EU seems to be better for business and pre-med, while UR is stronger in my areas of interest (STEM, although both are good schools). Emory is ranked 21 and Rochester is ranked 33 by US News. Is this a significant difference in ranking?
btw, I’m not sure what my major will be but I am thinking mathematics or cs
If you want to consider U S. News rankings as part of your decision, I’d recommend you consider these schools by their overall scores rather than their positions. By this measure, Emory scores a 79, Rochester a 70. You can use your judgment as to whether this seems meaningful.
As you noted, Emory offers a highly-regarded business program; Rochester, in its favor, appears in a Princeton Review sampling, “Great Schools for Mathematics Majors.” For pre-med, I’d regard these schools as offering equivalent opportunities.
They are so comparable you probably should forget about ratings and decide which vibe you prefer.
When looking at differences between similar schools (assuming the cost is similar to you or doesn’t matter), start going to professor web pages and see what their specialties are. Pretty much all students I’ve had do this find themselves aligning more toward one school or another when they match their interests to what professors are doing. I agree with @lostaccount that the two schools are too similar to go off other things - start looking for fit.
They are pretty comparable academically. The weather is very different, and Rochester draws students much more from the NY/NJ area, which you could like or not like.
I’m a Rochester grad from many centuries ago. When I was there, they implemented a program called “Take Five,” which allows (mostly) STEM and engineering majors to stay for a fifth year, completely tuition free, to take the classes their focused majors didn’t allow time for. It is an awesome opportunity but at the time they got hammered in the rankings because suddenly a much lower percentage of students were graduating in four years. What this really represents to me is that the school just doesn’t care about manipulating the rankings, instead prefering to find ways to improve the educational opportunities while there.
My understanding is that, as of now, 26% or 27% of the student population at U of R are international students, while it is 17% at Emory. Think how that could influence the recorded 25th percentile level of the english/reading SAT and ACT scores. I don’t know if that is influencing the current difference in the rankings or not. Acceptance rate may be part of it, too, which is higher at U of R, mostly (I think) due to geography–there are many dozens of comparable options within driving distance, as opposed to Emory, which doesn’t have as much competition in the southeast. U of R was always a safety for NY state kids applying to Cornell. Emory has only Duke and Vandy to fill that role, which are hundreds of miles away. Geography.
They are both good schools, and most importantly, your opportunities will be identical with a degree from either. Go where you feel most comfortable.