Are you guys happy at Rochester?

<p>Hello, im a student applying from Alaska.
Can you guys tell me if you guys are having a great time at the school, what activities you guys are in, how are your classes (especially calculus classes), how are the dorms, just everything about your overall experience in the school.
Thank you.</p>

<p>I don’t know if you qualify for their Class of 2017 Facebook page without an acceptance, but I can tell you most students hang out there rather than here. It’s quite active.</p>

<p>As a parent, I can also tell you my guy absolutely loves it there with no regrets at all about his choice to go there. (He’s pre-med with probably a Brain and Cognitive major and thinking American Sign Language and Spanish as minors or double/triple majors.)</p>

<p>He hasn’t been on cc since looking at colleges though. I guess he feels that part of his life is “done” and the new has begun.</p>

<p>You can read a few threads back and see what some recent graduates think.</p>

<p>Most posters here are parents. My kid loves UR. Pretty much everything about it.</p>

<p>As someone who has developed a keen interest in UR over the past 2 years [I have sort of a side hobby helping other kids in the college search process], and now has a kid applying among a number of other highly reputable schools, my very strong impression (and still increasing) is that the more you know and learn about UR the more you like. Some places blow you away based on reputation or location or campus beauty or something, and over time reservations creep in. With UR, it seems the opposite happens, where folks start out with reservations – Rochester, really??? – and then with each contact, from website to brochures, to visiting, and then continuing to explore, any reservations dissolve and you end up with what seems like a pretty darn perfect school, with a great combination of size, resources, small liberal arts vibe mixed with real university vibe, really strong motivated and interesting students, professors and an administration who are highly motivated to enhance the overall experience, and a place that already has a superb reputation which only is going to grow over the next 15-20 years. And of course coming from Alaska I can’t imagine the weather would be a concern for you!</p>

<p>As Lergnom suggested, go back a couple of threads and read the one that starts with potatopancakes.</p>

<p>The people I know that went to U of R didn’t find it to be a particularly pleasant place. Can’t comment on the gay issue.</p>

<p>Sent from my SCH-R760 using CC</p>

<p>Oops, I read “gays” not “guys”, lol. Sorry.</p>

<p>Sent from my SCH-R760 using CC</p>

<p>I should also add that we’ve met a fair number of alumni since becoming involved with UR (not all associated with the school’s activities, many just from “daily” life). I’ve yet to meet one who wasn’t happy they went there and eager to talk about their experiences. US News says UR has a 95% freshman retention rate - that’s pretty darn high among colleges. Not many drop out or opt to transfer out freshman year.</p>

<p>

Speaking as an alum, I couldn’t have had a better college experience anywhere else. I’ve made lifelong friends and professionally almost all my classmates have been very successful in a wide range of professions. Is it perfect? Of course not, no place is but after going through the college application process as a parent with two children and having visited nearly two dozen other schools, I think the U of R does many , many things right compared to other schools. I grew up in New England so the weather was not much of a big deal but the academics, the social life on campus and the intellectual curiosity among the student body, then and now is excellent.</p>

<p>Because I live in Boston, which is a magnet for medicine and science research, I meet a number of people who pass through Rochester, either for undergrad or grad. They all seem to love it.</p>

<p>I have two sons at UR and they both love it. </p>

<p>It depends on the vibe you’re looking for. If you want to paint your face and go to a huge football game on the weekends, you won’t find it at Rochester. I guess i’d say there are lots of activities to actually be involved in, but not a lot of activities with huge spectator appeal, and really, that probably says something about the Rochester experience -it’s students who want to do something, not watch other people do something. There are dance clubs, chess, movie clubs, quidditch, soccer, yoga, etc - just all kinds of things to do. </p>

<p>Academically, my guys are both very satisfied. You won’t run into a lot of bureaucratic red tape - you’ll get in to the classes you want (although sometimes two classes you want conflict). As far as calculus goes, they have an honors sequence that is very challenging that uses the Spivak textbook and uses a proof based approach to calculus and has excellent professors. It’s an excellent course sequence (4 courses, calc I-III and Linear Alg).</p>

<p>I join the parents of a UR student who loves it there.</p>

<p>My son is majoring in Mech Eng and probably minoring in film. He joined the rock climbing club last semester and is going snowboarding with the ski/snowboard club this semester. They go to Bristol Mtn by bus which is only 45 min away. </p>

<p>He is now in Calc 3. He thought his teacher was great for Calc 2. The sequence PinotNoir talked about is for Math majors or those who want more challenging math. I believe there is another sequence below the one my son is in, 140’s for those who need Calc but do not plan on using it for their major. </p>

<p>The dorms are pretty nice size. Freshman either live in Susan B which is a multi story building with one of the dining halls on the ground floor or in the Quads which are 4 story “L” shaped buildings that have grass and trees that surround them. Quad students usually eat first at the other dining hall next to the bookstore or inside the student union called Wilson Commons. </p>

<p>Everything is close by since the campus is not that large.</p>

<p>UR is not a “rah-rah” school as PinotNoir explained. The kids are all smart, interested and lean towards being “bi-brained”. Meaning they study and are interested both science and music or science and language so they meet other kids who are “bi-brained”.</p>

<p>Hi I posted something relevant recently on another thread: </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/new-york-university/498281-nyu-vs-university-rochester.html#post15486095[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/new-york-university/498281-nyu-vs-university-rochester.html#post15486095&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Hope it helps.</p>

<p>I’m interested in hearing from current or former English majors. How do Rochester’s classes compare to those at a good liberal arts school or an Ivy?</p>