<p>What is something you wish Rochester had? Or didn't have? What do you like and dislike?</p>
<p>How it’s not that well-known amongst the normal crowd is my biggest complaint. They should market better - take lessons from Wash U in St. Louis.</p>
<p>I agree; people don’t understand the value of the Rochester Curriculum or how it shapes the way the school treats students. </p>
<p>I guess I’d say there could be more food/drink options over in the science buildings but since that is about the only area where you can’t lug food all over - or into many rooms - so it balances.</p>
<p>Hmm… yeah I agree… Half the people I talk to have no idea that Rochester is an incredible school. They actually think I’m looking into Rochester, MN.</p>
<p>My D is a freshman at UR, and she was really bothered by this last year. We are from the Northeast and UR is virtually unknown to the average household. Everyone thought UR was a public college and couldn’t figure out why D wouldn’t go to our state university instead. Since D wanted to do pre-med, we had spoken to alot of doctors; and they all assured us that the people in the medical fields of study know about UR and what a great university it is. This came from 3 different physicians who earned their degrees at the same Ivy League University. In fact they stated that UR’s biology program is at least equal to if not tougher than this particular Ivy League school. We as parents hadn’t heard of UR either, but when we visited on admitted students day, we were sold. As far as the makeup of the students goes, D is constantly challenged. When she tells us of her peer’s accomplishments in high school, we can’t imagine that she would be with any brighter more motivated students at any other campus. D is very happy at UR and now knows that it is just as good if not better than Ivy League schools. Funny thing is my brother lives in San Diego, and when I told him D got accepted at UR, he said he would choose it over most Ivy League universities, and he works with many individuals who went to Ivy League universities. He was surprised that we and others from our area hadn’t heard of it before. What you all can do is pass the word around to future collegiate applicants on CC and in your hometown. I got a bunch of brochures and am going to drop them off at some area high schools. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>People in the fields and in the graduate schools know the school. It is in name recognition where a school like Washington University was.</p>
<p>Main thing to me is that almost no one understands what the Rochester Curriculum is. So many schools have ladled on requirements and UR has gone the other way and I think that is the smarter choice.</p>
<p>I wish Rochester offered more Merit Scholarships.</p>
<p>The average person on the streets in the SW hasn’t a clue where University of Rochester is, much less what it’s reputation is. </p>
<p>However, among the scientists, engineers and doctors at the 2 National Labs, Intel, the state universities, the medical school, White Sands, Philips Research Lab, the Very Large Array, etc UR is well-known and well regarded. Mostly because a goodly number of them either went there themselves or have worked with someone who went there.</p>
<p>And it doesn’t bother me or my D that at all that most people haven’t heard of it-because we both know that the people who will be interviewing her for jobs/med school admission/grad school admission in 2 years have heard of it.</p>
<p>~<em>~</em>~<em>~</em></p>
<p>collegebiomed-- according to US News, U Roch is among the top 100 schools for awarding merit aid, with approx 1/3 of all students getting merit awards</p>
<p><a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/most-merit-aid[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/most-merit-aid</a></p>
<p>If my D posted here, her wish for UR would be to have <em>real</em> guacamole in the dining hall instead some sort of runny green stuff that is mostly sour cream and cilantro. And to have green chile calabacitas enchiladas on the menu.</p>
<p>Oh, and mountains (think Teton-esque mountains) nearby so she could go climbing when the weather is nice.</p>
<p>Come to think of it, a Bank of America on campus would be nice.</p>
<p>The quality of the guacomole is a legitimate concern of mine as well.</p>
<p>Certainly this is a question that is better answered by students, but I will venture to guess that Rochester benefits in certain ways from not being a ‘big name’ institution. The vast majority of the students that are here are here for very specific reasons, and because they genuinely love the school. Few students are applying to and/or enrolling at Rochester because of its name recognition alone; what that means is a dynamic, well-informed student body, made up of students who aren’t simply enamored with a name. They know what they are getting themselves into and they hit the ground running as freshman, as evidenced by our 97% retention rate.</p>
<p>In a way I also think it serves to strengthen the bond among Rochester students - the students that are here recognize the worth of the school that they attend, and they bond in an effort to spread the word.</p>
<p>Thats my two cents.</p>
<p>And you did get 15k applications. It’s not like the school is withering on the vine.</p>
<p>Yes, Lergmom, I agree with having atm banking on campus that consists of several national banks, not local ones who charge a fee every time the atm machine is used.</p>
<p>D avoids ATM charges by using the ‘cash back’ option when she make a debit card purchase. She can get up to (I think) $40 back on any transaction. No fees involved. It’s enough for walking around money.</p>
<p>What is really inconvenient is UR’s payroll dept’s refusal to direct deposit paychecks anywhere except to local banks. D offered them her bank’s routing number and her account number, but since it was not in Rochester, they wouldn’t do it. She has to mail her paper checks home to get them deposited. (Via me walking over to the bank.)</p>
<p>Weird since nearly everyplace prefers to do direct deposit.</p>
<p>My d simply opened a free student account with Chase at its on-campus bank and has her checks direct-deposited there. If she needs money, I either send her a check or just put money into her URo account.</p>
<p>Yeah, you would think they’d want to do direct deposit. Last year I inquired why there were only Chase Bank atm’s on campus and I was told Chase has an arrangement with UR, guess an exclusive right to their banking, or no banking fees to UR or something like that. My D tried to do this at the campus bookstore, and they don’t give cash back which means she has to go off campus so might as well use an atm downtown if not going to any stores/shopping.</p>
<p>My daughter also had an acct at Chase on campus in addition to our credit union acct. She worked on campus and locally last summer…and was able to direct deposit her on campus paycheck and deposit her local paycheck rather than having to mail it home.</p>
<p>I wish there food offered more vegetarian options.</p>