RIT included in 2019 ‘Fiske Guide to Colleges’

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Rochester Institute of Technology is among the universities included in the 2019 edition of Fiske Guide to Colleges.

The guide, created 35 years ago by former New York Times education editor Edward B. Fiske, is a selective, subjective and systematic look at more than 300 four-year colleges and universities in the United States, Canada and Great Britain aimed at selecting “the best and most interesting.” There are more than 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States.

The 2019 edition highlights RIT’s “big focus on connecting students with careers” and says RIT is “strong in anything related to computing, art and design and engineering.”

The guide this year cites RIT’s flexible general education program, which has added more than 80 academic minors within the past few years.

 “More than 4,300 RIT juniors and seniors each year take one or two terms away from campus for full-time, paid positions that give them practical experiences in their field, key networking opportunities with potential employers and, often, inspired ideas to bring back to campus,” the guide says.

RIT also offers 400 student abroad programs in 50 countries, including RIT’s global campuses in Croatia, Kosovo and the United Arab Emirates.

The guide cites strong academics across the university’s nine colleges and quotes students on their RIT experience. “We graduate with lots of lab/field/hands-on experience,” said an imaging science major.

“Professors have a passion for what they teach, and it shows,” a biology major said.

The guide also calls RIT students “quirky and comfortable in their own skin,” and quoted a student who said, “whatever quirk you have, bring it here, because it makes us fun.”

It also mentions that students should have no trouble finding things to do when not in class, with more than 300 student clubs and organizations sponsoring more than 1,300 events each year, and their close proximity to downtown Rochester.

“RIT students are dedicated and career-oriented, yet they don’t take themselves too seriously, which gives this demanding techie school a surprisingly relaxed feel,” the guide says. “Self-motivated and focused, RIT students have their eye on the future and are well prepared to meet it.”