The Rochester Institute of Technology

Date: Nov 27 2005
Major: Video/Media (This Major's Salary over time)
Stay away from RIT unless you want to be bitterly disappointed. Of course, not everyone dislikes it here, but many do. In fact, this school is infamous for its horrid retention rates. Student morale and school spirit sits at rock bottom.

I don't need to discuss in depth the abysmal social life here—just search through the other reviews and you'll find plenty on that matter. I'll merely simplify it: there is nothing to do, and the student body in general is lame and/or shut-in. I've visited friends at other universities—the environment is completely different. There, at real college campuses, you see people enjoying themselves and interacting with one another. At isolated RIT, that is not the case.

Obviously, this isn't the only reason why this school is a disappointment. Don't get me wrong; college is primarily a learning institution. But it's not just the social aspect that sucks here, the academics and other intangibles blow as well. So far, my professors have, for the most part, proven incompetent and, above all, unable to teach and impart information effectively on the students. In the film and animation department, the supposedly most prestigious program at RIT, I have encountered the worst of my teachers. I feel most of what I've learned has been through self trial and error. I'm at least lucky, though, that all my profs so far have been able to speak clear English, for I have heard many horror stories of teachers here who cannot.

The pain-in-the-ass bureaucracy will drive you nuts. Everything from housing, to the quarter system, to eating, to campus transportation, etc. always seems painfully difficult and inefficient. For example, after a roommate withdrew and moved out mid-quarter (there goes that retention rate again) I was assigned another roommate without even being notified and after being told that no one else would move in until after the quarter ended. The other day, I waited in the cold for a shuttle to take me to the movie theater. An RIT website designated the time of arrival and destination for the shuttle. One finally showed up fifteen minutes later than scheduled, but it wasn't going to the movie theater (or half the places the website claimed) as the site had stated. I didn't need an answer as to why this discrepancy existed—this is RIT, random, inexplicable inconveniences are their policy. Did I mention that our vacation breaks are shorter than most schools', and that we attend more total days than most other colleges as well?

Transferring from here is very difficult, given the quarter system. Credits count as only 2/3 of what they did at RIT when transferred to schools on the semester system (most every college), leaving you with messy fractions you can't do anything with (which means wasted time).

I'll just leave you with this final thought: notice on the main page of this website, RIT, a school of moderate size, is listed as the third-most reviewed college on this site. It isn't because students here are brimming with happiness. Oh, well, at least we still have a leg up on Pensacola Christian College!