<p>I'm a rising senior and considering applying to U. Rochester. I am like 80% sure I'm gonna go on pre-med track, but I don't want to sacrifice a strong humanities (literature & social sciences) background as part of my undergrad experience. </p>
<p>My favorite subject now in HS is English Literature and I'm probably going to major in English or a social science while fulfilling premed reqs.</p>
<p>Are the humanities-related classes at U. Rochester academically stimulating and challenging? Are they looked down upon as easy or something?</p>
<p>On another note - while I'm on this thread - how's the surrounding area for internships/job experience opportunities and general entertainment?</p>
<p>OK, I’m speaking as a mom only and not an expert…UR’s reputation in the sciences is superb. Its economics dept is also very strong. The other social sciences and the various humanities depts. are good, but generally aren’t perceived to be as well-regarded by grad schools as science and econ. That is not saying they’re weak–just not as well regarded.</p>
<p>The classes D has taken for her humanities and social sciences clusters (philosophy and anthro) have generally been interesting and well taught. Not sleep-thorough easy, but not impossibly hard either. She feels her social science and humanities classes have been easier than her science and math classes. (But then again, she writes very well, is a strong analytical and synthetical thinker and is one who willing does all the class reading and plus extra besides.)</p>
<p>There was a article in the Campus Times this past spring by an English major who took genetics (Bio 190) and wrote about the experience.</p>
<p>Re: job experience-- are you taking about opportunities for job experiences for pre meds? Or opportunities for interning in business or another field altogether? </p>
<p>Entertainment–lots of stuff to do on campus, concerts at Eastman, plus the greater Rochester-Buffalo area to draw upon. Not a problem.</p>
<p>UR is a good school with good programs. As with any school, some departments will be stronger than others. Most UR students major in humanities, not in science.</p>
<p>Rochester is an interesting place. It’s small in scale so nearly everything is 5-15 minutes away at most by car. I spent some of the morning in South Wedge, a few minutes from campus, had coffee at a great place, looked at some old cast iron pieces and then had lunch at Open Face, a great sandwich place on South Ave. There was a street fair - WedgeStock - going on. I then drove to the mall & Target south of town in 10 minutes.</p>
<p>My daughter’s a humanities/social science double major. Her classes are both challenging and stimulating. Rochester’s humanities department is well-received. It is a bit less well-known that its premier science departments like optics, but is very well regarded.</p>
<p>wayoutwestmom - Yeah I meant job experience opportunities or internship opportunities medical-related (hospital or clinic, e.g.) and internships in surrounding area in general</p>
<p>Strong Hospital (which is part of the UR Medical School) is right across the street from River Campus. Many pre-meds volunteer there. (My D2 has volunteered in the neuro rehab dept at Strong for 2 years now. She helps stroke and brain injury patients with their various therapies. She was invited this spring to sit in on weekly case reviews along with the medical students doing their neuro rotations.)</p>
<p>Highland Hospital is about a mile from campus (an easy walk, plus it’s on the bus line which UR students can ride for free) and is also part of the Strong Hospital system. UR pre meds also volunteer there.</p>
<p>There are some paid research assistant positions in various lab associated with the hospital. But these positions are competitive and may require specialized skills. Some are restricted to work-study students only. But there are no paid patient contact hospital internships. (And patient contact is what medical schools are looking for.)</p>
<p>There is premed club that sometimes helps to arrange doctor shadowing experiences for pre med students.</p>
<p>There are additional volunteer opportunities with places like Planned Parenthood, campus blood/bone marrow donor drives, American Cancer Society, MERT (Medical Emergency Response Team–campus volunteer EMTs), etc.</p>
<p>Non medical internships are offered by local business such as Kodak, Paychex, local banks. But again, these positions are competitive and may required specialized skills or having specific courses.</p>
<p>Hi, dinosawr… I can provide some anecdotal information. I recently took a master’s level course called ‘20th Century British Literature’ which was cross-listed with the undergraduate course (meaning most of the students in the class were undergraduates). I was extremely impressed, and admittedly intimidated, by the quality of conversation and the depth of analysis of the students in the class. In one session my professor was struggling to recall a line from one of the more obscure of T.S. Eliot’s poems (which was not an assignment of the course), and about ten students recited the line in unison when she asked for help. Most of the students in the humanities are truly engaged and passionate about what they are studying.</p>
<p>…as a potential pre-med student studying english you will not be disappointed. Also, there are literally more research positions at our hospital than we have students to fill. Just some food for thought!</p>
<p>There are lots of biology-related research positions for undergrads, however most of them are volunteer positions, not paid positions (except for work-study).</p>
<p>This is great to hear. My daughter is planning to be a science major and she also loves English. She really wants to be able to take strong humanities courses along with math and science so she pretty much ruled out tech schools. We visited U or R this summer and she absolutely loved Rochester, it was hands down the ‘best’ visit we had and we’ve done plenty at this point. Everything we hear about Rochester just confirms more and more that this is her top choice.</p>