So you did it. You got into RPI. The dream of working toward a degree at one of the country’s best technological institutes is finally coming to fruition. Although you’ve heard about RPI’s legendary workload, everyone has said that there will also be time for clubs, sports, friends, and parties. And they all lied to you.
Sometime around the fourth or fifth week of the semester, you’ll get your first round of exams. After staying up all night studying for IEA, Chemistry, and Calculus II tests the next day, you’ll oversleep and just barely make it to class on time. What’s a missed breakfast anyway? By the time the day is over, there’s hardly enough time to go back to your room to do the homework that’s been put off in lieu of studying for the exams. Another all-nighter is inevitable.
From this point on, the workload will never lighten up. You will be forced to decide between doing work and having fun. Working causes you to lose touch with friends, and having fun causes you to fall behind. Thanksgiving break comes and goes, and the semester suddenly slows to a crawl. New assignments are popping up every day and there’s no end in sight. You wish things were more like they were in high school, when time management was something that you could actually handle.
Just when you feel like you can’t take anymore, you wake up. It’s 8:15 am, and you’re missing your first chemistry lecture of the semester. Don’t worry, you’ll adapt quickly. They don’t call us RPI students for nothing, and by the time you leave, you’ll be ready for anything.
