<p>I am currently attending RIT and got accepted to RPI and BU for the Spring Semester of 2014. I have having a lot of trouble deciding which school I go to, many of my friends say BU because of of its reputation. Some of my friends say RPI because over the years, it has gotten up in ranking, etc. Any suggestions? I would like to know if there is a link for RPI's peer school as I am unable to find it. I personally like BU and RPI. I actually like being in a live, active city like Boston as there's so much to do. As for the school itself, it is small compare to RPI, but contain around 18k in population, whereas RPI is around 250 acres of land, bigger than Boston University, with less population. Some of my friends say that RPI has a really good education in general because of it's small classes, etc. Thank you for your help. Please provide links if possible so that I can read more. Ranking is important, reputation matters to me too, but I want to have time and want to have a good future. So I do not want to make a mistake. Thank you</p>
<p>RPI and BU are going to be dramatically different. We might be able to tell you more if you let us know what you want to study, your class year, and why you want to leave RIT.</p>
<p>Hi, I plan on majoring in Information Systems/Technology and Computer Engineering. I want to leave RIT as there isn’t a lot of social life going on. It is really hard to make friends as there’s a lot of people and I rarely see any one more than 1s a day. I feel there’s a lack of socializing. I know RPI will lack that as well. But in terms of education, it seems to be a better fit to me than RIT. It is also closer to NYC, which is a nice city to visit if I ever on vacation. I am going to be Freshmen if I transfer in the Spring semester.</p>
<p>I personally feel that socializing and partying and enjoying college is important as many of my friends say to have and enjoy college life. On the other hand there’s a handful of people saying that college is important for your future and you must work hard to get good grades. This really contradicts enjoying college life and having fun, if all you do is studying and working hard. Any opinions? Which school is better, or how college life should be? Thank you</p>
<p>The latter handful of people are correct in what the primary reason to attend college is. However, working hard to learn well and get grades acceptable for your goals does not preclude enjoying college life, although partying and socializing should be second priority compared to learning what you went to college to learn.</p>
<p>Most college students do not have the luxury of selecting colleges based on socializing and partying; they are constrained by what colleges they can get admitted to which offer their desired academic programs at an affordable cost. Often, this means the local community college and commuter-oriented state university.</p>
<p>Well as for the money part, I do not have to worry about it. Money isn’t a problem to me. It’s just the education part. Reputation means a lot to me and a good strong school is also important to me. Any suggestions since money isn’t a problem in this case? Thank you</p>
<p>OK, then BU will probably be a better fit for you. It is a big school so you may need to do a little work to find new friends - join some clubs and participate in student activities.
It is in the heart of the city so there is always something to do and see.
I don’t think the social scene will be much better at RPI since it is a STEM-centric school with a more intense academic atmosphere than RIT.
Did you do anything to meet people at RIT? If not, then you may just be moving your problem to a new location…</p>
<p>Yea, I did a lot in RIT, I joined like 3 clubs ranging from Juggling to community service. The people are friendly, but most seem to be doing their own things and improving their own skills. Overall, they seem to be on their own and really hard to make friends. I tried approaching to them, and asking them questions, etc. After they gave me short answers, they are back to what they are doing. They don’t seem to be interested in talking to people. They as in the people I met thus far, not all.</p>
<p>Not sure exactly what you mean by “peer school”, but this site is great for showing what schools a school listed as peer schools (and vice versa) in submissions to the Dept of Education:</p>
<p>RIT lists both RPI and BU as peer schools – but neither returns the favor. In fact, looking at the lists of which schools RIT lists as peers, and which schools list RIT as a peer, RIT seems to be aiming higher than they’re considered.</p>
<p>If RIT is big and BU is also big in terms of number of students aren’t you going to have the same problem there? Are you staying on campus? Usually people from the same dorm socialize more frequently. My D goes to RPI and she has friends from her classes, her dorm, the Playhouse, her program major, and other community service groups she is involved in. If school is #1, these avenues should fill the remaining time without any issues for socializing. She is having a great time there and she is not part of the Greek life either which opens up even more social activities. The education is challenging but doable if you want to keep your gpa over 35.</p>
<p>Hi, I see, well yes, both schools RIT and BU is big, but RIT is more tech oriented, so from what I see, it feels harder to make friends as I see many of them talking about tech stuff which makes it boring if they are always talking about tech. As for BU, it seem as if they are all over the place and that it’s not only about tech stuff, but everything so it seems fun. I think I have made my decision, I guess I might go to RPI. So how is RPI a good school? Anything I should know before hand? Thank you</p>
<p>I think you will find RPI a more challenging school academically than RIT, with better students. But the kids there are just as science/tech-oriented as the ones at RIT. It should be interesting to see if you will like it better there.</p>
<p>Ultimately this is your decision. Have you visited either of these schools? Your last post reads like “BU sounds like it is more fun, but I guess I’ll go to RPI anyway.”</p>
<p>If you go to RPI, just realize you’re swapping one tech school for another. RPI and RIT are going to have the same types of students. You’re coming in mid-year, so freshman friendships are already being established and you’re late to the party.</p>
<p>There is plenty to do at RPI. They have your typical list of student organizations and clubs, but it will be up to you to get involved and find your match. It might be harder for you to find these opportunities mid-year, though. When I was attending they always had a huge activity fair in the fall. </p>
<p>RPI has significant greek life, too, so perhaps a fraternity would help fulfill your social needs. </p>
<p>It is a really hard choice for myself as my parents thinks I might party a lot in BU. Which I know there will be so much to do and life will be much different from a tech oriented school.</p>
<p>I guess right now, everything is important, but I guess I’ll look more towards the “better” education side and seem like RPI has the “better” one or more reputation.</p>