Saw this question on another forum and found it insightful and thought it would leave useful breadcrumbs for the upcoming class of 2024. My daughter chose Rochester over Colby, Oberlin, Franklin & Marshall, Union College and Trinity College because of its larger size, greater academic choices, and friendly and welcoming students.
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My daughter chose to apply to Rochester ED (only school she applied to) over NU, Brown, Vandy, and Tufts because of the flexible curriculum, dedication to undergrad research, access to the medical center, and general laid-back and supportive vibe. She never regretted her decision. She graduated last week and will miss everything about the school. It was a near-perfect college experience for her.
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My lad chose URoc over Pittsburgh (and UAlabama, Furman, Baylor, Case W, + others he didn’t apply to) because he loved the research vibe he felt when he visited along with the enjoyment of other things. His hosts took him to some sort of music practice (can’t remember if it was singing, dance, or instrumental) for a club and they were quite happy talking about that as well as the in depth research projects they were working on. It wasn’t just one or two students, there was a whole group enjoying doing this. He felt like he belonged.
Then too, URoc has its own campus which he preferred to Pitt’s more urban campus.
Somewhat less important, but still a factor to him was how much emphasis a couple of those other schools put on sports. We’re not sports fans.
He just finished his second year of med school now and thoroughly loves + promotes his school to any who ask him about it. He hosts both med school prospects and occasionally some undergrad prospects (though I think those come via word of mouth).
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Glad to see that OP asked for the reason or reasons one school was selected over others. Quite often it is a matter of affordability which is important to know.
P.S. Would love to read of one who chose a particular school because “my car broke down & I couldn’t afford to get home so I stayed.”
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I chose the University of Rochester over UNC Chapel Hill because of the connections I made with other admitted students. The student body is quick to welcome anybody and they made it feel like home, whereas I didn’t quite fit with the atmosphere at UNC as an OOS student. To the class of 2024, I’d recommend connecting with other students through things like GroupMe, it swayed my decision heavily and helped me figure out where I belonged when I didn’t have the chance to visit any college campus.
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My son chose UR over RPI, RIT & Stevens Institute of Tech because as an engineering student, he wanted a more varied curriculum and student body who had multiple interests as he did.
I often describe UR as having a bi-brained student population. Many engineering students major is music or language so have interests in more than Math and Physics.
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I like the “bi-brained” description— D majored in math, minored in English, and played in the concert band. Is now a librarian.
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I chose U of R over Buffalo and Binghamton because of it’s campus and smaller student body. I chose it over RPI and RIT because of it’s diverse student body. As an engineering student, I wanted to meet people who had interests outside of engineering while still being in a very good program and with smaller classes. U of R was the best school of those I listed IMO, but also the best fit for where I wanted to be for 4 years.
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Somewhat related question-- when I attended the UofR back in the dark ages, it seemed like there were a sizable minority for whom the UofR was a safety, or second choice. These tended to be kids rejected from the Ivies and similar schools, and they tended to be fairly vocal about their disappointment. Rochester was my first choice so I was thrilled to be there.
Are there still a chunk of kids that are unhappy about choosing to go to UR?
cinnamon1212, that sounds like the situation here in MA at Tufts–kids often end up at Tufts when rejected by ivies. I think this still exists at UR, except I think those kids end up being happy about their UR experience.
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I graduated 6 years ago, but yeah there were certainly a bunch of kids who got rejected from Ivies. I knew that the students there were going to be smarter than my high school peers, but I was shocked at how many people were valedictorians and salutatorians of their graduating classes.
I think the difference though, is that people were very happy to be there. My friends and I used to joke about a lot of the students being try-hards because they were rejected Ivy applicants, but I never really heard anyone speak about it with true resentment. U of R seems to put a lot of emphasis on accepting students who show an active interest (via interviews or otherwise). I think a lot of it has to do with them trying to have a better ratio of enrolled:accepted students, but the result is that most people want to be there.
Hello! I’m applying to UofR this year RD… I am also applying to Ivies and many other reaches. Since I have so many interviews to do already, I was really hoping to avoid adding another to the list. Is it actually probable that they deny me because I did not make the effort to interview?
I can’t say it makes it probable that they deny you, but it certainly reduces your chances of getting in, even just based off the statistics.