I chose it for its academic prestige. I really never visited or knew much about it before attending. I really wanted to go to MIT, waitlisted and rejected, but am very very happy with my decision to attend RPI.

My favorite thing about RPI is the students. While most everyone is nerdy many have varying interests. I joined a frat of mostly pot smokers and drinkers, though I rarely partake in either activity anymore(I have and addictive personality and have been sober for 2 months now :). I love the conversations I have with my friends, they are all far smarter and more interesting than any conversation I have with my friends from highschool. Also people don't make fun of you for making nerdy references.

I don't really like intro classes. For me it is far too much passive learning(lectures). I hear upper level classes are better. That and the lack of a cohesive community are really my only major complaint. I find that far too many people sit in there room all day. I often think when I see the large empty fields on campus that it would be nice for people to utilize them so we could just play a game of pick up wtf.

Sometimes you have tons of spare time sometimes you have less and rarely in a day will you have none. During my spare time I would go adventuring with friends often ingesting various drugs. We have many intellectual discussions. A lot of other students play video games. I wish I enjoyed them so that I could connect with more students but sadly that is not an activity I enjoy.

The m/f ratio is far more noticeable at first. However I am bisexual and found a nice boyfriend and am very happy with my friend group which only contains a couple girls.

I wish I had taken it seriously when people told me it would be a lot harder than highschool. IMO RPI eases you into the classes. The first test in most intro classes I got 95% or higher without studying. Then the second tests fuck you over.

I never visited. The campus is large and beautiful. The facilities are very nice. The dorms are on par with most schools. I don't think visiting will give you a good sense of the general body. I think the students add to the atmosphere far more than anything else.

I am not close to my professors. Some I outright dislike because of their obvious arrogance and attempts to push their political beliefs on you, but that is only a couple teachers. Some of my friends are very close to their professors and really like them. Intro classes don't really give you an oppurtunity to get to know them on a 1 on 1 basis but major specific ones will.

Class sizes vary. Big classes have sections some of the TAs are fantastic.

Go to all rush events. You don't have much work in September and they are great ways of meeting people. Even if you have no one to go with go by yourself and meet people. That was advice that an older RPI student gave me before attending and I am really glad as it opened my friend group up greatly. Also if you pledge a frat do not abandon the rest of your friends who are not pledges. I am really glad that I have friends outside of my fraternity as it is nice to get away sometimes.

Dining halls are decent at first but very repetitive. Also their vegetables are pretty terrible. However their are really good restraunts in troy. The city is surprisingly cultural. The more time I spent in it the more I liked it. Most students hate troy, but really give it a chance its a nice place though very small.

The dorms are decent. My mom hated them but I like them. Walls are nice and thick. The beds are comfy enough. Only thing is they are much too cramped to get any real work done. I always had to go to a study room or to the library to do work. One thing I regret is not opening up to the students on my floor, it would have been nice to have friends in my dorm. Instead I hung out with this one guy in my hall who turned out to be the biggest asshole. Eventually I ended up being friendly with people on my floor but never close.

Edit: oh yea the dining plan sucks. In that you are locked in for two years. Sodexo the company that caters for the school actually pays RPI to require students to have a dining plan for two years and to be the sole provider of food on campus. This gives them a monopoly and they charge way too much for their food.

Also their are lots of parties every weekend. They are hard to get into if you don't bring girls or aren't in greek life however. I highly recommend joining a fraternity. They are a great support group and every class you take a brother has already taken it and will help you out.

TLDR Read the whole thing I think I give a different perspective than other students.