<p>Momom2, the Jewish population is so low at RIT that I thought they might have discriminated against them. I don’t think that is the case,but I was very disturbed by it. It is not common for a good NY school to have such as low Jewish population and even more so for under represented minorities.</p>
<p>Could it be that the Hillel just hasn’t been able to get in touch with all the Jewish kids on campus? Is that an RIT stat or just from the Hillel in terms of kids they’ve contacted?</p>
<p>Stat comes from Hillel website. Not sure how they get the numbers.</p>
<p>Momom and Chardo, I confirmed the Hillel stats with admission about 5 years ago when my daughter was looking at RIT for undergraduate studies. It is an odd phenominon. I would bet the simple answer is that RIT try for diversity when they admit a class. Everyone there is so friendly that I don’t believe that there is any discrimination involved.</p>
<p>Is there even a place to put religion on the application? Rochester has several synagogues and a very large Jewish Community Center. It has been my experience (limited to 2 daughters already through/finishing up college) that students of any religion will continue to practice their religion, and seek out a way to do so, if they really want to.</p>
<p>We are Jewish and my daughter is a student at RIT. She has attended services for the high holidays and seders (I believe one night is at RIT and the second at U of R). She also has been to other Hillel-sponsored events on campus. So there seems to be enough of a Jewish population to support these things.</p>
<p>I really seriously doubt RIT is decsriminating in any active way against Jews. That would really surprise me, and really doesn’t fit at all with my experiences at RIT.</p>
<p>I won’t be attending, but I did want to pop back in and say that - I’m sure there’s a reason, but I’m also sure that isn’t it ;)</p>
<p>I hardly believe that’s the case, as well. It just seems to me like the numbers reported by the Hillel are likely not entirely representative of the campus population of Jews. I don’t suppose there’s any real way to figure it out, it just seems like an unlikely low percent.</p>
<p>RIT is my boy’s top choice. Keeping our fingers crossed for next year!</p>
<p>This is the six year graduation rate, according to the College Board website today. I would assume that the six year graduation rate would take into account the coop situation at the school, thus it is still very low. I am sorry to have to say this, but be warned…</p>
<p>64% really isn’t that terrible for a school of RIT’s caliber, especially considering the region and the rigor of the coursework.</p>
<p>For comparison, the national average is 46% and the average among private colleges offering PhD degrees is 63.8%.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/retain_2011.pdf[/url]”>http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/retain_2011.pdf</a></p>
<p>Here’s a comparison of Graduation rates for schools that are somewhat similar to RIT.</p>
<p>These are 6-year graduation rates, from College Navigator ([College</a> Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator]College”>College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics)). The SAT scores and acceptance rates were pulled form varying sources, so you may find some variance from other sources.</p>
<p>1st Year Retention = 1 Yr
6th Year Graduation Rate = Grad %
SAT = CR/Math</p>
<p>RPI: 1Yr=91%; Grad%=82%; SAT=655/710; Acceptance=44%
WPI: 1Yr=95%; Grad%=80%; SAT=620/655; Acceptance=59%
Carnegie: 1Yr=96%; Grad%=86%; SAT=680/730; Acceptance=30%
Wentworth: 1Yr=80%; Grad%=60%; SAT=515/580; Acceptance=80%
Clarkson: 1Yr=87%; Grad%=69%; SAT=555/610; Acceptance=76%
Stevens: 1Yr=91%; Grad%=72%; SAT=600/660; Acceptance=42%
RIT: 1Yr=88%; Grad%=66%; SAT=585/615; Acceptance=60%</p>
<p>Bear in mind that out of this group, Wentworth and RIT are co-op schools, so the 6-year grad rates are really 5-year graduation rates for those schools.</p>
<p>The correlation between SAT scores and graduation rates is fairly high, so it appears that the quality of the incoming student is one of the most significant factors at predicting the graduation rate at technical schools.</p>
<p>Wow! Nice summary of retention rates, graduation rates, etc. for the schools similar to RIT.</p>
<p>Thanks for putting it together.</p>
<p>Here’s the data for two additional coop schools that compete with RIT for students. </p>
<p>RIT: 1Yr.=91%; 5Yr. Grad%=55%; 6Yr. Grad%=66%; SAT=1100-1330; Admit=59% </p>
<p>Northeastern: 1Yr.=95%; 5Yr. Grad%=N/A; 6Yr. Grad%=77%; SAT=1250-1430; Admit=35% </p>
<p>Drexel: 1Yr.=83%; 5Yr. Grad%=62%; 6Yr. Grad%=66%; SAT=1110-1310; Admit=55%</p>
<p>Northeastern and Drexel are not truly comparable schools to RIT. Though both have co-ops, they have much broader curriculums.</p>
<p>It’s hard to find a truly comparable school to RIT, because it has so many programs that are found in few places.</p>
<p>Boondocks – While they have broader curriculums than RIT, there is an awful lot of overlap in applicants, at least in the several dozen public schools I am familiar with in eastern NYS. The same students who apply to RIT often apply to Drexel and Northeastern as well. </p>
<p>I’ll stand by my statement: “Here’s the data for two additional coop schools that compete with RIT for students.”</p>
<p>It would also be interesting to know what percentage of those who take co-ops and don’t graduate have just stayed on at their co-op for full-time employment.</p>
<p>I don’t think that’s a common occurrence. Most employers hire students with the understanding that they will finish their degree. Some even make it a requirement that the student go back to school after. Some also offer FT jobs for after graduation on the condition that students finish school.</p>
<p>It may be a different story in some industries where degrees are secondary to job experience and talent, but at least where engineering and science are concerned I don’t think many employers are willing to hire someone off of co-op without them going back to school.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is an undertone of antisemitism that begins at the top and is passed off as “scheduling conflicts”…year after year. One year The Honors Program schedules its Freshman Welcome dinner on Kol Nidre; a few years later “Career Day” is scheduled on Yom Kippur. Absences on the High Holy Days are considered “unexcused,” and professors who schedule tests for those days have the right to refuse accommodation. In this day and age, it is disgraceful.</p>
<p>Great article! I don’t know, though. Some of these are definitely true, like the male/female ratio. And the cold and the coops. But as for diversity and the lack of things to do on-campus, I’m not sure I agree. I mean, I haven’t been at RIT that long, but from what I’ve seen, there’s a lot to do on campus. about 300 clubs and student organizations, from the running club, to improv, to martial arts, and even a Socialist club. Kind of something for everyone. And that’s not including sports. I know I’m in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, and all the other schools that I looked at going to were very strictly art-based, without any sports or a wide variation of activities. The fact that RIT had so many activities like that were one of the things that made it stand out for me. </p>
<p>As for the diversity in people, I’m from an area of very little diversity. So compared to what I’m used to, RIT seems incredibly diverse. I’ve met so many students who are international students and several of the student organizations on campus represent the different racial and ethic groups in the student population. There’s also the NTID (National Technical Institute for the Deaf) program. That, I think, brings it’s own level of diversity into the RIT climate. 10% of the student population is deaf or hard-of-hearing, and it’s really great I think the lengths that RIT goes to to be inclusive of those students. For example, I’m one of many student notetakers on campus, and my job is to take notes in class and put them online for the NTID students to access, so that they can be sure they didn’t miss anything in class. Also, one of the presentations they gave to all the freshmen during orientation was on how to interact with NTID students, so that everyone had an idea of how to be comfortable and inclusive around each other. They gave us information on RIT’s free open sign language classes, which is a great resource. Another thing I’ve personally experienced is mainstream student housing, which houses the NTID students with the hearing students. It’s been a great learning experience; there’s nothing for learning to bridge gaps like making friends even though you can’t actually “talk” to each other. For may, it’s been a major learning experience in diversity and how to accept it. </p>
<p>So those are just my thoughts! And I just want to add that I really did enjoy this article; very insightful and interesting to think about! Thank you so much for posting it! </p>
<p>Hey, memcna617, my D is applying to the CIAS for next fall (she’s interested in interior design). Is it easy to make friends? She’s very friendly but not at all interested in a drinking/drug scene. Her idea of a good time is to go to a dance or watch a movie. Do you have much chance to take classes outside of CIAS? I’d love to know more.</p>