<p>I was recently accepted off the Rochester waiting list, so I have till May 8th to decide for them…still haven’t received FA for them yet. I also got into BU off the wait-list (shouldn’t have been there in the first place). Rochester seems way better than BU imo, but I wanna hear what people have to say cause I have about a week to decide.</p>
<p>If you think Rochester is that much better, go there.</p>
<p>What is your interest?</p>
<p>Oh Rochester… I was in love with U of R for such a long time. Alas, I got into both BU and U of R, but BU gave me wayyy more aid. Quite frankly, U of R’s package was super disappointing in comparision even with an appeal. I received a scholarship and research grant, but it didn’t compare in the least. My friend, who applied ED, actually had a similar problem with Finaid way below normal U of R standards (where they’re raved about). She actually had to take their out clause because of the money, and is attending UMASS Amherst next year. I was really sad at first, but then I got BU’s acceptance and aid. Suddenly, I shifted gears and realized that I’d probably be more of a fit here anyways.</p>
<p>Anyways, in the end, I’m really happy about being a part of BU 2013! U of R is an amazing school, but can’t match the location of Boston. It’s very different, but in my case, U of R seems to be lacking funds right now to provide comparable aid too. Your case might be different though. I’m sure you’ll be happy wherever you end up, so follow what your gut says.</p>
<p>I was also accepted into Rochester, but found it a depressing and dreary place. The school is nice, and of very high quality. But BU just had so much more to offer. The number of programs and course offerings, the excellent location, the alumni network and on-campus resources are amazing here. I’m sure I would have enjoyed it at Rochester, but I don’t at all regret my decision to come to BU, and I got similar financial aid offers from both schools.</p>
<p>I have nothing against Rochester the school but the winter weather there is pretty darn awful.</p>
<p>xgreatescapesx, Rochester is a terrific school and vastly underrated. It has outstanding academics and is highly regarded in academic circles, specially for liberal arts, sciences, medicine and music. They have a flexible curriculum that you can tailor to your needs. It is a beautiful compact campus. </p>
<p>Downside: Weather is not great. (2) If you are a huge sports fan and want to participate in, or watch, Div 1 Sports, then Rochester might not be the place. </p>
<p>( Full disclosure: Many of my friends and family have attended UoR.)</p>
<p>My d will be a senior at Rochester and chose between BU and Rochester. I have read quite a lot on these boards about Rochester financial package. In our case it was quite the reverse. She had merit scholarship from Rochester which they increased when another offer from a different school was submitted to them (not BU) while BU was very inflexible and would not consider any appeal, even though her stats and awards from other schools were equal. Rochester is a fine school with more flexibility in curriculum than BU. So much depends on your major. Admittedly the city of Rochester is not Boston, but Boston’s winter is just as harsh. My older d went to school and lived in Boston for another year after graduation.</p>
<p>My daughter was accepted to both; she chose BU and will study biochemistry and music. Rochester is a great school, strong academics for pre-med, music and sciences. Rochester also has amazing a cappella groups, perhaps because 50% of students participate in music anyway, so music is in their genes. Boston U also has plenty of music outlets, including a cappella. For my daughter, who also wants to participate in a cappella, Boston was the right location, and Boston U grabbed her. If you are an athlete, UofR has some opportunities, even if you’re not Div. I level. I don’t know about sports at Boston U unless you are Div. I level hockey or lacrosse. Both schools seem to have good fitness centers and access to intramural sports.</p>
<p>Rochester undergrad is smaller (~5000) while Boston U is bigger (~18000). Some suggest that UofR has a better focus on individualized attention; I don’t have specifics to back that up, but at our visit, professors walked right up to my daughter and introduced themselves to talk about their program (one in optics, one in biology) so they seem very approachable. </p>
<p>Good luck … your gut will sway you in the end. The city of Boston may lure your or scare you off. Good luck … you can’t make a wrong choice.</p>
<p>SnowflakeVT: My daughter is a freshman at BU, and was also very interested in participating in a cappella, after singing all through high school in a cappella groups. She had no luck getting into any of them - there were about 500 kids auditioning for very few spots. Suggestion: have her make contact with people in the groups before she gets to BU, a lot of it is about “who you know,” as in all of show biz! I hope your daughter has more luck than mine did. In the end it didn’t matter, she has found other involvements at the school, and absolutely loves BU.</p>
<p>Like I said, I have nothing bad to say about Rochester the school and the city has its good points, though those have been hurt by Kodak’s changes, but the winter is not the same as in Boston. Rochester gets almost 100 inches of snow a year and Boston gets 45. Winter in Boston some years doesn’t arrive until January. Rochester is also quite a bit colder in winter. </p>
<p>The only way winter in Boston is worse is that we’re further east so the sun sets earlier in winter. This is noticeable in November and December.</p>
<p>I was in exactly the same situation as you about a month ago. I was really confused between what school I should attend. Both had given me around the same scholarship. The thing that helped me decide, and might help you too, was my campus visit. I visited both campuses and immediately fell in love with Boston. Rochester had a good campus too but I wanted to go someplace where there were more activities going on and Boston University was perfect. I would really recommend that you visit the campus. It was the deciding factor for me.</p>