Rochester Institute of Technology
What RIT says
Exact quotes from RIT’s official pages, checked word for word on Oct 22, 2026.
Log into SIS and complete the LOA/UW eForm found on the eForm tile on the student homepage.
— rit.edu ↗Students applying for a planned leave of absence agree to complete any courses in the current term, understanding that if approved, the leave of absence will begin the following term.
— rit.edu ↗A student is allowed up to 3 consecutive terms, including summer, without enrollment.
— rit.edu ↗Contact your primary academic advisor to initiate the Return from Leave of Absence form.
— rit.edu ↗Once requested, the academic unit head or their designee must formally approve or deny the request on the Request for Leave of Absence form.
— rit.edu ↗Written by AI from the quotes and pages we read. It may be incomplete or wrong; the school’s own pages win.
- RIT appears to use an LOA eForm in SIS, keeping you matriculated.
- A planned spring leave looks like it should be requested during fall 2026.
- Leave seems to cover up to three consecutive terms; return needs a form.
- Reasons accepted: dean's approval (No reasons listed).
- Time away allowed: Up to 3 consecutive terms.
- Classes start Jan 11.
Before you decide
Check on the following…
- Will my spot be held?Check how long your school keeps your place and whether you have to apply to come back.Ask: Registrar
- Will I graduate later?A term off can push back your graduation. Ask which required classes only run in the spring.Ask: Academic advisor
- Is there a deadline to ask?Some schools want your leave request before January. Find out the exact date and the form.Ask: Dean’s office or registrar
- What happens to my scholarships and aid?Ask whether your scholarships and grants pause while you’re away or end, and what you need to do to get them back.Ask: Financial aid office
- When would I have to start repaying loans?Student loans usually stop being deferred when you’re not enrolled. After a short grace period, often six months, payments can start.Ask: Financial aid office
- Will I still have health insurance?A student health plan usually needs you to be enrolled. Make sure you’re covered from January to April.Ask: Student health office
- What about my housing?Ask whether you can leave your housing contract without a penalty and whether you’ll get housing when you come back.Ask: Housing office
- I’m on a student visa. Does this affect it?For F-1 students, not enrolling usually ends your visa status. Talk to this office before anything else.Ask: International student office
Hackathon
- BrickHack ↗Student-run 24-hour hackathon at RIT, open to any university student (latest dated event Feb 2025)
Entrepreneurship center
- Bernard Kozel StartUp Program @ Saunders ↗Full-time summer student accelerator open to all majors, with living stipends and a Demo Night
- Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship ↗RIT's startup center: coaching, IdeaLab, NSF I-Corps, Team Builder, MAGIC Maker program
Hard-tech team
- RIT Formula SAE ↗Formula SAE race-car team (official CampusGroups listing)
- RIT Launch Initiative ↗High-power rocketry team; competed at IREC 2025 with OTIS and won the Charles Hoult Award
CS club
- Computer Science Community ↗Community for RIT computing students (364 members)
- Computer Science House ↗Living-learning computing community since 1976; hardware and software projects
Why 72
Spend the winter building. Southbound runs Jan 11 to Apr 11, 2027 in Miami. Acceptance is rolling.
What we could find (checked Oct 22, 2026). Not final: confirm dates and aid with your school before you act. Source pages look current for 2026–27. We date pages from server timestamps, page metadata, “last updated” text, PDF dates and the Wayback Machine.