Creepers

Now, this is a topic that will mean a lot to the females at RIT, and maybe not as much to the people applying. First off, RIT is a fantastic school, as far as I can tell. The GD&D program appears to be fantastic (keep in mind, this is week 2) but there is only one problem: the other people in the major.

Now, I don't mean to be rude, but this is a huge problem. First off, you may know about RIT's gender ratio of 7:3, guys to girls. This may not seem that bad to you. After all, this is a tech school, but keep in mind, that's the entire school. If you're applying to a technical major, such as game design, this ratio feels a lot closer to 9:1, if even. I'm not saying that this is innately bad. I, personally, get along a lot better with guys than with girls. In general, I don't find that it's a bad thing. The only problem comes in when you realize that a lot of the people who apply to RIT were the geeks, the loners, the nerds at their high school. Again, you may not think that's such a big deal, but honestly, there are a lot of social skills people are missing out on.

There are a lot of genuinely nice, polite guys at RIT. Rochester in general seems like a very polite place. People go way out of their way to hold doors open (something entirely unheard of where I come from). People smile when you pass them in the hallway. Overall, I'd say that it's a nice group of people. I haven't really met anyone that just seemed like a pretentious jerk (Of course, I've definitely heard of a few. My advice is just to stay away from them, if you do). The problem is that people, guys especially, don't seem to get how they come off. One of my friends, for instance, walked a girl back to her dorm, and gave her a hug goodbye. That may sound entirely fine to you. On the other hand, this girl had some guy she doesn't know talk to her, follow her back to her dorm, and then try to touch her. It may be the fault of the guys; it might even be the fault of the girls, but seriously, a lot of these guys come off as highly creeperish.

If you're a girl at RIT, be careful not to just be overly nice to everyone. Don't give out your cell phone number to everyone who asks, because some people just will. It can feel awkward to say no to such requests, but just do. Trust me, you don't want some of the texts people start sending you. Don't let people you don't really know know where you live. Yes, the buildings are key card locked and each room locks individually, but that doesn't keep you from feeling freaked out when you know that that kid you thought was kinda forward, but sweet, turns into a full-on stalker. It's just not something you want to deal with. There's no harm in not giving out your cell number to everyone (in fact, it gets really hard to remember which "John" it was that you added to your phone when you feel like you've met 12 Johns in the past week), and there's no harm in hanging out in the campus center, or another public area.

If you're a guy at RIT, just try to be aware of how your actions come off. Even if you mean no ill will, a lot of guys on campus seem to. Keep in mind that the girls quickly learn that a lot of the guys here are creeps. If you make an effort to actually make yourself a person she'd remember before offering your cell phone number, you've set yourself apart from the thousands of other guys on this campus. It may not be your fault, and under normal connotations, you may not seem creepy, but you're fighting the uphill battle, at least in the Golisano College, that you're pretty much predefined as a creeper.

Another thing that's an issue among guys and girls seems to be the lack of personal hygiene. Now, I heard professors mention it and thought they were joking, but no, seriously. It's wonderful when you can sit in a room for class and not smell the person next to you's body odor. It's wonderful and rare. I'm really not sure what it is. The guys have given up on getting girls, and vice versa, so no one cares about their upkeep? Just, trust me, no matter how unpopular you were back home, there are probably at least dozens of people like you at RIT. However, one thing no one likes is someone who smells. Just take showers. Wear deodorant. Trust me, we'll love you for it. My morning routine consists of brushing my teeth, brushing my hair, getting dressed, and leaving. It takes about 10 minutes and isn't that hard. Just do it. Please.

Note that I didn't mention showering, which is also a must (and something it seems like people forget?). If you shower when you get home from class, the bathrooms (at least the girls' rooms) are pretty empty, which means you can just do your business and get back to your dorm. It's not a big deal; it's not socially awkward. Besides, the showers at RIT kind of rule. Again, please, just do it.