<p>Hi,
I just got back from my post-acceptance visit to the University of Rhode Island (URI), and I'd figure I'd type up this trip report to help me get my thoughts in order. Not a typical CC school, but it has some very strong programs and good aid, so who knows... Someone might be interested.</p>
<p>Supposedly, we came in with the worst weather the area has had all year, according to locals (I can't count the number of people that told us last weekend was sooo much nicer!), but I figured that it was best to experience some of the worst weather than to go in having experienced only the best. Surprisingly, though, it wasn't that bad. The wind was very strong, so the wind chill could get bad, but when it wasn't blowing, it wasn't too cold at all. After hearing about killer Northeast winters, I was pleasantly surprised.</p>
<p>The university is located in Kingston, which more or less doesn't existed. The area is considered to be a mixture of the towns of South and North Kingston, which are both semi-independent. The school seemed fairly self-serving with a small emporium of restaurants, stores, tanning salons, laundry mats, etc., located in easy walking distance from Memorial Union. This being RI, of course, nothing is really that fair away. A lot of kids (our guide included) apparently live down in the Narragansett area by the beach for the cheap rent, for example, and there are some small towns around 15 minutes away and Providence around 20 minutes away. The tour guide said it isn't necessary to own a car but that it is good to find a friend who does. There is also a fairly extensive bus service through RI and a close train station if you're totally car-less. The isolation seems like it could be a problem, but it also seems to be a problem the school is working on. While we were there, we saw a number of fliers for RAM Tours-reduced cost (I'm assuming) trips for students to Boston Celtics games, the Providence mall, etc. There are a fair number of on-campus club, and the school brings in a fair number of comedians, artists, and other speakers (including Mark Zupan of the Murderball fame!). The school also offers a yearly overseas Spring Break trip. Last year's destination was Greece; this year's is Italy.</p>
<p>The campus itself is fairly typical New England with lots of gray stone buildings. The sidewalks and pathways are well-maintained, and except for the stairwells (?) the inside of the buildings seemed fairly nice. We visited the Pharmacy building (my prospective major), the textile class building, and the business building (guide's major). The business building was the newest of these, and definitely the most high tech. Apparently, the professor can control everything from the computer to the window shades with the touch of a button, and they have a large trading room with a stock ticker and double-monitored computers. The pharmacy building is less high-tech but not bad by any means. They have lecture halls, labs, and a model pharmacy (the latter looking particularly neat), Because the guide wasn't a pharmacy major; he didn't know much about the building but seemed more than eager to find out information for us.</p>
<p>From the tour, I got the impression that URI considers its pharm students the cream of academic crop and that the pharm. school is very well regarded (The founder of CVS is an alumnus). The guide said the pharm. students tend to be a vey cohesive group, so it is almost as though they have a set of friends (or, I suppose, enemies ;) ) coming into it. He also said the school takes really good care of the pharm. students in terms of scheduling and internships, but it didn't seem to working too poorly for him either as he got a internship at the main offices (I think) of Smith and Barney summer of his sophomore year and was planning to go back this year as well. Who knew a 3rd tier school could have that much clout?</p>
<p>The tour guide told us a pretty interesting story about URI. He applied at several schools along the east coast as a NJ resident. Apparently, the first time he visited URI in bad weather and having missed half the tour, he hated it. He got rejected from his first choice and went back to visit his other schools, saw URI on a better day, and loved it. He said getting rejected from his 1st choice was probably one of the "best things" that ever happened to him. It seemed like quite the endorsement to me.</p>
<p>Next, we saw the dorms. They were much nicer than I expected, and the rooms were surprisingly large, even for a triple. The guide said most people get tripled their freshman year but for his part, he liked his roommates. If you don't get along with your roommates, though, the school allows you to "de-triple," or kick a roommate out after two weeks. Dorms are co-ed by room and have common bath rooms, though they do have some suite-style room as well. The campus has 3 dining halls, one with a made-to-order pasta counter. According to our guide, the food was hands-down the best of any colleges he had eaten at.</p>
<p>The next stop on the tour were the athletic facilities; the school was hosting the Atlantic 10 track meet, so we couldn't really look around much, but what we saw looked fine. Apparently, the school just built a really nice basketball court and is working on getting a dome on the football field. URI doesn't have that great of a football teams (fine with me), but it does have a passable basketball team, a very good track team, and amazing (24-0-2) ice hockey teams.</p>
<p>Let me take a moment to talk about the people. Pretty much everyone we met was exceedingly nice, from the cab driver to our student guide. The Disability Services Department arranged for a private tour without hassle, and our guide was very helpful in helping us maneuvering the buildings. In addition, our guide was constantly stopped by friends throughout the tour and often introduced us as well. The size (12000-13000 undergrads) felt close enough to make friends and small enough that you could meet different kinds of people or avoid ones you didn't like.</p>
<p>Overall, despite the less than perfect weather and relative isolation, I really liked URI. It felt very similar in culture to UMontana, with UM feeling a tad "warmer" but much more sports oriented. Combined with the very generous scholarship they gave me and the auto-admittance to pharm. school, URI now ranks 1st or 2nd on my last, dueling with UM. My re-visit to UM and their aid offer may be the decision-making factor in this...</p>
<p>I think that's all; if you have any questions or need clarification, just ask.</p>