I'm having a good time here.

1st Year Male -- Class 2008

Education Quality: A+, Campus Aesthetics: C+