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College Prowler

Academics

As a whole, I would say the teachers are what I expected. Overall, freshmen end up with a lot of classes which are rather large lectures (50–100 people, usually more like 50), so teachers can help but seem kind of distant. Two out of the eight teachers I’ve had so far have been of lower quality, three have been great, and the rest are average. There are classes which allow closer student/professor interaction, though—particularly humanities. It also depends on your major. I don’t mean to stereotype, but math professors are, on the whole, less interesting than philosophy ones.

Athletics

Hockey is fairly popular, but sports are not a large aspect of RPI. Students would get more recognition for winning at a LAN party than a football game.

Campus Dining

I would rank the food on campus as average—some days, it’s really good while others, you have to stick salads, burgers, or pizza. At the smaller dining hall in the middle of campus, there is a guy called Tofu Tim who makes a different dish everyday and is usually excellent.

Campus Housing

The quality of the dorms is rather varied. I’d say the dorms at RPI are slightly less nice than the dorms I saw at other colleges. I didn’t mind my dorm, but sometimes, they can get messy. RPI is going through renovation of some of their freshman dorms, so things are looking better. By far, the nicest dorm is Barton Hall—it was built only a few years ago and is like a hotel. Other than that, Bray, Hall, Cary, and Crockett Halls are all about the same. BARH is another freshman dorm, mixed with some upperclassmen areas, but it’s much farther away from campus.

Campus Strictness

Campus regulations prohibit the use of alcohol on campus unless you are in your own dorm and are at least 21. This is fairly strictly enforced; however, there is a pub on campus that is always packed for happy hour on Fridays for those over 21. There are about 30 RPI fraternities, and at least one or two of them host big parties on weekends. There is always some sort of drinking occurring on or near campus on the weekends. Drugs are another story. RPI is very strict about the use of illegal substances on school property, so there aren't too many incidences of drug use.

Computers

RPI’s campus network is quite nice. There are two Ethernet ports in every dorm room, and all my classes that weren’t in large lecture halls had network jacks in them. There is also a wireless network available in the Darrin Communications Center (DCC), Student Union, and one or two other places on campus. The Voorhees Computing Center (VCC) has some really nice computers in it for public use. I’ve never been there and not been able to find somewhere to sit down and use a computer—they have both UNIX and Windows systems for use. Internet access is as fast as you’d expect on a tech campus; I’ve gotten nearly 1MB/s download speed before, but it usually runs around 150–200K/s. Over 99 percent of my computing was done with my laptop, however. If you go to RPI, they require you purchase a laptop with certain minimum requirements.

Diversity

The campus is very diverse. I don’t know the numbers, but you’ll find people from every state and from all over the world. As an example, a friend of mine freshman year was from Seattle and had a roommate from Korea.

Drug Scene

I’ve never heard any complaints about how strict the campus police are with drugs and drinking. I don’t think I’m in with a crowd that does drugs, so I haven’t even heard about people doing any drugs at RPI besides some weed. As for drinking, it seems like Public Safety won’t bother anyone unless there are complaints from neighbors. Also, if you are a freshman and drinking or doing drugs in your dorm, you should just make sure your door is closed and you don’t get your neighbors upset, because the RAs can sometimes make trouble for people.

Facilities

The facilities are good and getting better. RPI has been spending quite a bit of money on improving its facilities. The athletic center was somewhat recently redone—it’s called the Mueller Fitness Center and has a pretty nice gym inside, free to students. There are fields all over the place if you like to play games or just toss a ball. There are also a couple pools which students can use, though one of them is often used by the swim team. The student Union was also recently redone and looks amazing. It’s one of my favorite buildings on campus, and it includes the bookstore and game room among other things. The Union is basically a focal point for student life. People regularly go there to study and eat. The only downside is that it can get crowded sometimes for those who are studying. There are also several computing labs on campus, the main one being in the VCC. Since everybody on campus has a laptop, however, computing centers aren’t as big as they used to be.

Greek Life

Our Greek system is not like the stereotypical ‘wild and out of control’ images you see on TV. Granted, we certainly do get ridiculous and party hard, we are also mostly serious students as well. It does somewhat dominate the social scene, but that’s because there isn’t too much to do in the area. Albany (15 minutes away) is semi-decent, but not amazing. Because of there not being a ton to do, Greek stuff does tend to dominate, and involve mostly normal kids who want to have fun and a good social life while at school. It’s obviously not for everyone, though, but most of the campus does have a good time at fraternity parties. Sororities tend to be governed a lot tighter, and from what I’ve seen, aren’t as tight as the fraternities.

Guys & Girls

I guess the main thing to know is that RPI is about 75 percent guys, 25 percent girls—everyone calls it ‘the ratio,’ and it can make some guys desperate and some girls really nasty. The students are definitely far too diverse to put under a general category, though. As you’d expect at any tech school, however, there are a lot of ‘dorky’ people—and I use dorky in the gentlest sense of the word. You’ll find people with all sorts of eccentricities and idiosyncrasies. Believe me when I say there are all types of people on the campus. Whether you are the large football player type or the silent, quiet type, you’re bound to find them somewhere. Girls are the same way, just fewer in number. A lot of the girls are nice, but some can get big heads considering the ratio. Fortunately, I’d say most of the girls are hot.

Local Atmosphere

Troy is a kind of quiet town. There are some good restaurants and some places to party. The general consensus is that "there's nothing to do in Troy," which is not necessarily true. My favorite things are the farmers' market every Saturday and neat antique stores.

Nightlife

There aren't really parties on campus, but you can usually find a good party at one of the frat houses near campus. Girls can almost always get free drinks for flashing a smile. If you are underage and don't have a fake ID, your best bet is a frat.

Off-Campus Dining

There aren't a whole lot of good restaurants nearby, but you can find a few gems. Big Apple Pizza is practically on campus and is open late. Within walking distance is Brown's, a brewpub that has great burgers and even better craft-brewed beer. There are some coffeehouses in downtown Troy, but you need to be brave enough to explore the area.

Off-Campus Housing

Most people live off campus after freshman year, mainly because of lack of housing provided by RPI. It is convenient, and its worth depends on where you end up. There are plenty of apartments available that range from ‘dilapidated’ to ‘exquisite.’

Overall Experience

So far, I love being at RPI. I’m very glad I didn’t choose another school closer to home. (I live about two and a half hours away from Troy.) The people I have met have been really great, and it’s definitely been an awesome experience. With four classes a semester, the workload doesn’t turn everyone into mindless robot students, but there’s definitely enough schoolwork to keep most people occupied. I certainly don’t wish I was somewhere else. Although the school is definitely a tech school (humanities are rather lacking in some areas), that fits well with me, and I love being here.

Parking

Campus parking is a little tough sometimes. There is just enough space around the freshman dorms to accommodate all the people who bring cars. I would not suggest you take your car unless you really feel you’ll need it. On the weekends, parking is easy because a number of people go home, but it gets hard on the weekdays. Also, you’ll probably get to know someone who does have a car anyways if you really need to get somewhere in a hurry.

Safety & Security

Security is really good as far as I’ve been exposed to it. RPI’s Public Safety officers function essentially like police, and they’re really nice about helping and everything. There are public-access telephones all over campus—supposedly no student on campus is ever out of sight of one of the bright red poles where the phones are. The school newspaper reports on any crime/security problems on campus; since being here, the most major events were an assault on someone outside one of the dorms and the theft of one of the dorm televisions. Those incidents, however, are not at all commonplace. I personally feel very safe on campus.

Transportation

The Red Hawk Shuttle runs fairly frequently around campus and is very convenient. Off campus, the CDTA system is a little less reliable and can make trips that would otherwise take five minutes turn into an hour.

Weather

Last year was very light—we had only one major snowstorm with some minor squalls. Commonly, however, the winter will bring two or three storms which drop six inches of snow or more. From about November through March, the weather is cold—days range from 15 or 20 degrees Fahrenheit, to 40 or so. Sometimes, however, the beauty of the ‘winter wonderland’ as they say, makes up for the coldness—after a snowfall, it can be really pristine—it’s definitely something to get used to. Also, after snow, there are plenty of hills at RPI if you feel like sledding, and there’s a ski club if you’re interested. Summer and early autumn (and maybe spring when you move out), on the other hand, are all completely different. If you come here, when you move in, it will probably be quite warm (80–95 degrees Fahrenheit). Basically, we have hot summers and cold winters, but it’s something to experience. I personally wish it was a little warmer, though I guess no place is perfect.