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R.I.T. - What should I know about It?
So, mostly because of Geeknights, I've decided to go to R.I.T. for college. There where 3 things that sold me on the school, largest Anime club in North America, a college that specializing in technology, and Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHD) assistance. The 3rd reason was the biggest since I'm Hard of Hearing and R.I.T. specializes in assistance for DHD students. Well, after much thought and looking at other colleges, I think it's pretty much final that I'm going to R.I.T. and next week I'm driving from Wisconsin to look around at the campus grounds and get a better sense of the college.
I wanted to know of anything in advance about R.I.T., like things too look for, and what to expect. I thought that asking the forum, since many of you here have probably gone to R.I.T., would be a good place to ask. So tell me all about R.I.T. I want every little detail about why I should go here, what I should look for while visiting, and anything else.
For the campus tour, I'm probably going to have someone from the Anime club show me around, I think. And I will possibly get to sit in on one of the meetings.
I also want to know of any places In the town of Rochester that would be worth spending time at since were probably spending a few days there. Hang out's, arcades, museums, etc.
I wanted to know of anything in advance about R.I.T., like things too look for, and what to expect. I thought that asking the forum, since many of you here have probably gone to R.I.T., would be a good place to ask. So tell me all about R.I.T. I want every little detail about why I should go here, what I should look for while visiting, and anything else.
For the campus tour, I'm probably going to have someone from the Anime club show me around, I think. And I will possibly get to sit in on one of the meetings.
I also want to know of any places In the town of Rochester that would be worth spending time at since were probably spending a few days there. Hang out's, arcades, museums, etc.
Comments
One thing: get used to snow and cold. The campus can be pretty desolate in the middle of winter; in fact, winter quarter of the freshman year (if I remember properly) is the worst time for retention.
I hope to meet some Geeknights listeners there, and hang out with some other students I know. What is RIT's policy with regards to non-students? Also, what are some Rochester-specific things I should know? I look forward to going to my first Wegman's.
EDIT: Wow, I remember that (linked) thread. Such optimism. I wish I could've gone there this year.
I also should of mentioned that since I'm hard-of-hearing, there is a HUGE discount on education fee's It's almost $17 grand discount.
RIT IS HARD. Most schools in the US have a semester system. That means you spend half the year with one set of classes, then half the year with another set. There's lots of vacation time between semesters, spring break, etc.
At RIT, you have a quarter system. That means each year is broken up into four ten-week quarters. The fourth quarter is summer, and most people don't go to school during summer quarter. Even so, that means every class is ten weeks long. Week 5 is mid-terms and week 10 is finals. Since you only have ten weeks per class, you have very few tests. If you bomb an important test, or mess up a project, you've probably ruined your chances of getting a good grade in that class. RIT is stupid hard, academically.
Also, to everyone going to RIT, go to every single home-ice hockey game and sit in the corner. You won't have to ask which corner, it's obvious.
In fact, the school effectively punishes people who don't use the technology. For example, if you try to register for classes in person or over the phone, you'll be totally screwed. We had to telnet into the VMS and register directly, beginning promptly at 7:00am on registration day. I believe they may have a web application to make it easier now.
Your class schedule will be online. Your professors will email you assignments or post them in a class's web site, rather than tell you about them. Very few professors (especially in CS/IT) will accept a printed paper, and will require essays/projects to be submitted electronically by midnight on the day they are due. (If you make up some excuse and send it later, they will investigate and determine if you are lying). They'll assume that you check your email every single day, and that you read every email you receive. "My spam filter ate it" or "I never check my RIT email" is never an excuse.
It will be assumed that you have a laptop, and will use it for any/all presentations you give for slides. If you do not have one, you will be expected (implicitly) to check one our from the library. It will furthermore be assumed that you will know how to set it up to work with the projector in the classroom on your own.
There is a manual, offline process for doing (most) things, but it will ALWAYS leave you one step behind and one card short.
1. Snow
2. Computers
3. Bricks
You may want to consider going elsewhere. Seriously, bricks are big there.
Also, the freshman year is the toughest one. The standards you're expected to meet may hit you hard in the face as Rym & Scott have mentioned, but if you make it to the 2nd year it's a little easier to handle since you know what to expect.
The class registration issues mentioned seemed to go away the 2nd year as well. Freshmen, unless things have changed since late 2005, get the last pick for classes, and that's where a lot of the trouble came in. Every year you go on, you get to register a day earlier. Once I got to year 2, I got almost every class I wanted no matter how I registered.
The only other thing I can think of right now is to dump your meal plan as soon as possible and go for all-debit, especially if you leave the dorms or really can't stand the cafeteria food. Rym recommended this to me and I didn't regret it at ALL.
Flush hard, it's gotta make it to Gracies.
File for financial aid as early as you can. Don't be afraid to go to the financial aid office and get in someone's face. File appeal letters for larger grant packages. Pay all your god dam'n bills on time. Register for your second-year classes a week after grades come out, after everyone has failed their classes. When the weather is nice, spend every minute you can outside.
Edit: It's official, I will be getting a campus tour on the 11th of August. It's pretty much a 12 hour tour topped with a possible anime club meeting; I hope they do have a meeting.
Edit: I think I'm going to major in Computer Science, or Game Design. I'm really looking forward to going here and I'm going to work my ass off this year in high school so I can go R.I.T.
When I'm ready to go study here, in the University building and campus which is currently under construction and will be finished once I start, I'll have to pay NOTHING for my Bachelor and Master education. This usually means that the University is poorly supplied and generally shit, but since it's a new building I'm looking forward. Fear me in your German classes in American (or elsewhere non German) High Schools! ^^
Yes, that was a bit off topic, but I just remembered by how shocked I was with the fees. Have fun in RIT anyway and good luck!