Roger Williams University

I graduated from RWU May '16 and have had some time to reflect. I used this site a lot when I was making my choice to go here and I always found the most useful reviews to be the ones that stayed objective, so I will try to do that in my own review. I should mention though that my time at Roger is unique to me, just like your time at which ever school you choose will be unique to you. College, like everything in life, is what you make of it. That being said, I felt like I had to try extra hard to make lemonade out of the lemons Roger handed me. Here are some of the pros and cons of my experience broken down by category(compared to the kinds of resources/ experiences my high school friends had at different colleges, as well as based on the school I am currently attending for my Masters).

Academics:
I studied architecture and the program was great. I really think that RWU is one of the best architecture programs in its league on the East coast. I came here because the university emphasizes a core curriculum that exposes ALL students to courses from many different fields (philosophy, sciences, writing, math, etc). This was important to me, especially since most architecture programs are so rigidly constructed. I was able to get a liberal arts education and an architecture degree, which was huge. This also gave me the opportunity to double major, which I may not have been able to do elsewhere (I think its worth noting that I constructed my own second major...so if you don't see the major you want in the offerings this may be an option for you and you should look into making it happen).

Campus and Resources: The campus is beautiful. It really is. I think that the resources could be better, but for a small private college they are doing okay. I now go to University of Oregon, and the two are just on different levels. It would be like comparing apples and oranges... so again...for a small private college, its okay. The gym is nice, the dining services are exceptional, the printing services could be better, and the internet is mediocre. With the exception of one time when I couldn't find ANYWHERE on campus to bind a presentation, I was never upset with what the school had to offer.

Clubs, orgs, and campus life: Alright, there's no way to sugarcoat this part... social life on campus is lousy. Really just the worst. There isn't enough money to support the clubs adequately, but that doesn't even matter because the students are the most apathetic group of people I have ever experienced. It's numbing. Nobody DOES anything. I hope so desperately that this changes as the university matures, because its a toxic environment. Its so hard to explain to outsiders too because I've never experienced anything like it in my life. Everyone is just so caught up in themselves that they can't be bothered with anything else. I know people who met their "people" here and it was smooth sailing for them, but I also know a lot of people like me who never belonged and it was rough. I felt like I was a prep school, not a university. I was surrounded by a very immature, uninspired group of individuals.

Surrounding area: The coast is beautiful, and there is a wide variety of things to do in about an hour radius. Newport, Providence, Bristol, Boston...its all right there. I also had a friend in the outing club who went to the White Mountains for the weekend. If having a car is an option for you I would HIGHLY recommend it. My quality of life skyrocketed the one year I had a car. The campus itself is kind of awkwardly positioned between highway and ocean so without a car its just a lot more difficult to feel like an independent person. If you can't have a car, the bus is an option too but...a car would be way better.

Overall: This was long as is but I have so much more I could say about this place. At the end of the day Roger Williams is an alright school. I think it has its flaws, but its still growing into itself. Remember that its only in its early 60's. If I wasn't set on studying architecture, or was willing to move away from the east coast for college I would not have come here, however neither of those were the case. If you're studying a degree other than architecture or biology I would suggest considering other schools.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

RWU is a sad example of a university. It is nothing more than a community college with money. If you get accepted to any other college, by all means, go to it! The only kids who go here are from the east coast with money who couldn't get in anywhere else. There are also tons of sailors and rowers from the west coast who come to RWU because they obviously were too dumb to get in anywhere else...classes are easy as hell and don't challenge you at all. If you go here, you are paying for a less than community college education, in which you will be surrounded by dumb, underachieving people.

2nd Year Female -- Class 2016

Campus Aesthetics: B, Education Quality: F