<p>I just wanted to announce that the finalist and non-finalist letters for the Graduate Engineering At Rochester (GEAR) Program were mailed today (2/8/13). </p>
<p>Students who have been selected as finalists are invited to an on-campus interviewing event at the end of the month. Details are given in the finalist invitation letter.</p>
<p>TSOcash, if we become a finalist for the GEAR program, does that mean we are accepted into University of Rochester even if we do not get into the GEAR program in the end? Or are they separate? Thank you for the response.</p>
<p>There is a very strong correlation between being accepted as a GEAR Finalist and being admitted into the University of Rochester. I cannot say with certainty that 100% of GEAR Finalists will be accepted. You’ll have to wait until your decision letter arrives to confirm that. </p>
<p>Non-finalists are still in contention for regular admission into the University of Rochester as well. We had a tremendously high number of qualified GEAR applicants this year. The program is continuing to become more selective each year. Many (but unfortunately not all) of the non-finalists are still very competitive for regular admission.</p>
<p>A mailing date for these admissions decisions has not been announced yet.</p>
<p>How many students get accepted into the gear program each year? are there a certain amount for each specific engineering degree? could a student study abroad during the 5 year program?</p>
<p>Finalists who come to campus and interview well will receive strong consideration for the GEAR Program. Unlike REMS (the early medical school admittance program), there isn’t a maximum number that we can accept. Instead, we will look to accept many of the students who demonstrate a strong interest in and an understanding of the engineering field. Unfortunately, not all finalists will be selected to enter as GEAR students.</p>
<p>There is not a cap on how many can be accepted as GEAR students per major. </p>
<p>GEAR students will have to spend their time on campus during their pursuit of the master’s degree, but there is time to study abroad as an undergraduate. GEAR students can also participate in the Take-5 Program (a tuition-free 5th year to study anything you want as long as it is outside of your academic major), which can potentially have a study abroad component. This would simply push your master’s degree work back one year.</p>
<p>For full transparency, I have to update my previous post. We were unable to get the GEAR and GRADE accept/decline letters out last Friday. I apologize for this inconvenience, it is an incredibly busy time of year for our staff!</p>
<p>All GEAR and GRADE letters were sent on Monday, March 11th. These letters are all out the door! You should receive yours very soon.</p>
<p>d accepted to u of r… just received letter for being declined to GEAR. Can a student reapply at some point, or is there an appeal process of sorts? or is it simply a dead issues, final decision. thank you</p>
<p>The GEAR decisions are final, but there is always a chance to apply for the Engineering 3-2 Program during your junior year at Rochester in your specific engineering department. It may be more difficult to jump through the hoops of applying during your busy junior year, but achieving a bachelor’s and master’s degree at Rochester in 5 years is still a possibility down the road!</p>
<p>If you have specific questions regarding your preferred engineering department’s 3-2 program, I suggest that you give that individual department a call!</p>
<p>TSocash, can you explain what the difference is between the GEAR program and the 3-2 program? The literature that UofR sends out makes them sound very similar. Is it only a matter of when you apply/get accepted into the 5-year BS/MS program or are there other differences? Do 5th year 3-2 students also have the opportunity to serve as TAs for half-tuition?</p>
<p>Also if a student has a 4-year renewable merit award, is there any chance to continue it for the 5th year in either of these programs?</p>
<p>I don’t know about TAing for tuition as 5th year grad student, but I can tell you that students in a 5 year program CANNOT get their merit extended to cover the 5th year. </p>
<p>In part because they are no longer undergrads and no longer eligible for undergrad merit, bit mostly because merit awards are only rewable for a maximum of 8 semesters or until graduation–whichever comes first. Merit awards cannot be used to pay for summer classes either.</p>
<p>The only tuition-paid 5th year option I know is the Take Five Scholars program, but the 5th year must be used to pursue a scholarly project in an area not directly related to their major.</p>
<p>BTW, you’ll probably get better responses if you start a new thread rather than resurrecting an old, only marginally relevant thread to ask a question.</p>
<p>I was going to start a new thread, but since TSocash brought up the 3-2 program in the context of this GEAR thread, I figured it was relevant enough and he’s probably monitoring the posts.</p>
<p>I just saw your post today, and I want to thank WOWM for tackling most of the issues.</p>
<p>The Engineering 3-2 Programs at the University of Rochester are actually being discontinued as of May 2013 (this was recently announced internally). The information is still up on the Hajim School website, but they are in the process of removing the program from the web. This decision was made due to the fact that most students were completing their bachelor’s degree in 4 years, not 3. Students will be able to apply to our master’s degree programs during their undergraduate career, but this will no longer be called a “3-2 Program” and I do not believe that the 50% tuition discount can be guaranteed for non-GEAR master’s students. </p>
<p>WOWM was correct about the merit award. It cannot be extended beyond the 8th semester. GEAR students are offered a 50% tuition discount as long as they serve as teaching assistants for an undergraduate course.</p>
<p>That’s interesting TSocash – were students really expected to complete their undergrad degree in 3 years? My impression from most other schools offering a 5-year BS/MS program is that that 4th year is typically an overlap year, where students are expected to complete their BS with graduate-level classes that can count toward both degrees. (That is, when the undergrad degree specifies upper-level electives in your major, you would take graduate courses rather than 4th year courses – or courses that are cross-listed.) Is that the way they GEAR Program works? Or are students really expected to complete a bachelor’s degree in 3 years, which seems virtually impossible without a huge amount of transfer or AP credit coming in?</p>
<p>That’s why the 3-2 terminology is being discontinued - no one was completing the B.S./M.S. degrees in a 3-2 format. There was typically a lot of overlap during that 4th year. With the GEAR Program, it’s more of a 4-1 format with little overlap. The master’s degree program usually includes a summer semester as well.</p>
<p>I actually just emailed our Engineering Graduate Studies Program Coordinator to let them know that the 3-2 websites are still viewable. I believe that their websites will be updated later this summer. Thank you for bringing this to our attention!</p>