Rensselaer ( RPI )

[prat]

I've been admitted to PhD at RPI .

Anyone else there?

[hopingforfunding]

Yay me:) I went there for undergrad too so if anyone wants details about life on campus, area, stuff to do post a reply...i noticed the "troy" link in the city guide forum is super old.

Prat what program?

decided-RPI BME

[prat]

oh yeah! that link is damn old..2006!

I've been admitted for PhD in CS (mostly) actually Multidisciplinary Sc.

So how's the place? People said it was kinda boring!

And yeah! even I'm hoping for funding !

[hopingforfunding]

oh yeah! that link is damn old..2006!

I've been admitted for PhD in CS (mostly) actually Multidisciplinary Sc.

So how's the place? People said it was kinda boring!

And yeah! even I'm hoping for funding !

Hey Prat,

I love it at RPI. It is definitly a tech school, so you don't have the artsy feel and people on campus, which does change the dynamic a bit since pretty much everyone is in science. I think a lot of people complain about it because the classes are so hard and it is definitly not a party school! Also there is a 4:1 male to female ratio...so that ticks the guys off a bit. Sienna, UAlbany, and Russell Sage (all womens school in Troy) ladies are frequently around campus though...sometimes a few Skidmore girls wander down too. But there are definitly things to do in the area. Skiing, hiking, cliff jumping, surfing (3 hr drive to NH beaches) are huge for me. Intramural sports are HUGE on campus too- I do D-leauge hockey (no checking) and soccer. There is an Outing Club and they go white water rafting and rock climbing and also a Ski Club that goes on ski trips through the Union.

Troy itself is a little run down, but seems to be getting better slowly. It used to be a huge mill town since it is on the Hudson River and there are tons of beautiful buildings in downtown troy- but people don't take care of them as well as they should have. If you are going to live off campus (a lot cheaper!) then try to stay near to campus because it is mostly students. It's kind of like the higher up the hill you go towards campus the nicer the area. I lived on 12th street which was great, and also on Tibbits Ave, which was even better. Either way rent is really cheap.

There are a few bars (The Ruck, Ryan's Wake) that students hang out in, and also there is a pub on campus in the student union that is fun for happy hour on Fridays and trivia on Tues nights. Also Albany is 15 minutes away and has tons of Restaurants, some Bars (Jillian's is popular), a mall, and concerts at the Times Union Center. Also there is a place in Troy called Revolution Hall that is right next to Browns Brewery that has great music, Browns has great beer and food. There are also other restaurants- Plum Blossom for Chinese, Okinawa or Sushi King for sushi/Japanese, Ali Baba for middle eastern, and there is an Indian food place right in the Union. Tons of pizza - I love NY pizza is probably the favorite.

I think you can definitly find stuff to do in the area and on campus as long as you are active. Also Boston is 2.5 hours away and NYC is 3 hours away or you can take a train into the city from Albany. Montreal is also 4-5 hours away from campus if you don't mind a little drive. You definitly don't need to have a car- but I would recommend it if you like to explore. Campus itself is nice and they are putting a lot of money into new buildings. The Biotech Center is new, and the EMPAC building for electronic media/performing arts will be done this Fall I believe and open next Spring for students so you will get to use it. Also they are putting in a new Athletic Village with football field, gyms, pools, and also new dorms. They just broke ground for that last semester so I don't know when it is going to be done.

Anyway hope that helps!

[prat]

Wow ! thanks for all that info!

RPI certainly sounds like an outdoor place to me. Great. I'd love to ski, snow board, jump off cliffs and more. Of course it would really help if the rides to the cities were cheaper. and you can't definitely just pick your bags and run off.

I'm used to the female:male ratio. Its not so much of a prob. I checked out the RPI website and saw that they have a Kung Fu club. Do you know if its still active? I've always wanted to learn it

- Prat

[hopingforfunding]

Hey Prat,

I am not actually sure if we have an active Kung Fu club still, but I know that Capoeira, Isshrinyu Karate, Aikido, and Judo are definitly active- there are a bunch of martial arts clubs. If you go to https://clubs.union.rpi.edu/?content_id=1 it has a list of the clubs that are on campus, and their own websites with more details if they have them. I know Crew and Rugby clubs are also big, and a lot of people do the cycling club and go mountain biking. Yah, I really like RPI, you can't beat the education. You just have to get over that Troy itself isn't that great and get involved on campus and in outdoor activities and you are set. I'm sure as graduate students we won't have that much time anyway, right??

[prat]

hehe

yeah

[amirhomayoun]

Hey.

I've been admitted to Mech Eng. PhD program. I have no idea about the costs at Troy. I've got a fund of 16k for 9 months and a tuition waiver. I'm an international student so I really appreciate it if you could tell me about the costs and the on/off campus living. Is this 16k assistantship enough for two semesters?

Thanks in advance.

[ukiitm]

Wow ! thanks for all that info!

RPI certainly sounds like an outdoor place to me. Great. I'd love to ski, snow board, jump off cliffs and more. Of course it would really help if the rides to the cities were cheaper. and you can't definitely just pick your bags and run off.

I'm used to the female:male ratio. Its not so much of a prob. I checked out the RPI website and saw that they have a Kung Fu club. Do you know if its still active? I've always wanted to learn it

- Prat

Umm, off-topic, but you from India by any chance?

[hopingforfunding]

Hey.

I've been admitted to Mech Eng. PhD program. I have no idea about the costs at Troy. I've got a fund of 16k for 9 months and a tuition waiver. I'm an international student so I really appreciate it if you could tell me about the costs and the on/off campus living. Is this 16k assistantship enough for two semesters?

Thanks in advance.

Hey amirhomanyoun

Cost of living in Troy is super cheap. You can find places from 275- 1000 in the area depending on if you want roommates or a nice condo/apt in the surrounding area. Most places right near campus are $300-700. I pay $550 for a three story house with 4 people in it, a yard, 2 bathrooms etc. it is actually too big for us. Getting a roommate is a great way to save money- you can get 2bdrms for 550 total or less and then split it. For 750-1000 you can get an apartment with some utilities included in a complex - The apartments at Brunswick and Rivers Edge Apartments are the closest to campus that i can think of that are higher end. There are plenty of cheap houses/ students looking for roommates around campus if you want to spend less. I don't know if you have a car or what your other costs are going to be (medical insurance, books, food?)...but say you spend 500 rent + 200 food + 200 gas/car ins + 200 fun + 200 utilities that is $11,700 for the 9 month period. That leaves you with money for emergencies, savings, or other expenses. I would say you should be fine with 16K as long as you pay attention to your expenses!

hope that helps

[amirhomayoun]

Dear friend,

Thanks a lot. It really helped. I'm not that worried now. I have three other questions though.

RPI seems to have some apartments for graduate students, they cost around 620-640 bucks a month. Do you know anything about them? Are they available and is it logical to choose them?

And for finding roommates, where do you recommend to look for? I guess I have to be "there" to be able to find a suitable place. Aren't there any lists or boards or ... to find roommates? Anything which may be accessible online. I don't like the whole idea of looking for some place just when I arrive!

And at last, are the university meal plans economical? I read them to be sth around $5000 a year. You estimated that to be around 200$/month If you choose to cook yourself. Is the food quality that different to support this difference? Do you suggest these plans?

Thanks again for sharing your experiences and sorry for asking a lot of questions!

[prat]

Umm, off-topic, but you from India by any chance?

yes... i am from india.

beats me how you guessed from my posts though !

[ptal]

I am still to hear from EECS. Any one heard from them for a PhD?

[prat]

no. not heard from them... they're taking unusually long time for CS PhD results as well.

[hopingforfunding]

Dear friend,

Thanks a lot. It really helped. I'm not that worried now. I have three other questions though.

RPI seems to have some apartments for graduate students, they cost around 620-640 bucks a month. Do you know anything about them? Are they available and is it logical to choose them?

And for finding roommates, where do you recommend to look for? I guess I have to be "there" to be able to find a suitable place. Aren't there any lists or boards or ... to find roommates? Anything which may be accessible online. I don't like the whole idea of looking for some place just when I arrive!

And at last, are the university meal plans economical? I read them to be sth around $5000 a year. You estimated that to be around 200$/month If you choose to cook yourself. Is the food quality that different to support this difference? Do you suggest these plans?

Thanks again for sharing your experiences and sorry for asking a lot of questions!

Hey amirhomayoun,

There are definitly places to stay on campus that are for graduate students- http://reslife.rpi.edu/update.do is the residence life website and they organize it all. I think it is good choice if you are living by yourself since they are a shuttle bus away from campus, have security, and you will be surrounded by other graduate students. It is a little more expensive- but I believe all your utilities are included so that should save you some money- you might want to check on that though because I am not sure. Also you could live here for your first year, then find roommates and move off campus after you have gotten to know the area (not a bad idea i think).

I think it is still cheaper to live off campus if you can get a roommate- maybe someone in this forum is also looking for one? There are no websites that I know of that hook up prospective roomies, but perhaps your department can give you some emails of other incoming students? http://offcampus.union.rpi.edu/ is the website of off campus housing that RPI pays attention to.

As for the food plans, they are definitly overpriced although convenient and if you do not like cooking for yourself they may be a good option so you stay healthy! They also do not include food for the summer, so you have to factor that in as well. I think it is better to buy your own groceries and then put some money on your student card (RAD). You can then use RAD for lunch at any of the dining halls or coffee shops on campus when you want to and it ends up being cheaper. I usually grab a coffee in the morning and get a small lunch on campus and it comes to less than 30 dollars per week (bring your own drink, breakfast bar). There is also a new Indian 'stall' in the student union that I have not tried yet but have heard it is huge portions and is very good. That means I can eat well on campus and still save money by making dinner at home. There is a PriceChopper and Hannafords near campus, a pizza place across the street, and also a farmers market on Saturdays downtown where you can get really cheap veggies/cheese etc. That is just my opinion- but i may be bias because I also like to cook.

[amirhomayoun]

Thank you so much. You helped me a lot.

Wish you the greatest possible amount of funding!

[keyboard]

Hi guys,

I will join RPI this Fall too, and currently looking for a place and roommates if possible.

I will join CS for my phd, and will get 16k/ 9months too ( I guess that's the standard @ RPI). They told me it has increased from 14k since last year.

Where should I fly to? JFK ( at NYC) or Albany international Airport ( at ALB)? Do they have some sort of bus from JFK to ALB, or ALB to Troy? I checked the flight tickets, and American Airlines probably the cheapest, would you recommend it?

If want to buy stuff like PC, laptop, clothes, electronics, where is the nearest place to buy in Troy?

I have driving license from Malaysia, can I still use it in NY? Do I have to retake all the tests? where and how much if possible he he.

Thanks a lot, hope to see u all soon.

[hopingforfunding]

Where should I fly to? JFK ( at NYC) or Albany international Airport ( at ALB)? Do they have some sort of bus from JFK to ALB, or ALB to Troy? I checked the flight tickets, and American Airlines probably the cheapest, would you recommend it?

If want to buy stuff like PC, laptop, clothes, electronics, where is the nearest place to buy in Troy?

I have driving license from Malaysia, can I still use it in NY? Do I have to retake all the tests? where and how much if possible he he.

.

Hey Keyboard,

Congrats on your decision. If you are flying into the country and then to Troy, you can go to JFK, BOS (Logan International Boston), or ALB. ALB is definitly the quickest way to campus, its only a 15 minute car ride. You can take taxis directly from the terminal to RPI. JFK or BOS are probably cheaper however because they are much bigger. If you fly in to JFK I recommend taking a train to Albany and then a taxi/bus from Albany to Troy. It is a 3.5 hour drive from NYC to Troy if you have good traffic. It is also a 3.5 hour drive from Boston to Troy and you would probably have to take a bus. So overall, Albany International is the easiest and closest- but usually more expensive due to its small size.

As for shopping- Crossgates Mall in Albany is 20 min from RPI and you can take a bus there from campus. It has pretty much every store you could want for clothes (department stores, Jcrew, Banana Republic, Abercrombie etc), electronics (Apple, BestBuy), shoes (DSW, FootLocker) and all that. In Troy up Hoosic Street (Rt-7) there is a WallMart, PriceChopper for food, AT & T cell phone store and hardware store. In Latham 10-15 min away there is a Home Depot, Hannafords Grocery store, Sam's Club wholesale food, Target, Sports Authority (or Dick's Sports I can't remember).

As for a computer on campus, almost EVERYONE has an IBM thinkpad. This is because all incoming freshman are required to get it. The school sells them at a pretty good price at the RPI Computing Store which is located in the VCC on campus. They also sell Mac's on campus too. I used my thinkpad for 5 years before the fan died and i did not want to fix it. I got an MacBook last summer and have no problems using it on campus or getting the wireless or anything. The helpdesk is also familiar with Macs as well as the IBMs. But i find the RPI thinkpad is a little overpriced personally.

About the drivers license- i honestly have no idea what the laws are about that! I would check with the Department of Motor Vehicles in Troy once you get here. You do not need a car on campus, but it will definitly make your life a lot easier. Good luck finding a roommate and moving here too!

[keyboard]

Hi hopingforfunding,

Thanks a lot for your answer.

Btw, after my application to RPI, I think RPI is a research-focus school. You better contact some professors, ask them if you can join them as RA, since this time all TA posts are full ( after 4/15 ). You now has a better ground since they already accepted you, so the professors only have to give you RA instead of admission stuff.

There will be some RA posts open in May or June, just keep on searching, you never know.

Best wishes,

keyboard.