@YoHoYoHoI have a child at USC…RIT and USC campuses are on different planets. To my mind USC has one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation. If weather is a concern think carefully about RIT. My D’s overall mental/emotional outlook is much better in sunshine and shorts. For my S, he doesn’t care about such things as much.
For what it’s worth, there are tunnels between most of the academic buildings and tunnels between the dorms and dining hall. But there is a quarter-mile walk between the two.
I think the campus is serviceable but not beautiful, although there are some very nice-looking buildings and areas. But it’s worth mentioning that the cost of attendance at RIT is around $46-47k, which is a good $15k cheaper than the bulk of selective private colleges and universities.
The tunnel system sounds great! I’ve been in tunnels that have stores and coffee. and I’ve been in tunnels that smell like urine. What are the RIT tunnels like?
My DS doesn’t care much about how a campus looks. The only thing he wants is an urban or suburban environment. I was the one who was most interested in what the college is like. How does RIT compare with Chapman or Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in CA?
My DS says that he doesn’t care about weather, but he hasn’t experienced it so doesn’t know it. DD got really affected by the weather when she moved to the NE.
I have been on a lot of school tours all over America from small LAC’s in North Carolina to larger schools on the west coast. They all have their plus’ and minus’. I appreciated the bricks and the grounds were well kept. They have random sculptures and art that grace the walkways and I think there are two art galleries on campus showcasing the work of the students. They even have a art gallery on campus that sells beautiful work created by students, staff and alumni alike. It’s a very well laid out school and though there is the 1/4 mile walk from the dorms to the middle of campus, it’s not that far on a daily basis to make that walk. (Says the parent living in 73 degree weather year round).
Facilities:I was awed by the facilities not only for the gaming department, but for the engineering, cyber security, and the arts programs. They were, by far, the best I’ve seen. They had a ton of computers everywhere for the gaming department and it was fantastic to walk by the robotics and electrical engineering labs to see what the kids were doing. It was very evident that they had a collaborative work environment everywhere we looked.
Weather: I visited in March of last year when the snow was on the ground but Spring was itching to arrive and it was sunny and cold. I also visited in October for what turned out to be one of the last “warm” weekends. It is very windy there year round (so I’ve heard and experienced) so that makes the air feel cooler to me. It will definitely be an adjustment but I’ve looked at lots of pics and videos and it looks like most kids just wear a sweatshirt and coat and power through it.
Tunnels: The tunnels were very cool. They snake along underground and and were very clean. I didn’t see any signs of garbage and no smell that I recall. They’re painted with murals which I’m sure helps them find their way out since there are multiple entrances and exits along the way.
Dorms: The dorms were standard dorms-- just as you remember them. It does look like a large portion of students choose to live off campus after their first years. They do have the new apartments near the MAGIC center which might be appealing to some.
Food: Again, I’ve been on a lot of tours and RIT has a large variety of food outlets to choose from. I’ve eaten at a couple and the food was good. There is food available all over campus so you don’t have to walk outside to get a bite to eat while in many of the buildings or it’s just a short walk.
Recreation Facilities: I would say that the Rec facilities are on par with the ones I saw at University of Denver or Cal Poly SLO. They are pretty fantastic. Bonus points for being able to walk to the new center for hockey games.
Students: It’s hard to make a general statement about students but this school just looked like the right spot for a more introverted, computer programming kind of kid like my son. There was definitely a lot of work going on in small groups and lots of laughter and chatting going on in some of the labs but what was most astounding to me was that there were FULL classrooms at 4:00 on a Friday afternoon. I was shocked to see so many students still engaged in educational endeavors on a Friday when most schools wouldn’t even attempt to schedule a class at that time. That tells me that the kids are committed to their educations.
For all of the above reasons and because it is nearly $20K cheaper than NEU after scholarships are taken into account, my son is committing to RIT today.
Accepted- Computer Science major.
Some Stats -
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Asian/Pacific Islander
ACT: 34
Rank: School doesn’t rank
Unweighted GPA: 3.5 / 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.51
AP: APUSH (4), AP Bio (4), taking AP Statistics & AP Computer Science A senior year
Just curious, did anyone receive their scholarship information in the same envelope they received their admission decision (the big giant one) or separately? I just found out my decision today via the portal and from what i received in the mail… I was really crossing my fingers for a scholarship and was kind of thinking I would receive a merit-based one.
Last year my daughter was accepted late in February and didn’t receive her financial (merit and need-based) offer until late March.
@prsmom,
Thanks so much for the tour of RIT! I can really picture it now! My DS would think that the tunnels were very cool. The walking distance from dorms to campus still seems reasonable compared with UCSC (bus or hills) or UCLA (hills). Fantastic that your kid is ready to commit. NEU came off of DS list when he changed his mind from game art/design to animation in fall 2014. Had to do a little shuffling of the college application list.
We received the merit letter one week after the decision arrived in the mail.
^ Same. Congrats @prsmom on your son’s decision. We are waiting to hear from a few schools still. RIT would not be dramatically cheaper for us compared with some other schools that have kicked in more need-based grants. My son is RD at NEU and we haven’t heard yet. I think he would fit in well at RIT, I wish it were closer to home.
The tunnels in 30 seconds … If the link doesn’t work, go to youtube and search for the RIT in :30 series put out by RIT University News https://www.youtube.com/watchv=YXLLWgix7BM&index=5&list=PLdPBsGyZIovPOEmBBZPoCSGQdXJDOBUxk
Accepted!
[ b]Objective:**
[ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1910 (590 math, 590 reading, 730 writing)
[ *] ACT:
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.28 (3.8 weighted)
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 177/283
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus I, English Lang and Comp, Statistics, Environmental Science, Psychology. (Did not send any AP scores to applied schools yet.)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: 2 AP math classes, rest are honors and GT.
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Maryland All State Orchestra Participant Award (?)
Subjective:**
[ list]
[ *] Extracurricular (place leadership in parenthesis): Orchestra, Art, Chorus, NHS, Key Club, Played in the orchestra for my high school’s musical.
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Worked at a children’s clothing store over the summer
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered for the Autism Society, Salvation army, etc…
[ *] Summer Activities: Took Chemistry GT over the summer, worked
[ *] Essays: My essay was pretty good. (Rewrote it 5 times and had it proofread by many family members and friends.)
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: good recommendations from my science teacher of 2 years and my orchestra teacher of 4 years.
[ *] Counselor Rec:
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ *] Interview:[/list][ b] N/A
Other**
[ list]
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Public (In my opinion, very competitive)
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *]Income Bracket: 150,000-200,000
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list][ b]
Reflection**
[ list]
[ *] Strengths: My strengths include my essay, SAT score, playing in orchestra for 4 consecutive years.
[ *] Weaknesses: Definitely my GPA…
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Luck, Maybe essay?
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/list][ b] I was accepted into:
SUNY Binghamton
Drexel University
UMBC
I was rejected from:
UPitt (But offered alternative campus: Bradford)
PennState (But offered alternative campus: Altoona)
UMD (straight out rejected)
General Comments:**
Congrats, were you accepted into a particular program at RIT. What part of the states do you live in?
@KJ1963 Thank you! I was accepted into College of Science, Biology.
Also, I live near Ellicott City!
I am going to speculate that applicants to NTID get their application results later since the applications are separate from the general RIT admissions. This is what I am going to tell myself for the next two 9 + days 
I haven’t seen any hints of acceptances RD yet…
do we see our decision online first or get it in the mail first? i used common app to apply
@snoogleki my son applied common app and we still have not heard, he sent his RD application in, in December. I guess we have another week to hike to the mailbox.
If you applied via the Common App, you might need to contact their technical support to “marry” the portal to your application. Search “RIT Portal” here on College Confidential, and you will see that others in the past who applied via the Common App had some issues. Technical Support solved it for them (and for my D!)
Hi MazeArtCrew ! Thanks for the tip…I just looked at her portal ( which we have been checking obsessively for the last two weeks ) It has changed , but still don’t have a clear answer. This is what it said :
If you have not yet received your admissions decision letter, please contact the Admissions Office.
I really hope they aren’t going to reject her over the phone 
This is a nail biter for sure.
Oh , and my daughter also applied via common app. I haven’t told her I saw the update…I doubt she will log in today to her portal since it is a weekend . I don’t know if I should call for her because I think if they are denying her, she would be upset to get that news on the phone.
@lje62 I would give it until the mail comes tomorrow and see if there is a communication from RIT. They aren’t going to be in the office today anyway so I would say nothing right now, in your shoes.