University of Rhode Island Top Questions

I think URI is the perfect size, and with a campus on a fairly steep hill it feels a lot larger. I wish there was more housing for upperclassmen on campus, but then again you can't beat living on the ocean. The campus is renovating and now there are a lot more places to hang out and do work, not just the library. It is not a college town which has its ups and downs. If you are into the clubbing scene then Providence is the closest place to go, which is a good 30 minutes away. Since the state is small if there is any form of entertainment in Rhode Island it is easy to get to, and there are a lot of concerts. One thing I would change is that we would actually have a good football team. I am from the South and college football is a lot of fun to attend and there is a lot of school spirit. I have never been to a football game and don't plan on it. On the other hand, there is basketball which is pretty good and the games are exciting.

URI is formerly a party-school, but it is much more controlled than it once was, and this is a good thing. it isn' to say you can't drink or party at all--it's just not as dangerous to do so. I mean, there was a time when URI had a strangely high rate of rape and unexplained death (specifically of young women), but that culture is largely behind the school now, and it had quite a lot to do with mid-nineties "dry campus" reform and the expulsion of certain choice fraternities. I do have a lot of pride in my alma-mater. Truly, the school has enough going on for everyone to be their individual selves; the theatre kids have a culture, the philosophy kids have a culture, the physics people have their own thing going on. URI will always be for academics-- no matter ho hard the adminstration pushes all these job-based majors; business, accounting, engineering, pharmacy, nursing, education--it will always be a place for real academics, and that is a beautiful thing. The faculty really makes it special.

I think of URI as a very supportive school. Just coming from orientation, you can really tell that everyone wants you to feel comfortable and to know that there is a lot of help that you can get along with many things that you can be a part of.

The campus is a good size; not too small, but not so large that crossing it becomes a major hassle. I spend most of my time on campus in Pastore Hall, which houses the Chemistry department (but that's only because I'm a grad student now). As an undergrad, I spent much time in the coffeehouse that I managed, as well as a fair chunk of time in the engineering buildings, to use their computers to do projects. There is not much town around here; it's a rural environment. For any sort of entertainment (other than sporting events or the occasional dance/special event) students must travel about 15 minutes away to Wakefield, where there are restaurants, bars, and a bowling alley, or Narragansett, where there is a movie theater. Otherwise, the best option is taking the 35-minute drive up to Providence, where there is a great mall, Waterfire, clubs, etc. In my opinion, the administration here does its job well. Nowhere is perfect, and there have been things in the past that upset me about how the school is run. Recently, the budget issues in the state have forced the administration here to make some very unfavorable cuts to some very beneficial cultural programs; it is regrettable, but seems necessary while our economy flounders. There is a fair amount of school pride here, although it mostly is focused around important sporting events or special weeks (Homecoming, March Madness, Springfest, etc.). Nothing stands out as extremely unusual about the school. One thing that does come to mind is that oftentimes, the average student will not encounter the majority of the other students on campus. This is primarily due to the fact that there is such a large percentage of commuters as well as the fact that the different majors are all segregated in their own buildings. Only on very sunny, warm days when everyone is hanging out on the quad will anyone really see the large volume of students who are on campus every day. Along with the commuter statistic, a very frequent complaint is parking on campus. There are three large parking lots for commuters, none of which are in the center of campus. One must arrive extremely early to have a chance at a good parking spot, otherwise the remaining option is to park a mile away from the center of campus. There is a shuttle system in place, but it is rarely used on sunny days and overcrowded on rainy days.

U.R.I. is the best public college in Rhode Island. It has so many programs that lead to such profitable careers. It's wonderfull. I am so proud to go there and I think anyone that does should feel the excitement that I do. It's a wonderful school with so many great professors. I'm so lucky I got in. I can't wait to prove myself there and start a career at the teachers union with the chance to get the dying pension plan and the great health care with $5 co-pays for the rest of my life. The school is so wonderful. Many of the programs are world recocnized as being some of the best. A great mechanical engineering program, a great computer software program, a super pharmacist program and of course, a great educational program. The School is just the right size to meet so many different interesting people. It's close to Providence and Newport. There is a large amount of school pride at U.R.I. GO RAMS!! Living in the dorms is great. If you can keep your partying in control, I know many who have met there husbands and wives in the dorms. It's great.

There are very few good things about URI anymore. the best thing is the new dining hall. It was built after I graduated, but i have visited recently and had my fiance guest me during a few meals. IT WAS DELICIOUS! The one thing I would change the most is the recent decision to cut many programs and professors at URI. It is a moderate sized school that has the feel of a larger university but the heart of a smaller university (particularly the professors). URI is not near anything really. There is no town to speak of though students do have access to non-school food at the Emporium. The Administration at URI sucks and makes very bad decisions. The budget cuts lately are the biggest mistake they have made, axing many programs and faculty that were invaluable to the University.

THE PARKING!! is probably the most annoying thing about campus life. Even if you got a damn parking pass, you still can't even find a spot and you have to resort to random spots in areas you can't park.. so you get towed even though you paid for your permit!

URI is an amazing school, especially for animal sciences and marine biology which is what i am going for. Telling people i attend URI for these majors, i feel pride and i receive an overwhelming great response. I love the location of the campus. I am not much of a city girl so i enjoy being in the woods with easy access to the beach. And if i need my city fix, Providence is just a short drive away. I love living off campus in a beautiful beach house with great ocean views, yet i am only a 5-10 minute drive to campus. I have a great relationship with my professors and truly enjoy all my classes, especially in my core subjects. I spend a lot of my time at the University's farm, where i help out with all of the animals. My best experience was when i got to deliver two lambs, and watch them grow up over the next few months.

I think URI is a great size and it has a lot of great qualities. I could walk around campus at 2am and not feel like anyone was going to come after me and the people are very friendly. When I tell people I go to URI they get very jealous because they know how close it is to the beach... something URI students love and take advantage of. The one thing I'd change is the fact that it's a dry campus. I dont party much but since its a dry campus there are more accidents and problems with students drinking because they have to go off campus to do so. There is however a lot of school pride. We have a Rhody cheer that everyone yells at the sports games and on the quad or at one of URI's many school events. Though I am transferring from URI, I will always remember the great people I met there. Everyone is very friendly and its easy to make friends and have fun. Springfest week was the best time during the year... there were concerts or movies every night and events during the day like "mocktails" and a thing where you could make personal signs... it was a lot of fun.

URI really is in the middle of nowhere, so get used to driving for at least twenty minutes if (when, really) you decide to move off campus, or to get to the nearest Citizen's Bank, or a real grocery store, or the bars, etc. It is, however, in a really pretty part of the state and the beaches are not far away.

the school size is ok, ppl think its cool to go to URI. Most of my time is spent in my dorm or the dining halls or other peoples dorms. I think most of the teachers are ok.

There is a lot of school pride associated with URI, but our football team sucks so do not expect a big deal about homecoming. Basketball is a big deal to us. The people that do not like URI are usually not involved. To fully get the URI experience you need to be Greek, on a sports team or good friends with one of the above. URI is all about socializing. When the weather is nice everyone is out on the quad or at the beach studying and tanning. There is not much to do around URI besides go to the beach, movies, out to eat or the bar. Providence is the closest "big city" and its approx. 45 min away. URI is a perfect size. There is enough people so you feel like you are at college, but not too many you feel overwhelmed. The campus is also a decent size and you may have to do a lot of walking depending on where your classes are. The emporium has a CVS and many food places that deliver until 2 or 3am so you do not need to go off campus if you don't have a car.

The best thing about URI is the fact that is it is such a large school but the on campus student population is about half if not smaller than the amount of people that go to the school so at the same time you still feel like you are on a very small campus. It would be nice is housing were actually able to provide proper amounts of housing for every student that wished to live on campus, and if some of the technological factors of the school were updated, such as the email and website systems. There is a lot of school pride, but due to the fact of large amounts of budget cuts many varsity sports were dropped down to club status and the football team who has yet to see a win in like probably 20 seasons has seen very little if no budget cuts while sports who do well and probably bring in a larger crowd than football receive all of the cuts.

the students are very comunity organized and freindly with each other and work together in their classes and curriculum the clases are very demanding

Best thing is being near the beach...winters suck. Parking services is a bitch...you will get towed atleast once at URI. Large school but it sems small sometimes because alot of people know each other freshmen year. Live off campus soph year and after.

Its a very fun place to be. Unfortunately the weather is not good at all during the winter months. There are a lot of great people here but there are a handful of kids that you wonder how they got into college at all.

most frequent complaints: there are a ton of commuters, parking is always an issue, you will never hear the end of it. people can't get spots and if they do they leave their house at 9AM when they don't have class until 11...and they live 15 minutes away. try to use public transportation as much as possible, especially if it works well w/ your schedule! biggest current controversy: orange sticker policy- kids who live off campus and throw parties get warning stickers on their doors in narragansett if the cops get called, its ridiculous. however, this year all those kids who got stickers ended up getting brought to some fancy party by like red bull or something and got free drinks all night (this isnt made up) so maybe it's worth it..?

Overall, its a nice looking campus. Its big, but not huge. You can easily get lost in the crowd if you'd rather, or you can get involved and be really high profile. There isn't much to do on campus though, except party, and the surrounding towns of kingston, wakefield, and narragansett don't offer much else.

i like going to URI i think we are a very divided campus in alot of ways and the different organizations do not work together and make the campus more united. I think the recent budget cuts were unfair to almost everyone and those who are not concerned just dont realise how ti will affect them in the long run. One this i dislike is the clothing trend among girls- northface jackets and tights and ugg boots...the most ridiculus outfit i can think if, but URI is good.....WAIT! please get more variety of food and cook it better pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee.... because its sickening

Best thing about URI: When you move off campus, your not moving to some little shitty house... you are moving to a house that is blocks from the beach. When the weather gets nicer you can do your work and hang out on the beach