<p>Are Rensselaer Dorms open in the summer?
Do we get the financial aid package every year? (i understand it changes depending on performance)
How is the food?
is Troy really as ghetto as they say it is?
What happens if i don't go to the orientation?</p>
<p>I don't know the answers to most of them, but Troy IS a very sketchy place. When I visited, there were posters on the campus they were looking to be aware of some suspicious dudes who were lurking around campus. Our tour guide said you don't wander off campus after dark unless you take RPI transportation.</p>
<p>Are Rensselaer Dorms open in the summer?<br>
Yes, some are.</p>
<p>Do we get the financial aid package every year?
If you got an explicitly stated merit award it renews every year. Unlike some colleges it's my understanding that RPI does not require a specific GPA to maintain your merit award. The other components (which may include additional grants, loans, work study, etc.) will change based on need-based aid criteria.</p>
<p>How is the food? I'll leave this one to the current students.</p>
<p>is Troy really as ghetto as they say it is? No, it is not as bad as many say. But it has the same rules as any older, somewhat poorer city - be careful. I still return to campus occasionally for events and have no problem walking in the immediate area around campus. If you are going downtown at night or just going to an off-campus area you don't know (particularly important for females out late but good advice for anyone, anywhere), don't walk by yourself.</p>
<p>What happens if i don't go to the orientation? They used to hold a fall orientation just before school opened for those that couldn't make the summer sessions (internationals, those on internships, etc.) but I don't know if that's still the case.</p>
<p>i am not sure about dorms/financial aid but padre13 gave an answer</p>
<p>Troy is pretty bad....if you look at average day at rpi, one mom says that they always must travel in groups and it is pretty bad. </p>
<p>The Food is pretty good, I visited one day and thought that there was a good variety and the food tasted good...that being said the cafeteria i saw seemed a little on the same end (i do not know if that is the only cafeteria) - maybe because i had just visited ND which has a HUGE cafeteria so my perspective may have been eschewed.</p>
<p>On an average day you won't need to travel in groups because you'll probably be on campus or in the immediate neighborhoods where the student apartments and fraternities are. They may not look great, but there are few problems because of the amount of student activity. Furthermore, you can go downtown or most places in the city during the day without any problems. I used to do it often. There's even a small girls college, Russell Sage, downtown and they've survived.</p>
<p>The issue is one of common sense - don't go alone to unfamiliar areas or those without a lot of people around at night. I went to grad school in Ithaca and the same rules applied there. In fact, that's the only place I've ever been robbed.</p>
<p>As the parent of two current RPI students, I was also afraid of Troy when they decided to attend there. There are definitely some areas of town to avoid, but overall, it is probably safer than many college towns. RPI's security seems to do a good job keeping the students safe and notifying students of problems. There are shuttle buses to get around campus and students can ride the City buses for free to go shopping. Also, security will drive students back home provided they are within a short distance off campus. My daughter lives off campus and works on campus at night - she can get a ride back to her house when she gets off work. </p>
<p>There are two orientation programs for incoming freshmen. One is during the summer to register for classes and the other is the week before other students come back. It is called Navigating Rensselaer and Beyond. If you go to the First Year Experience section of the RPI website, there is information on these two programs and I seem to recall a video of some of the activities that take place the week before school starts.</p>
<p>On campus you are ok out and about. After dark, in town you shouldn't be alone.<br>
Yep- it's common sense but when you're 18 it still needs to be said. Campus Safety website has a full record of all the incidents reported and responded to if anyone is concerned. I don't believe it is any worse than many other urban college campus- it just looks bad because the area is economically in bad shape.</p>
<p>thank you for your responses!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Are Rensselaer Dorms open in the summer?
[/quote]
Yes, but for a fee. It's about $140-$160 a week for a room in the summer ( Summer</a> Housing Information, Residence Life, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ).</p>
<p>
[quote]
Do we get the financial aid package every year? (i understand it changes depending on performance)
[/quote]
As long as you don't get kicked out (as a result of GPA or other reasons), I believe your package remains with you the entire way through.</p>
<p>
[quote]
How is the food?
[/quote]
Significantly better on days when there are tours. The 'good food' is either with the pasta guy at Commons (near freshman hill) or Tofu Tim at Sage (near the union). Pretty much everything else is a disaster starting at around the fourth or fifth week. Sodexo, the company that manages the food, is completely incompetent. They seem to have made a habit of running out of cups/silverware.</p>
<p>
[quote]
is Troy really as ghetto as they say it is?
[/quote]
Not really, but there isn't much to do there regardless.</p>
<p>
[quote]
What happens if i don't go to the orientation?
[/quote]
I'm pretty sure you have to go (besides, you'd want it for the course registration). You can always try to go to SO6 if you're too far away for it to be convenient (SO6 bleeds into the first week).</p>
<p>oh yes, and do i have to buy the laptop? what if i have my own? will they give me the stuff to installl onto my laptop or will i be required to use theirs?</p>
<p>
[quote]
oh yes, and do i have to buy the laptop?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>
[quote]
what if i have my own?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>As long as it can run the software they give you (see below), you're fine.</p>
<p>
[quote]
will they give me the stuff to installl onto my laptop
[/quote]
</p>
<p>They'll give you software, but not the operating system. You have to supply that yourself.</p>
<p>can you give me the required specs for the software and what it actually is for?</p>
<p>Not really.</p>
<p>You should ask those in charge of the mobile computing program directly.</p>
<p>right. thank yoU! :D</p>
<p>AH yes one more question. How does food work? so one day you can go three times? and then where do bonus bucks come in?</p>
<p>RPI was one of the few campuses we visited where the meal plan was unlimited. So- for whatever days your plan covers (for most kids that ends up being 7 day/wk) you can eat in the dining hall as many times as you want, as much as you want. The only exception is late night dining - you have to have to meal plan that includes that to use it. Bonus bucks can be used at all the little places around campus like the coffee shops, snack bars, etc. Similar with RAD dollars except those can also be used for other stuff like your laundry and the campus store. There are signs posted at all the places (if I remember right) whether they accept bonus bucks or RAD dollars or both. The system is now online so you can check the balance on your account.</p>