Floors can be co-ed “by floor” (as you defined it) or “by hall.” It just depends on how things fall. All bathrooms are single sex.
Bikes can be secured to racks that are located outside of each residence hall. Some also have bike rooms inside.
If there is a ‘roommate-conflict,’ your RA will be willing and able to talk through this with you. The RA will help make a decision on the best way to resolve the situation; rarely does it end in a room change, but it happens.
My honest answer to this is that I have no idea. Statistics on demand for housing are not published. I don’t hear a lot of people saying that they tried to live in the Quad and were denied because it was full – in fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard that said. My advice to you: send in your housing preferences and hope for the best. No stress.
Nason, Hall, and Bray are all halls located on Freshman Hill and each of them also has other non-themed housing residents. Themed housing is very integrated with non-themed housing, in this way.
Some girls can get self-centered due to the attention they receive, but it’s not a common issue and it’s easily avoidable. I don’t regularly interact with any girls (or guys) who feel like they are more privileged than others in terms of whose attention they have… and to be fair, I interact with a pretty large group of people on a regular basis.
Only freshman residence hall with an elevator: Barton.
Freshman residence halls with AC: Quad, Barton.
Other ammenities: http://reslife.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=53.
It depends on the individual, but wholistically, it’s not too time-consuming, as many students participate in Greek Life, do well in academics, and are involved in other places on campus. Is it time-consuming? Yes, it is a commitment. Is it too time-consuming for you? Well, I don’t know you…. so I can’t say.
Are “the Greeks” strict? Well, I’ve never heard of anything like the example about your friend being fined for missing a social event at RPI. Getting involved in Greek Life is meant to build your character in many dimensions (personally, socially, professionally, academically, etc.). You should attend rush events in the fall and ask these questions of the Greek students.
To save myself time (and because it offers the most complete response), I will link you to a recent article by the Poly (RPI’s student newspaper).
My brief response would be: if the club (or something similar to it) doesn’t already exist, you can create it within a semester.
I’ll have to answer this with a kind of jaded perspective, but I’ll do my best. Most current students would probably agree that Sharp is the nicest available residence hall for sophomore students. Sharp is close to academic campus, has suite-style living, and a living room. There is also a kitchen and some work-out equipment downstairs. All-in-all it is kind of the whole package. The other sophomore residence halls are still nice, but they may not be as close, or are not suite-style.
I’m kind of inclined to believe that you are an incoming student, so I will note that Sharp is restricted to sophomore residents.
Yes, I do know. In the Quad, there are some beds that are bunked in a permanent way, while some beds are on frames that are low to the ground. Double rooms often have one of each; one bed is bunked (attached to the closet) and the other is free and low to the ground.
Aside from making a visit to the room that you are assigned, there’s really no telling which beds are attached when it comes to the Quad.
Typically, no number higher than ~27 will get a suite in Sharp. There are 16 suites in Sharp; 14 house 6 residents, and the other 2 house 5 residents.
This is from my past knowledge – Sharp goes very quickly.
Freshman students who participate in ROTC live in all of the freshman residence halls. There is no concentration in any one building.
Preference on room/hall selection is unrelated to how much aid you receive. Students who submit their deposit and housing forms first will have the first choices.
No, Crockett Hall does not have elevators. You probably found this out today, but hopefully some of the fraternity brothers and other volunteers were able to help you get your things inside and upstairs.
You probably also learned that Crockett does not have air conditioning.
To find out the books that you need for your classes, go to bookstore.rpi.edu and click “BOOK INFO” at the top or go straight to: https://login.rpi.edu/cas/login?service=http://bookstore.rpi.edu/cas/index.php. If you search for your courses here, you will get book information specific to your professor and section. Before you buy through the campus bookstore, though, check out the APO book exchange on the third floor of the Student Union, and look at websites like half.com and amazon.com.
The floors are carpeted, and I believe that beneath the carpet is solid concrete. You can bring the sub, just be aware of how loud it is.
Mattresses are 6.5” deep.
You can buy 1.5 ’ x 1.5 ’ x 1.5 ’ cubic boxes at the bookstore for ~ $3, but that’s probably larger than you want. Usually, students kind of do a box exchange. Any box that you receive something in can be left at the Commons Mail Room for other students to reuse. Stop by the mailing office (adjacent to the pick-up counter) to look through their box selection. The used ones are all free. You can also buy boxes/packaging here at the Commons Mailing Office and at the Postal Sub-station in the Games Room of the Union.
Students often receive packages that don’t fit in the mailbox. In this case, you will receive an email to your RPI email address with the subject “PACKAGE RECEIPT NOTICE: ONE EMAIL PER PACKAGE” and you can go pick up the package at the Commons Mail Office during business hours. Check out their website here. The staff is great!
To my knowledge, we have not had incidents of bed bugs at RPI. If there have been incidents, they are taken care of by FIXX.
I would always recommend a mattress pad from a stand point of comfort. I’ve not known any students to have a “bed bug protected mattress pad” but if you want to, get one. That’s your deal.
Yes, you can get tea in any of the four dining halls! I’m not a tea drinker, but I know they have many different flavors available. You can also purchase tea in many of the campus cafes. The dining halls and cafes also serve coffee, hot chocolate, and many other drinks.
To my knowledge, there is no limit of the number of mini-fridges. I’ll reiterate that the max size is 6 cubic feet for one, but I think you could have two, 6 cubic feet mini-fridges if you wanted to.
And I think I would agree with you more that you could share one. Perhaps your roommate has strict food allergies or another situation though?
I feel confident in saying that you have 30 – 32 inches of space at the maximum bed height. I can’t measure right now, but I’m pretty sure that’s right.
I really don’t want to get into specific questions regarding personal academics. I’m sure many of you have questions about what courses you should take. Fortunately, when you come to Student Orientation in the next few weeks, your SO Advisors will be available to help you with these kinds of questions. You will register for your fall semester with their guidance at Student Orientation.
As a general answer to your HASS credit question, look at the curricula of the programs you are considering. I’ve found BME (biomedical engineering) here. You can find others simply by googling “rpi biomedical engineering undergrad curriculum”. Each program should have it somewhere on their site.
It’s hard to advise students on whether or not to re-take courses for which they’ve received AP credit. Overall, it sounds like you know your stuff and would be bored in Calc I here. I would say to move on to Calc II for this coming fall semester.
In typical setups, there is a wall for each roommate. The third wall has the windows, and the fourth has the closets/entry.
Your wall is approximately nine feet wide.
Unfortunately, New York State fire codes do not allow for tapestries, flags, or parachutes to be hung in rooms.
Yes, you can bring a microwave and/or a minifridge. Fridges have to be no bigger than 6 cubic feet. My personal advice would be to buy your own minifridge and not have a microwave in your room. The microfridge combos are almost as much as purchasing a fridge so you lose a lot of money by not buying that appliance. You can always sell it at the end of the year and make most of that money back.
Crockett (like most of the freshmen five) has a kitchen on the first floor with a fridge, stove, sink, microwave, seating/table, and television. The second floor lounge has foosball and couches. The third floor study room has tables, chairs, and a public printer. There are also a few vending machines in the building.
1. You can bring your own shower curtain if you want. They should provide one, though.
2. I’m going to be brief. Read between the lines. Your RA will do your room condition report at the beginning of the year. This confirms what furniture and defects were in the room at the start of your occupancy. When you check out in the spring, all of that furniture needs to be back. In the mean time, just make sure that you pass your health & safety inspection (i.e. don’t block the door with any additional furniture).
Quad is very hard to describe exactly where freshmen are and which rooms are triples/doubles. Generally speaking, freshmen will not be housed on the third floor. Most of the rooms on the third floor are singles for upperclassmen. There are a few exceptions for corner buildings like Roebling. It’s also a toss-up on which rooms are triples/doubles. You can kind of look at square footage, but sometimes that doesn’t mean much either. Sorry this isn’t very helpful. I don’t want to mislead you.
You can bring almost any small appliance that you want, the kicker is that it needs to have an automatic shut-off for fire prevention.
Unfortunately, I don’t have much experience with the Health Center, but it is on campus in Academy Hall. This website (http://studenthealth.rpi.edu/setup.do) should be helpful and if you cannot find answers here, call them during the workday at this number: (518) 276-6287. Hopefully they can answer your questions and setup some appointments for you!
You should definitely bring your own mattress cover.
“You should definitely get a mattress pad before you come, or plan to purchase one when you move in. There are different styles (eggshell, foam, stuffed, etc.) and fittings (none, elastic straps, fitted like a sheet). You should know, though, that all beds at RPI require Extra-long twin sheets. You should find these in Target closer to August or in linen stores year-round.” [from a question Summer 2010]
Flex dollars can be used to purchase:
College can be very different from high school; you are much more independent and being nervous is normal. They aren’t idiotic questions.
In college, students are still students, but your ‘teachers’ become professors. Professors do assign homework, but they aren’t going to walk around the classroom to check it. They will assign a due date and you will submit it at the beginning of class (in most cases). They’ll return it a week or so later – usually an older student called a teaching assistant (TA, for short) will do the grading.
Most professors know a student by name, yes. Do most professors know all of their students by name? No way! It’s good to know your professors and have them know you, though. Go to office hours, sit in the front of the classroom, and ask engaging questions. If you want them to know your name, it’s easy to make it happen.
At your orientation, you will learn a great amount about campus. Given that you will know your schedule and courses as of student orientation (course registration is part of this), you will have time in the week that you move in to walk around campus and learn where your classes are each day. But no, the professor is not going to kill you if you’re late! They will be very understanding.
At the worst, you have 10 minutes between classes. Many students have a few hours. It’s easy to get between the DCC and West Hall (buildings at the extreme corners of where classes are held) in ten minutes.
Don’t worry – you’ll have plenty of time to settle in and do well here.
**UPDATED Friday, 6/10/2011**
I’m summarizing the information that a friend (who is in a sorority) shared with me.
Parts of the process cannot be revealed, but her first piece of advice is to keep an open mind. You should visit the different sororities and get to know the girls. See what girls you get along with and where you feel comfortable. There will be two invite parties. After the second, you may receive a bid. Then, you can sign your bid and cross your fingers that you are in. As she says, it can seem scary, but there will be great rewards.
[My own feed back on not being picked: I’m sure it happens sometimes. There’s not much you can do about not being picked besides finding new things to do. Although going Greek is great, there is plenty else to do on campus. The Union funds over 150 clubs that offer great events from social things, to government, creativity, leadership, and service. It wouldn’t be the end of the world.]
On mixers: in short, mixers can be a part of Greek life, but she advises that you join for other reasons. Sororities focus on community service hourse, philanthropy and sisterhood. Don’t join just to meet guys, party, and be social.
http://i51.tinypic.com/35lw0g2.jpg
This is the best image I have off-hand of the style of closets that are in the freshmen five. If you take a look at the ‘Room Photos’ tab under Freshman Five Pictures, you can find pictures of all of the rooms. The door with the towel on it in this photo slides from left to right to expose the space for hanging things, as shown in the closet on the right-hand side. I would estimate that there are about 30 horizontal inches of hanging space. If this isn’t helpful enough, let me know and I can hunt down better details and a photo that concentrates on the closet.
On holidays (winter break, spring break, and summer break), campus shuttles make runs to the airport, train station, and bus station for free. You have to sign up with Public Safety and they are only offered on specified dates. Other than that, I would highly suggest that you make friends with some upperclassmen. They might have a car AND could be great mentors to help you figure out how to make the most of your time at Rensselaer. (plus $5 in gas money is much less than $20 for a cab)
Public buses for CDTA do make stops on campus! Take a look at this link and look for RPI towards the right-hand-side of the document. There are actually quite a few routes and stops at RPI: http://www.cdta.org/images/troywaterinset.pdf
In the past, RPI laptops have come with Photoshop Elements. I can’t guarantee that this will be the case for Fall 2011, but I imagine it wouldn’t change much.
I’d like to make you aware of student discounts for software. Through the Campus Computing Store, you can get software suites (including a variety of Adobe packages) for VERY discounted prices. I recently got Adobe Design Standard CS5 for a few hundred dollars.
The lower portion of this page describes software that came with the Fall 2010 Laptop: http://www.rpi.edu/laptops/laptops10/specs10.html.
All dorms are mixed gender.
The Quad is closest to classes. Hall, Cary, Barton, Bray, Crockett, and Nason follow closely in that order (they’re all within about 100 yards of one another). BARH would be the farthest.
Quad and Barton are the only ones for freshmen that have non-communal bathrooms.
So, it sounds like you want to live in Quad… but do some of your own research. I’m not a match-making service.
Barton and Quad have central air conditioning. In Barton, each room has a thermostat and in the Quad, you control the temperature and amount of heat/AC. It’s really only hot outside for a few weeks in the early fall and a few weeks in the late spring (if even).
From what I’ve heard, the other freshmen five (Hall, Crockett, Cary, Bray, and Nason) are heated the same – some people say they are overheated/hot, so maybe avoid those. They also have no central AC.
Short answer: yes.
First of all, the library has rooms that you can get for studying both individually and as a group.
In addition, most residence halls also have lounges or rooms that students use to study and do homework.
Beyond this, there are places all over campus to study. While the McNeil Room can get loud, it is very popular. There are cafés all over, empty classrooms you can get, and student study lounges in almost every academic building on campus.
Finding quiet places to study shouldn’t be a problem.
When you register for courses during SO, you will not have an immediate opportunity to declare your major. However, you can take care of this very early on in your first semester, if you choose. You’ll have to fill out a form with your academic advisor and submit it.
HOWEVER, I want to clarify that there are not ‘undeclared engineering’ courses. All first year engineering students are taking most of the same courses anyway. A student who has declared ChemE will likely take the same courses as an undeclared student who is considering ChemE. (I say likely because the courses you take are up to you.) I hope this makes sense.
Yes, my laptop with a screen measurement of 15.4” (diagonal) fits comfortably on the small auditorium desks. I wouldn’t leave it sitting there while I walked away, but while typing on it, the fit is sufficient.
You can rent mini fridges from a company called the Refrigerator Leasing Company. You should receive more information about this opportunity when you receive your housing assignment (typically about mid-July, I believe). From my experience, it is more economical to buy your own.
I am not aware of any opportunities to rent a television, sorry.
I prefer suite bathrooms.
We have the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) which is a great resource for job and internship searches. There are two career fairs annually, one in each of the fall and spring semesters. At these events, there are typically over 100 companies seeking interns and full-time employees for the full range of majors.
The CCPD also offers help with your resume and can connect you with companies. They arrange for companies to come give info sessions which is a good opportunity for you to get an interview.
Neither RPI nor the CCPD will do the work for you, but they’ll certainly make the process a little easier.
Yes, RPI provides mattresses when you live in a residence hall. I’m not sure that they’re new each year, but they’re in good condition. If you have an issue with it, you should be able to arrange getting a replacement with Residence Life. I would estimate that they are replaced every 2-4 years.
If you want, you could bring your own, but you would be responsible for storing the one that RPI provides. I suppose that if your parents will be driving you up to move you in, you could have them take the provided one home. I’ve never heard of someone using their own mattress though.
I would strongly advise that you get a mattress pad.
The number of credits required for graduation depends on your degree program (your major). For Civil Engineers, this is 128 credits, which I believe is pretty standard. Simple math for 8 semesters gives you 16 credits per semester, which is the norm here at RPI. 16 credits is most commonly achieved with four 4-credit courses.
At most schools, a credit (or credit-hour) is directly the number of hours of class per week. At RPI, this can sometimes vary, but we’ll say that it’s the same for now. So, a 16-credit semester would leave you with 16 hours of class in that week. Think of your high school courses… about 40 hours of school a week, probably. So, you spend a lot less time in class. If you manage your time outside of class wisely, you should have plenty of time to be social. See how I made that bold and italic? It’s very important.
If you are confident with your abilities in that AP class, I would recommend that you accept the credit. For instance, if you take BC Calculus and get a 5 on the AP exam with a AB sub score of 5, you’re probably safe to waive out of at least Calc I at RPI. If you take AP Physics B and get a 4 on the exam, you may still want to take Physics I, even though you could get automatic credit at RPI if you wanted. Some people decide to waive receiving credit to reinforce the material. In short, if you had a good AP teacher and know the material well, I would recommend that you accept the credit.
It depends on the classroom. Most of the lecture halls use the tablet arm (where the little desk folds up from the side of the seat). In other cases, you’ll be in a classroom, where you will have a rather large table with ample space for a computer and a notebook. I think most students would agree that you will always have space for either a computer or a notebook on your desk, sometimes both.
I think that you should base your decision more on whether or not your current computer is powerful enough for RPI standards. Unless you’re planning on having two laptops (which isn’t exactly rare), you should make sure that the 15” laptop has the power you need. Take a look at the specs for the laptop that students joining the program in Fall 2010 received: http://www.rpi.edu/laptops/laptops10/specs10.html.
Don’t worry about it fitting on the desk. My class has 15.4” displays and it fits well.
In your first semesters, it’s relatively easy to switch between majors and even schools. By taking courses like Calculus I, Chemistry I, General Psychology, and maybe an introduction course to a potential major, you leave yourself with options. You will have an academic adviser and there will be programs to help you make this decision. Don’t worry if you don’t know what you want to study, you will get a feel for that in your first few semesters!
Your academics will not be easy, but you won’t be alone. Many students, athletes and non-athletes, struggle to get a hold of their course work at RPI. With determination, they get through it and become better students. I would encourage you to utilize the campus resources available for help outside of class. The best thing you can do is maintain your focus on school. Athletics are fun, but keep in mind that you are coming here for the education.
No, I am not in a fraternity.
However, I did get involved in the rush and pledge process with a fraternity last spring. When you arrive in the fall, you will have an opportunity to get involve in an overwhelming amount of activities on and off campus. Among these opportunities is what we call “Greek Life” – you probably know of it as fraternities and sororities.
When you move in, you will likely have brothers from fraternities helping the freshmen get all of their stuff in the building. Part of this is service, but they also want to get their name out to the freshmen. Almost all of the fraternities will “dorm storm,” or go through the freshmen residence halls passing out “rush calendars” and inviting you to their rush events. Rush is a period (usually about two weeks) where fraternities hold open-invitation events with their brothers. Some of these events are at their houses and some involve going some place. You’ll hear about movie nights, poker tournaments, throwing old televisions off of roofs, cliff jumping, barbecues, trips to play laser tag… the list goes on and on. These are called rush events. The general purpose is 1) for you to get a feeling if you feel like you get along well with the brothers and 2) for the brothers to get a feeling if you fit in well with them. Towards the end of rush weeks, you may be extended a “bid.” This means that the brothers have agreed (usually unanimously, if I’m not mistaken) to invite you to pledge. If you get a bid, you will be invited to a bid dinner where you can sign your bid. From here, the pledge process begins.
Pledging is a period of education and continued camaraderie. For most fraternities, pledging runs from the end of rush (mid-September for fall pledge classes) to the end of the semester. During the pledge process, you will be educated in the values and traditions of your fraternity. You will do activities and challenges with your pledge class (the students who are pledging the fraternity at the same time) that will build the brotherhood between you. I won’t go into specifics, as many fraternities take pride in the secretive nature of their pledging process, but you will learn a lot about the history and traditions of the fraternity as well as get to know the brothers and pledge brothers.
When the fraternity feels that you have shown that you are worthy to be a brother, you are extended membership and you “get your letters.” At this point, you are a member of the fraternity!
I wouldn’t describe it as necessarily easy to get in to a fraternity. Getting a bid is something that can be accomplished relatively easily if you fit in well with the brothers and they like you. Some fraternities are more selective than others. The pledge process is time consuming and challenging, but your pledge brothers will help you along the way.
Hazing is illegal and looked down upon. The fraternity that I pledged, and most others as far as I know, allow pledges to abstain from an activity if they feel that it will harm them (physically, mentally, academically, etc.). Fraternities know that if they are caught hazing pledges, they can have their charter revoked in addition to consequences with the school and law. Does it happen? Well, I haven’t tried pledging all of the fraternities, so I can’t be confident in saying no.
I hope this answers your questions. There will be events in the fall run by the IFC (Interfraternity Council) to help inform you about the process further (though I gave pretty complete details) and to provide you with information about the fraternities at RPI, of which there are 28.
Last thing: I want to explain briefly that I opted to de-pledge from the fraternity that I was pledging last spring because I decided that I would enjoy my time at college more in other ways. This was a personal decision, something that I decided wasn’t right for me. I value the concept of a fraternity and think that they make great contributions to the campus environment.
As a Texan, I understand your concerns. I spent my teenage years learning to say “yes, m’am” and hold doors open for anyone. I know about the “southern hospitality” that you’re used to seeing every day.
But, having lived in 7 states across the country, I have a good feel for the dynamics of our nation. Don’t be scared! You’re not going from a small town where everyone knows everyone to NYC. You might be coming from a small town, but RPI is a great, welcoming community of students, faculty and staff. You might not hear the familiar “yes, m’am” “no, m’am” and “y’all.” Everyone probably won’t hold the door for you, but you’re not going to be snubbed for asking for directions. If it’s any more comfort, you won’t be the only one from the South, either. I know of at least 6 of my classmates (just in my year) that are from Texas; I’m sure you’ll have plenty, too!
I’ll say that you have an unfortunately selfish high school class! At RPI, you will have tons of resources for help with class work. We have campus resources like drop-in tutoring, your Learning Assistant (LA) in your residence hall, the Advising and Learning Assistance Center (ALAC), and much more. Professors are required to hold regular office hours (usually at least 4 hours a week) where you can go in to ask questions and visit. Take advantage of these!
Your classmates will also be very helpful. Upperclassmen can offer tutoring or provide you with back work, back tests, and sample problems. I would advise that you use these as a study tool – don’t just copy your homework! I’m certain that your peers will be able to help you when you need it, too. Make friends in your classes and set up a time to meet in the Library, Union, or any of our dozens of study locations to go over homework or prepare for an exam. The people who live near you will also likely have many of the same classes and you can look to them for assistance.
RPI students are very helpful to one another, for the most part – we’re studying to work in the real world. That means doing group projects and working as a team!
I have to say that this question is a little immature. If you want to just “hook-up” with people at RPI, that’s something that I’m sure you can find. If you want a relationship, you can seek that out as well. I don’t believe that we have a standard, but I know many respectable people who are in stable relationships at RPI.
1) Party scene at RPI: Yes, there are parties at the fraternities almost every weekend. Many students choose to make partying an every weekend thing, some choose to never “go out”. It can be a good way to relax and meet people, but you should be responsible about your decisions.
2) Sorority girls: Yes, I’m friends with quite a few sorority girls. I think almost all of them are very happy with their decision to “go greek”. Joining a sorority (or fraternity) is a great way to meet a strong network of friends. You will be provided with opportunities to grow in many ways. These groups will support your academics, social, extracurricular and athletic adventures. Look forward to rush weeks at the beginning of your fall semester!
3) Switching majors: It sounds kind of like you want to study three different majors, which might be a challenge to do throughout. But, don’t be discouraged. You will definitely have time to test the different waters without too harsh of repercussions. Consider taking Introduction to Engineering Analysis (IEA – our “statics” course), General Psychology, and Comp Sci I in your first semester. SO advisors will be available to help you register for your courses when you come for orientation. As for switching majors later and still graduating on time: it’s possible, but it takes some coordination. AP credits and summer school make it easier, but you’ll have plenty of time to make these decisions!
Suite and shared bath are the same thing. In this setup, you share the bath with your suitemates.
Burdett Avenue Residence Hall (commonly referred to as BARH) is not new. I mean, it’s not old like the Quad, but it’s not brand new. I will look for information on when it was constructed. For now, look to ResLife’s page about BARH: http://reslife.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=73
RPI Rooms 
