<p>SahilC,</p>
<p>Unless you count writing, I’ve never taken an arts course at RPI. There are many arts courses though, you can check the list out here: [Courses</a> - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Acalog ACMS?](<a href=“Courses - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Acalog ACMS™”>Courses - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Acalog ACMS™) . Mostly these courses are just there for the engineers and scientists to “expand their horizons” and are thus pretty laid-back and easy. I’ve heard some are pretty serious though, especially as you get to the 4000 level.</p>
<p>RPI has a wide psychology offering (prefix: PSYC) and these courses also tend to be pretty light. I found Psychology classes to be an interesting and laid-back break from all of my math and CS classes. As for design, I’m not entirely sure what you mean, but check out the arts catalogue and see what’s there. There are lots of architectural design classes too (ARCH), but I’m not sure how accessible they are if you’re not an architecture major. The architecture program is relatively insular (and extremely demanding).</p>
<p>Troy is just not very exciting. It’s a small, rust belt city that’s long past its prime. However, I found it to be safe enough, and it actually has a very good looking historic district which is pretty cool. But you’re not going to see many concerts or parties or anything like that. They used to have Revolution Hall and some good acts would come through, but not anymore. It doesn’t even have a theater. Albany is a bit better just because it’s bigger and I went there frequently for movies and such. It’s about 10-15 minutes by car and 45 minutes or so with the CDTA buses (which, at least, is free with your student ID). There are at least two major malls, two or three clubs, every type of store you’ll need, and SUNY Albany is there which has a much better party scene than RPI if you’re into that kind of thing. Still, Albany doesn’t really have the vibe of a college town and noone exciting ever comes to town. There is Amtrak service from Albany to NYC in 2.5 hours so it is possible to swing down to NYC for a day to see a concert or something.</p>
<p>It gets pretty cold in Troy. Whether that’s a dealbreaker for you depends on how much you value warm weather. I knew some students from Texas, Florida, and California, and they didn’t complain much. The one who complained the most was this guy from New Jersey where it’s not even that much warmer than Troy, lol. The coldest I’ve seen it get was a nice, cozy -11, and it was windy, too, so we had to wrap our faces up pretty tight or else run a real risk of getting frostbite. It’s also pretty cloudy during Fall semester but lightens up in the Spring. Everyone’s always sad to see September go and happy to see May come. In between, the weather is not very nice, although a New England (close enough to New England) Autumn is something everyone should experience at least once in their life…</p>
<p>The male/female ratio is gradually improving. When I started at RPI I believe it was 27% female. Now I’d guess that it’s around 35% or so. Whatever it is, RPI is still very male-dominated. Frankly though, if you’re looking to meet girls, the competition is not all that fierce because half the guys don’t bother and the girls aren’t very proactive, themselves. Even more frankly, if you’re going to college to meet girls, don’t go to RPI! Lol. Campus life is pretty active, I remember us being high on some “more to do on campus” list in Newsweek, whatever that’s worth. There are more than 200 student organizations and if you get involved with the ones that interest you you’ll always have something to do. There’s an event calendar that can give you some hints when you’re looking for something to do ( [Rensselaer</a> Events Calendar](<a href=“http://events.rpi.edu/main/showMainEnd.rdo]Rensselaer”>http://events.rpi.edu/main/showMainEnd.rdo) ) but that doesn’t include most club activities.</p>
<p>Thanks and good luck to you too!</p>