<p>I’m not saying Troy is a great place, but it’s definitely being revitalized, and we have enjoyed ourselves when we’ve visited my son there. I agree that there are some shady places around town, but that can be said for many very good schools, including Rochester.
Regarding debt, I wouldn’t take on the debt required by either of these choices, and I wouldn’t let my kids take it on either.
So what’s the final decision?</p>
<p>I went to RPI for grad school. As a 30 y.o. woman, I thought Troy was great. I love so much about the location: beautiful row houses, lots of local cross-country skiing, great bike routes, fine hikes in the mountain, more than enough action in the Capital District. Last year we looked at RPI for my daughter, and Troy looked even better. RIT is out of the city; RPI is in its city. Part of this is a question of whether you like cities or not. </p>
<p>I live across the river but my H and I go to downtown Troy every once in awhile. There has been a lot of revitalization since we moved to the area 20 something years ago. Some excellent restaurants, some just for fun ones (for eg. Dinosaur BBQ is right on the riverfront and it’s a nice place to sit out on their deck and have drinks and food.) They also have a wee antique shop district downtown, several art galleries, a great bookstore, and a fantastic farmer market, right on the waterfront - which moves indoors for the winter. </p>
<p>My kid goes to college in an old mill town in Maine and it’s way worse than Troy (and he knows Troy really well as his private high school was in Troy.) </p>
<p>I would like to thank all of you that posted a reply, you have all truly been helpful. I’ve decided to appeal to both school’s financial aid offices, and I’m likely sticking with RIT. I’m trying to get as much money as possible from RIT because I do realize that 60k is a lot of debt. But, I’m hoping that the Co-Ops will help cut that 60k down at least by a couple thousand before I graduate. I’m also appealing to RPI’s financial aid office in the off chance that they will give me more money. If, by some miracle, RPI brings their price way down, I will likely switch to attend RPI. However this is doubtful, so I’m sticking with RIT! Thank you all for the help!</p>