<p>I will start that RPI has been the best choice for our son. He graduated HS with over 4.0 with average SAT,volunteer work thru private catholic HS and as an athlete. He is playing his sport as a recruited athlete at RPI. The school is not for the faint of heart. He studies constantly and remarks how hard he works. He has used a tutor in one class which helped. Dorms are depressing but campus is beautiful. Students support one another and do not compete for grades. RPI grades very tough and A's are not easy to come by. We are paying a lot for our son to go to RPI but the friends he has made and the education he is getting we would not trade it. Parties can be found but not a focus. RPI is a safe school just wish dorms were more livable. Good luck to those who apply you won't regret it.</p>
<p>Always nice to get a genuine review of a College.</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman and we live seven hours away in another state. I consider it a good sign that she has barely contacted us, and that she did not want to come home for the labor day weekend.</p>
<p>What is the issue with the dorms? How are they depressing?</p>
<p>My son is in Barton and we did not find it at all depressing during move in. To be fair, we did not see the other freshman dorms. We had a flurry of contact when my son was sick last week, but other than that contact has just been a few texts. I hear him on Skype with his brother and he sounds pretty upbeat.</p>
<p>Barton is the nicest - the others are run down, broken furniture, spiders and this year bees in the dorm room, however front loading FREE washer/dryers no complaints there. As a guy he shrugged it off, last year as a freshman first timer mom i was breathless - did everything i could to not whip out the clorox and Mr. Clean! I did go to the Residence Office to mention the hole in the shower floor though. He is in an on campus apartment this year which was somewhat better. It is just surprising that RPI would not maintain the dorms as nice as the rest of campus and Barton, considering the tuition. Again, we would not trade the experience and education for the world, just my opinion. It is the only school that I am aware of that the student body knows the President and actually in group conversations affectionately refers to her as “Shirley” (Shirley Jackson) I never knew who my President was, so i think that says a lot for the school and her efforts to integrate with the student body. GO ENGINEERS!!!</p>
<p>I apologize - BIGNOSE AND RUNSWSCISSORS - congratulations on your children’s acceptances - it is an honor to be selected by RPI - good luck. Glad they are assimilating well. They will have a great time, kids are all nice.</p>
<p>Thanks Annunzial. My daughter is also in Barton. She’s made friends, feels comfortable with her classes (mech eng), and is enjoying her freshman experience so far. Couldn’t ask for anything more. :)</p>
<p>My hs d has RPI on her list so it’s great to read your good reviews of RPI. How would you describe the student body? We visited a few years ago and we were impressed with the friendliness and the school spirit and pride (RPI wear everywhere!). My d is a little uncertain of the Ratio (female/male). </p>
<p>My son is doing very well at RPI. His classes are very hard, and he takes multiple very hard classes at a time, but he has definitely grown socially there. The students are very friendly. When we went on a visit, a student went probably 10 to 15 minutes out of his way because we wanted to see something and he could get us in that building. My guy is a sophomore, so the next big adventure appears to be hopefully moving off campus net hear. I’m very nervous because he doesn’t have a place yet, but he’s not. I guess that’s my job.</p>
<p>I have two at RPI and yes it is a good school-or companies view it as such because it is competitive-BUT-the teachers really don’t care about the students-nor does administration-this is a business to them-PERIOD. The dorms are disgusting-we had to search out beds/chairs that actually were usable-so moving in get there EARLY-we learned after the first year-things get stolen so watch your property carefully-that includes laptops-My kids know that hard work will profit in the future and as someone said earlier RPI is not for the faint of heart-IF you’re child is used to a soft bed to fall on pick a different school</p>
<p>@pmcbts So do you regret sending your kids to RPI? How do they feel? It seems like you can read reviews until your eyes bleed and still not be sure how things are going to work out. My son seems happy, I haven’t had any problems with admin. He has run into his first professor that isn’t the greatest teacher, but is doing what he needs to get by. We made it very clear to him that whatever school he ended up at, if he hated it for any reason, or decided to change his major to come to us and we would figure it out, even if that meant helping him to transfer. </p>
<p>This is going to be a very biased post because my D loves RPI.</p>
<p>@pmcbts I am very surprised about your son’s experience. When you say “the teachers really don’t care about the students” that is quite an encompassing statement. Are you seriously including all the teachers in that statement? Everyone knows that at many schools there are a few teachers who the students complain about but all?
My D goes to RPI and she says ALL of her teachers are very helpful. Even if she might not like their teaching style she finds that when she goes to office hours they are always VERY helpful and glad to help. </p>
<p>They even have tutoring hours late at night in the dorm buildings for those who need it. It is the TA’s who go to the dorm buildings for those tutoring sessions but great option for students.</p>
<p>I totally agree with the posts about the dorm rooms. For the price they really should not be getting holes in the floors. My D has been fortunate to get Barton then Sharp in her 2nd year and they were excellent. </p>
<p>As for administration - well I’m not sure what you mean it’s just a business to them? I hope they do look at it as a business - I think the school is very expensive so someone has to take care of business. Is there something else we should be expecting from the administration that I should be aware of as a parent?</p>
<p>My son is considering RPI or University of Rochester. Any thoughts? We have one day to decide! He will be an engineer so no med or liberal arts program… but I’m concerned about the conditions of the housing, and if there are any normal , smart kids there… not just introverts. Which is the best freshman dorm to choose?</p>
<p>You might want to check out their careers information. I know RPI has a good job placement rate and you may also want to check the return on investment charts.</p>
<p>Barton is one of the best dorms to be in - newer. Some of the other ones are not so good. Check out this website - rpirooms.■■■■■■■■■■ </p>
<p>My son is in Barton this year, and it is pretty nice. He has some pretty severe environmental allergies and hasn’t had any problems. Next year he will be in Blitman so he won’t have to deal with carpeting at all. I can’t speak to the other freshman dorms. I think part of the introvert rep comes from the heavy workload most of the students have, but I think it’s better than being the only one studying while everyone else is out partying;) Seems like there is plenty going on weekends.</p>
<p>BARH is a bit further but it’s a really nice dorm. Quad is one of the older/oldest, but it does have AC which is always a plus. The other freshman dorms are all similar to one another, except for Barton.</p>
<p>Most people here are really outgoing and friendly, but there are times during the semester where the work load does become difficult. After just finishing my freshman year here, I can tell you that the professors I had were all amazing, some holding office hours more than once a week at various times. The other students are all pretty awesome and the dorms are not bad, if not some are really comfy. </p>
<p>I’m surprised at the comments about the RPI dorms. From my experience (both kids spent a lot of time at various college campuses during HS summers) the RPI dorms were pretty much standard issue - no better and no worse than any dorms they stayed in for various camps.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are schools out there with first class, spanking new dorms, but they are the exception and certainly not the rule.</p>
<p>When I was a freshman at RPI I roomed in BARH. When I walked in there the first time with my mom and sister we were overwhelmed by the awful stench and had to go to Home Depot to get their most powerful odor sprays. Used almost a whole bottle and after an hour or so had the place smelling like lemons with a faint trace of butt.</p>
<p>After a week, and after my room mate and I had found and disposed of a smelly sock of unknown origin on top of the closet, the smell faded away and it was a great dorm. Spacious, with fun neighbors and an interesting and close-knit dorm-culture.</p>
<p>Nonetheless I do feel that RPI failed miserably at making that particular dorm room feel welcoming to its new inhabitants.</p>
<p>If you are considering RPI - it’s a great school. I have 2 kids there – daughter and son. They both like it. However, if your daughter is considering playing varsity soccer you may want to think again. Definitely it’s important to check out the coaching staff - at RPI women’s soccer you’d better look hard. I would recommend looking elsewhere. </p>