A trip report

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rochester Institute of Technology
1

<p>(Double posted on Pqrents Forum.)</p>

<p>Son is back from the RIT Intro to Careers event. He had a great time. Several kids from his school and orchestra were there, as well as a kid he knows from computer camp. There were 500 kids there, and they hold two sessions every summer.</p>

<p>He thought the sessions were very helpful to his understanding exactly what these various majors are. He signed up for Elec Eng, Comp Eng, Mech Eng, and Micro Elec. He came out saying he thought he wanted to do Comp Eng. He also attended the Penn State Engineering Open House, but he felt this event gave him better insight into what engineering really is.</p>

<p>RIT is in our home town, and like college seekers everywhere we tend to snub our local schools. While walking through the parking lot we were amazed at all the different states people were from! Rochester has such an inferiority complex.</p>

<p>On Friday evening and Saturday they had a full roster of events for parents. We only did two - the tour and a general information session. We skipped the various Rochester tours, the financial aid session, and the careers of the 21st century session.</p>

<p>The info session was done by dean of admissions. Perhaps his greatest emphasis was on the fact that RIT's primary focus is on undergraduate teaching. Also, that this is a school well positioned for the "World is Flat" scenario. Lots of co-ops are done, in fact they are required for many of the majors. Engineering is consequently a 5-year endeavor. RIT is on the quarter system, which I know has pros and cons...</p>

<p>I have been on the RIT campus several times briefly and never thought much one way or the other about it, but I have to say I was very impressed with it this time around. It's not a green, ivy covered, pretty-quad kind of campus. It is modern, high tech, and sleek. All the buildings are the identical brick (hence the name, Brick City). Most buildings are connected by enclosed walkways.</p>

<p>Downside - I know from experience that RIT can be very windy and cold in the winter. Also, it is located in an admittedly ugly town - just a sprawlville, strip-mall, fairly nasty suburb. Clearly kids with cars have an advantage. It is not walking distance to anything really.</p>

<p>The facilities are exciting to say the least. Wow. There are many new buildings on campus, including a really great field house; it seemed that every building we were in was new or had a new addition, or a new program -- all with high tech names that I don't even know what they do (eg. Bioinformatics???). There is lots of new construction going on. Numerous computer labs, clean rooms, a wind tunnel, art galleries, darkrooms, and lots of other inexplicable (to me anyway) lab/workshop looking places. Like all "tech" schools clearly lecturing is not at the forefront.</p>

<p>My son stayed in what I suppose is a typical freshman dorm. It was pretty nice actually. Good furniture, regular sized rooms, hot. I've always been under the impression that housing at RIT sort of deteriorates after the first year, and I wasn't really able to get good answers about that from the typically smiley-faced tour guides. Apparently after freshman year on-campus apartments are available to most students - with any overflow in a way-off-campus old hotel that I would not be happy about. But they did not indicate that there are any problems at all with housing, so maybe I'm wrong about that.</p>

<p>RIT tuition is a little lower than some similar schools. For 2006 it is $24,627 (room and board an additional $8700). I suspect RIT does a decent job meeting need, but is skimpy on merit money. There is the usual tech school 70% men, 30% women problem.</p>

<p>If I don't sound especially excited about RIT you should know that this is my response to all the "tech" schools. All those inexplicable equations and symbols on the whiteboards, scary machines, Calculus books in the book store - it all would paralyze me. HOWEVER this most definitely is not the response of my son - for whom an LAC looks like a "tortuous death from boredom." He thought RIT looked just great, although I think he's wondering about his ECs which are cello and theater - neither of which seems well represented on campus. (He really liked the playhouse in the middle of the RPI campus for instance.)</p>

<p>Although my son will almost certainly apply to RIT I have some reservations about kids not leaving their home towns for school. It just seems like a such a good time to get out and see a new place.</p>

<p>Hopefully this report will help someone thinking about RIT.</p>

2

<p>RIT actually has a music minor where you son can play in performances for credit. These performances qualify for liberal arts credit.</p>

<p>I don't know about their programs though.</p>

3

<p>Somehow my original post ended up in a thread I wasn't even looking at!</p>

<p>My two cents </p>

<hr>

<p>My husband and I attended all the parent sessions. We found the school to be very impressive. on the other hand, definitely encourage your son to leave his hometown even thought that keeps him from attending a very good school.</p>

<p>At least we have a little distance from Rochester (all the way to Buffalo), but we have told both of our children they need to go away to school. It worked with the first, who is going to Boston and loves the urban environment at BU. The second wants to stay within a 4 to 5 hour drive of home. I prefer she go a bit further than Rochester, but it may be difficult to keep her away from RIT.</p>

<p>People really need to get over the weather issues. It's highly overemphasized when people talk about Rochester and Buffalo. The snow is rarely too much; wind is the bigger issue. Sometimes you just have to carry weights in your pockets so you don't blow away! The students at RPI have the tunnels, too.</p>

4

<p>I didn't even mind the weather that much at RIT. It barely snowed, but the constant mist/rain was the only annoying part for me.</p>

5

<p>I agree about the weather. The problem with upstate weather (in my opinion) is the wind and the ever present clouds. (Although we do have beautiful summers.) I tell kids, have fun with the snow - especially if you're only here four years. It's after about 10 years that it gets really old...</p>

<p>On the subject of going away to school -- I don't know. My other son is 7 hours away. With him being the first I thought it was important to go away. I don't think that anymore. Maybe I got it out of my system. Plus those airplane tickets are really expensive. Now I think it doesn't matter as much as being happy with the school. This son is more focused on finding the right school/program than the location. So, it's up to him. I could go either way.</p>

6

<p>Since everyone keeps bringin up their curiosity about housing, I guess I will comment briefly on it. In short, I believe that there is a housing shortage for people who wish to live in the apartments. While there is enough room overall, most freshmen are placed in the dorms again after their first year. This is primarily because most upperclassmen do not relinquish their hold on the apartment they are in, but rather pass it directly to their friends.</p>

<p>Because of this, the only way to actually make it likely that you will live in an apartment is to seriously befriend an upperclassman with an apartment and move in with them.</p>

<p>From what I remember last year there was exactly one open UC apartment (the newest and nicest ones) and about 4-8% openings in the other apartment complexes. Because upwards of 6000 people are applying for the limited spaces in the apartments, this pretty much makes the placement an excercise in luck.</p>

<p>To finish, this is not to say that a freshman will no recieve housing at the end of their first year. All who apply are guarenteed housing. It just means that they are likely to be placed into the dorms, or possibly temporary housing.</p>

7

<p>My DD just finished her freshman yr and she works in Housing. All students enter a lottery, listing up to 18 choices I think. For ex, if you're applying for a 4 person apt, you can list your 4 roommates, and you can list just 2 or you (in case a 2 person place opens up). Best to stay flexible. My DD had no advantage working in housing and thus, she did not get a UC apt (her 1st choice). But she did get a 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bathroom townhouse (with a basement and utility room for a washer and dryer). She just bought a gas grill to keep outside. She's been busy accumulating furniture all summer. There's a section in our newspaper for FREE stuff. It's amazing what people give away. She knows freshman who DID get UC apts but it's true that they're the hardest to get. My DD got her townhouse because she met a girl who transferred into RIT spring qtr last yr. This girl was placed in the apt. All her roommates moved out in May so she had openings. RIT's policy is that once you have an apt, you can keep it until you graduate. Technically, I don't think you can pass on your apt to friends unless one of the roommates is staying in it. But moves are taking place all the time. In fact, this summer one of my DD's roommates decided to move off campus (into a house) so my DD looked on the RIT website listing of those students seeking housing. She chose an exchange student from France. They exchanged many emails this summer. Hope it works out. </p>

<p>My DD also was offered spots twice in UC but there was only one opening and my DD didn't want to leave her friend stranded so she declined. The UC apts are suite style, where each student get their own bedroom, and they share a living room, bathroom and very small kitchen area. My DD lived on a specialty floor (Art HOuse) last yr, so she was guaranteed a room there if she didn't get an apt in the lottery. Many kids choose to go back to the specialty dorm floor. Others choose to move off campus where housing is cheaper. SOme upplerclassmen prefer to stay in dorms, esp if they're coming and going on coops - don't need to buy furniture, etc. Mu d wanted the apt feel but didn't want to deal with having to commute to campus every day, esp having to clean off the car all winter long. She can walk to classes or she can take the campus bus. </p>

<p>It's true that some kids get put in the RIT Inn, which is a hotel a couple miles off campus. THe RIT bus goes there and loops back to campus throughout the day but it's kind of isolated. Then again, some of the older kids like it coz it has an indoor pool, workout room and restaurant and the rooms are much bigger than a standard dorm room - and they get their own bathroom/shower. Probably better for a very independent student with an established group of friends, preferably with a car. Not a good situation for a freshman.</p>

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<p>Thanks for that report jerzgrlmom. It was helpful.</p>

9

<p>My DS is heading to RIT a week from Sunday for freshman orientation. He'll be an illustration major in the School of Art. We did the College and Careers thing last summer, and he enjoyed it very much. (So did I.) He went into the weekend saying, "I don't think I want to apply here, but I'll look into it," and came out saying, "I definitely want to apply here." </p>

<p>He applied to Art House but didn't get in, and they've put him in a triple. He doesn't seem to mind. The school says there are about 100 triples and they're assigned randomly. Supposedly, they are larger rooms, not simply doubles with an extra kid squeezed in (thank goodness!) Does anyone know if they're former lounges? I was wondering whether on floors that have triples, students have to go without lounges and the microwaves, communal gathering space and other ameneties (if any) that come with them. </p>

<p>We live in the Binghamton area, so cold, snow, clouds, etc. weren't an issue for us - we're used to it.</p>

10

<p>To answer jdsmom's question about the triples, the answer in almost all cases is that the triple is a former lounge that has been converted. However, this is not to say that there is no longer a kitchen/floor meeting space, simply that that space has (in most cases) been reduced to 1/3, and the kitchen and meeting space are actually one and the same.</p>

<p>As an example, my floor (Sol 5) used to have 2 large common rooms and one medium sized kitchen. However, it now has only the kitchen, and the other two rooms are triples now.</p>

<p>Because of the lack of on-floor meeting space, the other places that most people meet are:</p>

<p>The first floor "reading rooms" which tend to be empty. Some are nicer than others though.
The Commons, the eating place at the north end of the dorm side, open until 12:30AM roughly.
The new Gracies hall coffee shop and TV area, which is very comfortable, and usually quite busy, however, it is open 24/7.
Anywhere on the Academic side really, while some buildings lock up, most do not, and there are quite a lot of couches.</p>

11

<p>Thanks, tabletcorry. The room I saw when we visited last summer must have been one of those combined kitchen/meeting spaces you're talking about. It had both a kitchen area and a corner with seating and a TV.</p>