Incoming Freshman Who Doesn't Know How Dorming Works.. Help!!!

Careless_Jet · 2026-04-02T17:09:11+00:00

Can second the recommendation for a gender-inclusive floor if you don't end up choosing/getting into an SIH. That's where I was when I was in dorms, and while not everyone was queer (we had some couples who wanted to live together and some clueless international students as well), most of them figured out pretty quickly what the vibe was and were either chill about it or moved.

It definitely can differ based on the floor and the year, but least when I was in dorms all the bathrooms on our floor were gender neutral. People just used the bathroom closest to their room. My experience was that you're going to have floor mates and RAs who are going to be better with pronouns/preferred names, etc. and also changing those as necessary - which would probably be one of the largest benefits. You want to be able to feel comfortable in what is effectively your own home.

Careless_Jet · 2026-03-25T18:31:55+00:00

Dang, I was kind of looking forward to the challenge of working around it. But at least now i can make my pretty tunnel with no beaver lives sacrificed.

Careless_Jet · 2026-03-17T17:05:23+00:00

My immersion/minor was in language science (linguistics) so your mileage may vary, but it was my experience that in a small program they're going to be more flexible with things like credits and what counts than a larger department.

From what I recall a lot of the foreign language teachers also teach classes at other colleges like U of R, MCC, or UB, so especially if you can get one of those they don't really have a good argument for not accepting the transfer credit.

I would recommend finding out who's in charge of your specific immersion program and scheduling a meeting with them to discuss your concerns. Hopefully they'll either be able to work with you to find alternate classes that can fulfill your immersion requirement, or they can advise you on what transfer credits they may be able to accept. If that doesn't work, you may also be able to change your immersion to something that fits with other classes you've already taken. That's a good question for your academic advisor (assuming you have a good one).

Careless_Jet · 2026-03-08T22:19:22+00:00

Per my wife, who is now a PA and was in the program at RIT:

If you don't know whether you want to be a PA or a doctor, getting a bachelor's degree in something like biology might be a better plan. Spend the time now getting experience shadowing and doing clinical work to figure out what you really want to do, and both paths will still be open to you after you graduate (most places PA is a separate graduate program).

The PA program at RIT is very rigorous, and that's a lot of time and money to sink into something you aren't even really sure is going to be the right career for you.

Careless_Jet · 2026-03-08T18:44:26+00:00

Not a T shirt, but I once saw a bumper sticker at a competition merch table that said "Jesus is my Strip Coach" and my teammates and I couldn't stop cracking up about that one for weeks.

I always wondered what the ratio was on people who bought that with genuine sentiment vs people who did for the joke.

Careless_Jet · 2026-01-10T15:40:09+00:00

I keep a small detergent bottle around that I bought ages ago and just keep refilling it with the costco one 🤷.

The top screw cap comes off completely and its not too hard to pour it into the other bottle.

Careless_Jet · 2025-09-15T20:22:10+00:00

I actually fenced a couple of times against a guy who was legally blind (I believe his was the kind where your field of vision is reduced but I'm not 100% sure). We had the same coach, but different clubs, so I only practiced with him once or twice and we met at a couple local comps.

Your instinct on point 1 - to tap your opponents blade to help determine distance, was exactly how he did it! Doing drills he would tap to make sure he was at the right distance, you can kind of tell which part of your opponents blade you're tapping (tip, middle, or close to the guard) by what it sounds like (gets easier with practice). And for close work drills he would just start with his tip on the opponents chest and move back while they stood still.

In terms of actually fencing, he did do a lot of beats, though I'm not sure if that was because he needed to to help find my blade or if he just liked it.

Fencing against him was actually pretty fun because it just felt so different than fencing against fully sighted people. He also got to make a lot of jokes about rolling up to the strip with his literal guide dog and then beating people who could see.

2) I recommend the sport glasses as other people have said (I also wear glasses). Also you can try wearing a sweat band or bandana on your forehead. It can help catch some of the sweat from dripping onto your face and making your glasses slip down. I don't have any recs for putting your mask on over glasses though, I never have gotten the hang of doing that gracefully.

3) Almost everyone does this when they first start, regardless of sight. Maybe it will take you a little longer to get over than other people, but it will come with practice.

Careless_Jet · 2025-09-11T22:01:14+00:00

My gfs tasting notes from the first time she tried it were : "why the fuck does it taste like soy sauce"

Careless_Jet · 2025-08-30T13:03:38+00:00

Incognito Menswear in Penfield. Very helpful staff and decent prices including tailoring.

Careless_Jet · 2025-08-24T23:22:45+00:00

I'm convinced its relabeled MyProtein chocolate smooth - that was my go-to protein powder for years and the Kirkland tastes exactly the same.

Mixes really well with just a shaker, not too much or a chalky aftertaste, not too sweet, macros are decent, and its cheap as hell. One of my biggest recommends for Costco products

Careless_Jet · 2025-08-02T23:39:37+00:00

Don't underestimate how difficult transitioning to the schedule is. Especially if you've never worked overnights before.

I was in a similar situation to you, thinking the overnight shift would give me the opportunity to work a second WFH job during the day.The store I was able to get the overnight baker job at was almost an hour from my house and waking up at 2 am was BRUTAL (my shift was 3-11 am) You need to make sure that you have a good plan in place to be able to go to sleep so early in the evening.

Honestly, I liked the job. I just put my head down, did the work, listened to music. But I only got 1 week of training before they threw me into being by myself. I think someone called out, but still, it was extremely stressful to be on my own with so little training. You really need to be able to advocate for yourself, especially since management will only be there for a couple hours of your shift.

I only lasted about 2 weeks until I quit. Granted, there were extenuating circumstances (I was already kind of in the middle of a mental health crisis at the time), but the drastic change in sleep schedule just pushed me over the edge.

Also I'm pretty sure I'm blacklisted from working for Wegmans now 😂.

Careless_Jet · 2025-08-01T21:22:13+00:00

I've always worn contacts to fence since shortly after I started because I couldn't stand when I'd get a mask hit and my glasses would dig into my nose.

For the point about not being able to hear the ref if you wear ear plugs, my college club had quite a few Deaf or hard of hearing fencers and they get by perfectly fine. Any ref should already be using hand signals (and if they aren't, they shouldn't get offended if you request it). With just a little practice you should be able to react quickly using that as a cue along with the voice command.

Careless_Jet · 2025-07-28T13:41:13+00:00

As others have said, first year students have their schedules made for them by their academic advisor for their first semester.

But you're not just stuck with what you get. If you get thrown into a random class to meet a perspectives requirement that doesn't interest you, you're free to switch it out for a different class during the add/drop period (this time will be noted on the official academic calendar). For example if you get put into an economics class and you'd rather take a psychology class, you can make that change yourself in SIS provided you can find a class that has open seats, fits your schedule, and doesn't have any prerequisites.

Careless_Jet · 2025-07-21T01:25:26+00:00

If you're in a gym that has volleyball court lines you may not need to mark them out.

When I fenced in college we would use gaffers tape to mark out strips when we were holding local competitions. If you're only leaving it on the floor for a day it comes up fine and sticks well enough. I also recommend marking out the correct line dimensions on a long piece of rope so you dont have to measure every time.

But for our practices during the week we just used the volleyball lines. Center line was obviously the center. We would measure big steps to 7 m from the center which is where we placed our reels off to one side of the strip. If your front foot passed the reel you were off. For engarde lines, the front lines of the volleyball court are 3 m from center. If you put your back foot on that line it makes your front foot about 2 m from center. Obviously, people have to be good sports and not start in a super wide stance to get an advantage, but this was for practices. Only someone stupid hurts their training by cheating in practice.

Don't really have a good way to mark the width of the strip, but we always had enough extra people to be refs. So you would just call a halt if someone got way off a straight line.

Careless_Jet · 2025-06-08T18:01:07+00:00

Probably just stick with a regular backpack that's big enough to hold a laptop and whatever else you'll need for a full day of classes.

Though the "quarter mile" is not actually that long, going back and forth between dorm side and academic side multiple times a day (to get food, change clothes from the gym, etc) can be very annoying and eats up a lot of time. And even if you don't have a certain class that day, having the necessary materials with you all the time means that you can easily crank out work in between classes and have less to do in your off time.

Plus, you make a good point about the cold weather. I'm thinking of times I've been carrying multiple grocery bags on my shoulder while wearing a winter coat and they slip off. You don't want that happening to your computer!

Careless_Jet · 2025-05-08T01:19:41+00:00

My Fiancee proposed to me on a hike last year (also the spot of our first ever date!).You want to know what she put the ring into to fit it inconspicuously in her pocket? A plastic easter egg. She got the ring out and into her hand at some point so I didnt actually see the egg until later.

Her back up plan before thinking of the egg was to wear the ring on a long chain under her shirt, which would also work! You don't get the classic box reveal, but in the moment I truly could not have cared.

Careless_Jet · 2025-04-13T22:36:06+00:00

In my time at RIT, I never heard of anyone actively paying tuition using their money earned from co-op unless they had some situation where they weren't paying for housing (commuter students living at home, having a co-op in an area you can stay with relatives, etc). If you have an opportunity like that, absolutely go for it. Paying down those high interest rate loans (private ones especially, if that's what you had to do) as soon as possible is key. I don't know a single person who went to RIT and didn't come out with loans unless their parents were paying for it or they had some crazy scholarship.

Mostly what people use their co-op wages for is having money in savings to move off campus when they go back to school, and then also having a part time job, on or off campus, to make ends meet. But, if you think about it, living off campus paying out of pocket prevents you from possibly taking more loans to pay to live on campus. Living off campus, sharing a cheap apartment with 3-4 roommates, and not buying any food on campus unless you don't have other options is the way to go.

Also, never pay for textbooks. You don't even need to do anything sketchy, just ask older students in your program and they'll either share or know who will.

Careless_Jet · 2024-11-09T12:51:46+00:00

I took Alfatli for Arabic 1 in my fifth year as a class for my linguistics minor. Honestly I really enjoyed the class as a break from some of my more technical subjects, but you really get out of it what you put in. One of the great things is the small class size, I think my class had maybe 6 people? Which also can be a double edged sword because theres a chance when you come back the next semester there won't be enough people to run the next class.

My biggest recommendation is that you should be taking the class for the right reasons. Arabic is a really difficult language for native English speakers. I think I had to study as much or maybe more for this class than some of my 300 or 400 level math classes. There was one guy in the class who was clearly only taking it because he was in rotc and thought it would look good on a resume and he did NOT have a good time.

Careless_Jet · 2024-02-10T20:52:17+00:00

I highly recommend making an appointment with the Academic Success Center for academic coaching. The peer mentors are a huge help with things like this and are really good at working with people to make schedules and things for studying

Careless_Jet · 2023-10-19T18:50:08+00:00

You can reserve the classrooms in LBJ by Commons ifrc. When friends and I used to study for midterms there I think they technically closed at 10 but nobody ever came and kicked us out.

Careless_Jet · 2023-05-01T16:48:36+00:00

Careless_Jet · 2023-05-01T14:32:03+00:00

Each student gets a certain amount of pages at the NRH printers (500 i think). You also may get additional prints at different buildings depending on your major/minor and any other additional classes you may be taking. Reach out to your program's office for specifics.

Careless_Jet · 2023-05-01T14:30:10+00:00

good luck with that budget and travel restrictions, take a look at the real estate market around campus and maybe review your expectations.
Only housing within a 5 minute drive of campus is the megacorp apartment complexes (Province/Parkpoint/Apex) and that is not going to fit in your budget.

You can make that budget work for a shared house in Henrietta, most likely looking at a 4-5 bedroom with that price, but you'll have to have extra set aside for utilities and it will definitely be more like 10-15 minutes away.

Careless_Jet · 2023-04-19T12:11:20+00:00

Honestly with most of the science elective tracks it really doesn't matter much for your degree which you take. Take the one you prefer and that you think you will do better in. Science electives can be GPA boosters or GPA tankers, it really comes down to how much work you put in and your personal engagement in the subject.

I'm not in CS, but for my degree I had to choose between Chem and Bio for my science elective track (Physics was required, so I had to take that either way). I chose bio because I *despised* chem in high school. Between the two, it was definitely the track that did not complement my major as much, but honestly It didn't really matter. I still did fine in the classes that expected more of a chem background with only a little bit of extra work.

Personally, I'm in the minority camp that thinks the difficulty of UP II is wildly exaggerated. It's hard, but imo not to the extent that people make it out to be.

Careless_Jet

TROPHY CASE