<p>I was wondering if the college town at RPI I is good. I want that kind of small town type setting like Hoboken has, which is where Stevens is located. When I went to RPI I I really only stayed on the campus, but after Google maping Troy it looked like it might be what I'm looking for? I'm not sure, but I was just wondering. Help me out please :)</p>
There isn’t all that much of interest in the immediate vicinity of RPI’s campus. RPI’s campus is big, and the surrounding area is largely residential. You have to get yourself down the hill to downtown to find shops and restaurants. Fortunately, downtown Troy has experienced a recent resurgence, with more small businesses and restaurants opening up shop. There are definitely young people and activities to be found in downtown Troy on the weekend!
On the other hand, Stevens’ campus is very compact and you’re only minutes away from a wide variety of shops and restaurants on Washington St. in Hoboken. Plus, everything that NYC offers is a 10 minute walk and a PATH train away.
Hoboken isn’t really small town it’s more of a small city. You’d be in EXCELLENT proximity to NYC, they get very discounted tickets, the dorms are just okay and the campus (built on the site of a castle) is very beautiful. But Hoboken has tons of smoking and a whole lot of stores and a whole lot of people with very little parking. I’m making it sound bad, but it’s not. I’d say Stevens would be waay better in terms of social scene.
To be fair, Troy is also a small city, but it is nothing like Hoboken. Hoboken is a young person’s town, with lots of young professionals and a vibrant social scene. Troy is a rust-belt city that is making a turnaround as more young people decide they want to live in a walkable city rather than the 'burbs.
At RPI you have a larger student body and perhaps stronger clubs and on-campus activities as a result. Stevens and RPI have a similar vibe, though: predominantly male, good campus athletics, Greek life, and smart, technically-oriented students.
Troy is better than its reputation, but still not that great. It’s not really a “college town”. There’s not much there that really caters to college students and RPI kids don’t go into the city very often. I went there more often to get some kind of chore done than to have a good time.
I do find the city and its environs very picturesque at least.
I live about 20 minutes north of Troy. There’s nothing really to do in Troy itself, since it’s such a small city. Most of it is a lot of offices with a couple of places to eat, but it’s making a comeback.
If you want to go to do something, RPI has deals with the CDTA buses, so you can go into Albany area. There’s a lot to do in those areas since they’re suburban.
Hoboken has a small town setting? Yeesh.
Visit both. The point about Hoboken being near NYC and Troy being, uh, near Albany, that’s true.
Stevens tends to be a lot more pricey than RPI, but if that does not matter, Stevens is probably a better choice if you want things to do.
However, Stevens has a lot more commuters and part-time students.
Not really
I wouldn’t say that Troy could really be considered a typical ‘college town’. There are still some quite nice areas around it, like downtown Troy where they have farmers’ markets every Saturday, whether inside or outside depending on the season. But in most other parts of Troy, it’s not really an ideal area to live. Generally though, it’s ok to have as a surrounding area of the college because there are a lot of quaint little shops around the area if you explore.
Honestly, I find downtown Troy very nice. There are a bunch of nifty places to go eat and there are some things to do. There is a lot of construction/improvements going on and RPI just bought up a bunch of buildings off campus and fixed them up. A lot of money is going into off-campus housing areas for students and a lot of big developers are taking notice. Granted, this is just my personal opinion of downtown Troy. You need to visit to really get a sense of what you want though. Personally, being from New York City, I found calling Troy “ghetto” (what people usually say) to be an over exaggeration even if some areas aren’t the best. Just be sure to visit downtown specifically; the other areas of Troy are more sketchy. I would recommend just to go in groups or with a friend and nothing will really happen.