Each year, freshmen, graduate students, and transfer students arrive on campus bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, eagerly waiting to see how RPI will enrich their lives. And each year, many of these students have to relearn everything that the students before them learned, with the exception of those who quickly befriend returning students. In the interest of expediting that process, The Polytechnic has compiled a list of some tips from upperclassmen that can aid the transition of new students.
Arguing your grade
Come December, you will all be getting your first grades from RPI, and sometimes these can be lower than you expected. Feel free to talk to your professor about it. Contrary to popular belief, they can change your grades after they’re submitted, but they probably will not want to, so be nice about it. Before you charge in demanding a better grade, make sure you actually did all the work (it’s best to keep everything from the class until your grade is certain, just in case there’s a disagreement). If you did do the work, you could ask to see your final exam, and going over it with the professor might help. You get a chance to explain why you did certain things, and it could get you back a few points that could push you over the edge. The best tip is to keep track of your grade throughout the semester, and go see the professor if you find yourself somewhere you do not want to be academically. Sometimes professors will be willing to make accommodations for persuasive excuses.
The CDTA
Since freshmen are not allowed to have cars on campus anymore, the easiest way to find your way around the region is to use CDTA busses, which are free to RPI students. Make sure you plan for a long trip, as taking the bus can take ten times longer than the same trip by car. Also, make sure you acquaint yourself with the area you are going to in advance, as most bus drivers leave you to your own devices and do not announce where the bus is when it stops.
Alcohol
This is a college, and one that is difficult academically, so alcohol does exist on this campus. If you want it, you can get it any time you want. Do not, however, be annoying about it, and definitely do not turn in the person who was kind enough to provide it to you. No one likes waking up Sunday morning to find “penis” written on every flat surface, especially the already overworked grounds crew that has to take it off. Similarly, no one likes having the police show up at their door because you were too cowardly to accept responsibility for your own actions. Two simple words (“off-campus party”) will save someone who was nice to you a lot of trouble. More importantly, if you have never drank before and decide to try it, make sure you go with someone who will stay sober, and listen to people if they tell you to stop. Far too many people end up having their stomachs pumped at Samaritan Hospital because they were being just plain dumb.
Housing
Living on-campus is both convenient and expensive; all freshmen know that already. Balancing the two requires more forethought than “Oh, I have to sign up for the lottery tomorrow, maybe I’ll live off campus instead.” If living in an apartment is in your plans, take note that good apartments in Troy are limited, and start disappearing before spring semester starts. Get a head start by talking to friends’ landlords before break or getting back to Troy early. Of course, on-campus housing offers convenient cable TV, internet, laundry, and unlimited hot water, along with easy access to friends nearby, so consider the choice before you get down to the wire. The deadline for signing up for the lottery creeps up quickly once you get back to campus.
The CDC
Finding the right internship is difficult, and all the more so without any help. The CDC, with an office on the lower level of the DCC, is a great resource for helping with the job search. They coordinate information sessions and career fairs, and will read over your resume and cover letters to make them as good as possible. Their website also offers a complete list of the companies recruiting RPI students and should be checked often, even if the interface can make it difficult.
Eating off campus
Everyone needs a break from the dining halls at some point, and Troy offers a great array of restaurants. Look for the “Words to Eat By” column in The Poly, but there are a few old standbys. They are: Plum Blossom, a Chinese restaurant on Hoosick St.; Ali Baba, a Mediterranean restaurant on 15th St.; Maselli’s Deli, on Hoosick St.; Friendly’s, on Hoosick St; Pizza Bella, on College Ave.; and I Love NY Pizza ($1.50 for a large slice and a drink), on 4th St.
i2hub
RPI is a member of a collection of universities connected to each other with a high-bandwidth line for sharing research data. A group of students at UMass Amherst, however, have written a program to use this line for file sharing. Nearly any file you want can be found on this service, but lately students have been being sued for using the service, including 27 at RPI last spring. In a few weeks, RPI will be starting an evaluation of a file-sharing service, so i2hub may become obsolete on the campus, but for now, it is widely used.
The RPI Directory
Need to get in touch with a group member? Need to e-mail your professor for some quick grade-grubbing? Met someone at a party and need to stalk them? Knowing where the directory is can be useful. You can find out all sorts of information about your peers and professors through the directory, available online at http://rpinfo.rpi.edu/directories.html.
Editor’s note: Some information for this article was provided by
