Try reslife.rpi.edu . I know they have square footage, and the dimensions vary from room to room. If you do some work, you should be able to get a very close guess on the dimensions. I could do it if I had your room number.
Author: rachelblacker
How how are the beds if you don’t loft them? Would we be able to fit a minifridge/drawers/something underneath them?
I remember my bed last year was 11” off of the ground (to the bottom of the frame). But, my bed was one of the ones in the Quad. The beds in the Freshmen Five and some of the other halls can easily be 3’ off of the ground. I don’t know if that’s helpful.
About fitting stuff under: the ones not in the Quad can easily fit the furnished drawer set and perhaps a minifridge. Underbed storage is a great idea!
I want to bring my Nikon SLR. Have you seen how others secure their valuables and what would you recommend?
Most people don’t make much of additional effort to secure valuables beyond locking their door. If you want, you could consider buying a small strong box/safe, but the dorms are rather secure. If you’re worried, get a safe, but you should be just fine if you lock your door and don’t walk around telling everyone that your camera is sitting under your bed, or whatever.
I personally have a Canon dSLR that I am comfortable having in my room only locking the door.
Is transferring into RPI easy? What about transferring out as well? Do colleges seem to be accepting of RPI tranferers?
It depends completely on the person. If you have a solid background, strong extracurriculars, and healthy grades, you’ve got a better chance. Transferring out depends on which school you’re trying to go to. It’s not like RPI can make you stay.
RPI credits are recognized globally – it’s an accredited school.
How is the dating scene at RPI?
It’s a college. Yes, we have a 72:28 ratio. You might have to work a little harder to find a girlfriend – or not work as hard to find a boyfriend. On the whole, the dating scene is pretty standard.
Do overnight guests have to fill out paperwork, or do I have to do that prior to their arrival? Do they need a sticker to put on their car if they’re driving here?
No, they don’t need paperwork to stay. Simply put, it’s important that your RA know who’s around for safety and security purposes.
Parking is different. Visitors would have to pay to park at a meter or find a place to park nearby for free. Here’s a link for more information:http://www.rpi.edu/dept/parking/visitor.html
For a regular room in Bray: Do you know if you would be able to put a bed along the side wall and put a desk against the window in the back without “impeding” on your roomate’s side of the room I guess.
Yes this is possible.
Are the beds in BARH extra long?
Yes, all beds in Residence Halls are extra long.
Do rooms without a shared bath have a mirror? Would you say the closet + dresser is sufficient space for someone with a lot of clothes/shoes? (particularly in Barton)
No, the only mirrors provided by RPI would be found in the bathrooms. You should look into buying a full length (or really, any size) mirror for your room. I believe I got one for $5 at Target last year.
I personally have tons of clothes. While there is a considerable amount of space for them, I can’t bring them all to school. The armoires should measure about 39” across the hanging rod. If you have tons of shoes, consider buying a shoe storage container. Remember, also, that you can buy storage things when you move in. It’s smarter to know what exactly you’re working with before you make the purchases.
What exactly is the room layout in Quad? Are all the beds lofted? I am in a double and don’t know what to expect. I checked out the pictures but I couldn’t make anything of it.
The Quad has a large variability in room layout. Some rooms are square, others are rectangular, and others are just… different. I feel that it is safe to say that all doubles in the Quad will have at least 1 lofted bed, some have both beds lofted. It really depends from room to room.
Do the female students at RPI tend to be fashionable or do they just dress up in sweats for class?
RPI students are just like students at any other college; they’re very diverse. Some students, male and female, dress up while others dress down. College students are college students; they dress down more often than up. It’s just not fair to make an explicit statement one way or the other.
Is it easy to hook up tvs? Do we need to bring our own cable to plug into the wall and if so what kind? Also if I loft my bed would my roommate be able to fit her desk and bed (head first) under?
Setting up a television is very easy. All you need to hook up a television set is a coax (coaxial) cable. They are not provided, so you need to bring your own. I think I bought a 10 foot one for $4 at the VCC Computer Store.
I know that my bed and desk fit under my roommate’s bed when it was lofted, but the furniture varies from hall to hall. It should fit in a way that the overhead view would be an L shape.
My boyfriend is going to RPI, and I’m going to a school nearby. What are the girls like there? Do I have to worry about girls trying to hit on him at parties and trying to hook up with him?
The girls at RPI are like girls at any other school; there are just fewer of them with respect to the guys. RPI has a 72 males for every 28 females (last I checked). Given this, the girls will have plenty of other guys to ‘hook up with’.
That being said, I don’t know your boyfriend. I hope he can be faithful and control himself. If he wants to cheat, he probably could. Hopefully, though, he would turn down any ladies who made a move on him. Best of luck!
What is the policy for having overnight guests in your dorm that are not students at RPI? I want my girlfriend to sleep over like every other weekend, and my roommate is already cool with that, is that going to be hard to do? Like what should I do to prepare for that?
For the most official answer, I went to my RA (Residence Assistant) friend. Here is what the 2009-2010 RA Handbook says:
“Students are permitted to have visitors in their rooms within the following general guidelines:
- All residents and their guests are expected to adhere to Institute policies.
- A visitor is defined as any person not listed currently in Residence Life records as living in the particular area. A visitor shall not remain in the residence for more than three consecutive days per month without the knowledge and consent of the Resident Assistant or Resident Director.
- Overnight visitors are permitted with the consent of all roommates, suitemates, or apartment mates. In the case of guests who are visiting but not remaining overnight, care must be exercised to allow for the rights of all roommates, suitemates, or apartment mates to enjoy the ―privacy‖ of their shared room, suite, or apartment. Students are expected to respect the rights of their roommates, suitemates, or apartments whenever they have visitors present.
- The host resident may be subject to formal disciplinary action if the visitor’s presence interferes with the right of the host’s roommate to have access to their room or with the maintenance of their lifestyle in residence. For example, if the visitor remains as a guest in residence for an extended period of time (either intermittently or continuously); if the visitor violates Institute regulations or becomes a disturbing influence in the residence area; or if the visitor presents any health or legal problems by virtue of his or her presence.
- Any resident or residence area may lose the privilege of visitation if, in the opinion of the Dean of Students Office in consultation with the Resident Assistant and/or Residence Life, visitation becomes a detriment to the ability of a resident or group of residents to live in an atmosphere conducive to effective study.
- Violation of visitation guidelines may be referred by any member of the Institute community to Residence Life, or the Dean of Students Office. It is the responsibility of each resident to insure that both his or her rights, and the rights of others as residents in Institute housing, are upheld.”
Basically, it’s fine if she comes every other weekend… for now. Your roommate may get tired of having her there so frequently. As a friendly reminder, I would encourage you to branch out and make new friends, too.
How often does the shuttle run?
RPI’s RedHawk Shuttle runs roughly every 15 minutes. There is an East shuttle and a West shuttle. The East shuttle covers the BARH and ECAV areas, in addition to a good amount of off campus housing. The West shuttle covers mostly the academic part of campus. Both stop at the Union (in addition to many other scheduled stops around campus). The shuttle is free for students, but only stops at the scheduled stops. Additional shuttle service operates for home football and hockey games, Troy Night Out (first Friday of each month), and other special events. The shuttle service operates from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on all weekdays. Students can also ride CDTA (Capital District Transit Authority) buses for free by swiping their student ID.
I only know of one time this past year when shuttle service was cancelled for the inclement weather. Most of the time, walking home in the snow is manageable, but then again I love to walk.
Are floor baths co-ed?
No, no bathrooms at RPI are co-ed.
You said a lot of athletes live in BARH, does each dorm have its own sort of personality? I’m trying to decide which housing arrangement I want next year and I think knowing this would help me decide
I wouldn’t say each residence hall has its own personality, no. Student athletes are only slightly more likely to live in BARH. From year to year, the hobbies and interests of the residents of any given hall vary on a huge scale. It could be that, by chance, all of your neighbors will be into the same tv show and like the same bands or activities. In the same way, you could be a very diverse group of students but still get along. Even if a residence hall had a given personality (say they all like camping) this year, next year it could be entirely different.
For the lofted beds shown in the Nason Hall photos, do you have to request that or can you ask them to be like that once you’re assigned a room?
After checking with ResLife (Residence Life), I still don’t have a much better answer. They said that more information will be sent out to students who accept admission. I know that you have to go through bedloft.com to have it done, but I don’t know about how late is too late.
You should know your housing assignment by the middle of July (at least that was when we all learned) and I would think that you could still order a loft for a few weeks after this. I’ll keep looking for answers.
Two things actually; Which housing option do you think is the best for freshmen? Dorms like Bray, Crockett, Cary, etc, or Barton, the Quadrangle or BARH? And how exactly does the whole laptop situation work? I know they offer a deal on a really good laptop, but what was your experience with that?
Calling any residence hall “the best” is an impossible choice to make. Depending on your lifestyle, you may prefer one hall over another. For starters, athletes tend to live in BARH, as it’s close to ECAV and the dining hall is open until 8:30pm. That being said, if you want to live in BARH and you’re not athletic, you can still fit in.
The Quad is often considered quieter because there are no hallways. This is where I live, and there is still plenty of social life. Also, BARH and the Quad hves upperclassmen living on the third floor; it can be nice to know older students. Quad is also really close to classes, especially compared to BARH. Quad residents typically eat at Sage.
Barton and the Freshmen Five are essentially equal in distance to ECAV, Commons, and the academic part of campus. Barton is just nicer and sometimes called “Hotel Barton.” These dorms overall are the most social because of their hallways and openness. Really though, everyone makes friends.
The laptop situation: RPI offers a Lenovo laptop for about $1800. The laptop comes ‘imaged’ with most of the software you need for classes and a four year service plan. This year, we got W500s. Some students complain about the quality of the laptop, but I’ve found them to be pretty high speed and the service plan is nice. Laptops with any problems can be taken to the Help Desk at the VCC and they will try to fix the problem or lend you a loaner laptop while they work on yours, if need be. If you don’t have the RPI laptop, the Help Desk can help you, but you won’t get full replacement parts and you have to chase down (and sometimes pay for) the software. You can find more information here: http://www.rpi.edu/laptops/
What is your opinion on hall bathrooms vs shared/suite bathrooms. In principle I think I would want to go for a shared bathroom but I don’t know the unforeseen differences between the two that emerge during college life. Also it seems like having a shared bathroom in Barton would be convenient than a hall bathroom because of the two triples sharing a single bathroom.
I personally have a shared bath and it’s nice because we can leave our stuff in there. That’s the major difference. A floor bath can be nicer because there are more showers/toilets. Also, having a shared bath usually means you can hear the shower/toilet from your room. If you’re a light sleeper and your suitemates/roommate(s) shower at different hours, this is something to consider.
A big thing about having a shared/suite bath in Barton is having a sink in your room. This means you can brush your teeth/wash your face without leaving your room. Although it isn’t required, wearing flip-flops to protect your feet is more necessary in floor baths.
Showering/using the bathroom whenever you want can go either way with this. It may work that you and your suite/roommates have workable shower schedules, or your schedules could clash. In this case, you could always go shower on a floor bath. There is also a “guest bathroom” (you might call it) with just a toilet and sink on each floor.
What is your opinion on the whole ratio situation? Is it really as weird as it is made out to be? How do you think you all RPI students are viewed in the work world?
As far as girls go, you’re aware of “the ratio.” You can look at it from a variety of perspectives. Is it visible in the classrooms, clubs, dining halls, etc? Yes. Does it make guys lonely and not have any female friends? No. If you’re currently at a school with a typical (1:1) ratio then you’ll see differences. You might have to work harder to earn someone’s attention, but it’s not annoying.
As far as the view of RPI from a professional-external perspective: we’re regarded highly. People with RPI degrees are considered to have an advantage compared to job applicants from many other schools. Especially in engineering, RPI will be recognized around the world by companies/employers. Having Rensselaer on your diploma will pay off.
How comfortable are the beds during sex?
You should definitely get a mattress pad before you come, or plan to purchase one when you move in. There are different styles (eggshell, memory 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.
A bed is as comfortable as you make it, but I would highly advise getting a mattress pad. Also, the springs under some beds are really squeaky, but who knows if your will be.
RPI Rooms 