<p>I just paid the deposit of $600 last night and am so excited to be a part of the Rochester family this coming fall! However, I now have a few questions and it would be great if anyone could answer these:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>At the moment, we are not too good off financially and I still haven't received my acceptance packet yet as I was accepted on the 26th of April. I'm an international student and so I didn't qualify for filing the FAFSA and I don't believe I could get a merit scholarship with my test scores and grades. During the time of applying we didn't require need-based financial aid and so I didn't check it off on the Common Application. Is it possible I could get SOME sort of aid now? I could be loans, grants, scholarships, etc. I think I will email Mr. Burdick and ask if it is possible...what are your thoughts?</p></li>
<li><p>How is the life at UR? I'm Asian and so will I be able to fit in easily? How far off is NYC...do students go there on weekends? Basically I want to know if there is diversity and that I could make a lot of friends and have fun while being serious on my studies.</p></li>
<li><p>Will the housing information come with my acceptance letter? Have I missed any deadlines on priority housing? Can I choose my roommates or is it random?</p></li>
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<p>It would be great if you guys could help me out. Thanks!</p>
<p>Roommates are random. UR believes that works as well as anything. I agree.</p>
<p>Diversity is hard to evaluate and I can’t speak to any particular group’s experience. Our high school was extremely diverse by any measure and any college in the US will be less diverse. By that measure, UR seems somewhat diverse.</p>
<p>NYC is a ways off. You can take a cheap bus - like MegaBus or BoltBus or Fung Wah - but it’s a commitment of time. NY state is large. Rochester is about an hour from the western edge. It’s less than an hour and a half to Niagara Falls and less than 3 hours to Toronto, if you really want road trips. In college in the US, kids tend to stay around their schools except for vacations. </p>
<p>As for aid, no reason not to contact them even if the chances are slight.</p>
<ol>
<li>Haven’t a clue about FA for internationals. I would call the financial aid counselor assigned to internationals and ask. FA for internationals is NOT guaranteed. And a student visa severely restricts your ability to work in the US. You must be able to show you have sufficient funds available to pay for 1 full year of schooling in order to receive your entry visa to the US.</li>
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<p>[University</a> of Rochester : Financial Aid](<a href=“http://enrollment.rochester.edu/financial/international/]University”>http://enrollment.rochester.edu/financial/international/)</p>
<p>[University</a> of Rochester : Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.enrollment.rochester.edu/financial/officeinfo.shtm]University”>http://www.enrollment.rochester.edu/financial/officeinfo.shtm)</p>
<p>Have you filed your CSS Profile? You cannot even be considered for FA unless you have.</p>
<p>2) UR has a significant Asian minority presence on campus with very active culture clubs. There’s a Chinese culture club; a Korean one and another one I can’t remember off hand. International students are assigned a “big sister/brother” upon arrival. A Big Sister/Brother is older student from the same country/culture (if possible) as the arriving student. (D2’s freshman roommate was from China. I know this what the school did with her.) This person serves a resource for the student during his freshman year. International students also have a special orientation to help familiarize them with the culture and expectations of an American university.</p>
<p>So the short answer is you ought to fit in fine.</p>
<p>NYC is a loooonnnnnggg way away. One hour by plane or 6 hours by car. There is train service from Rochester to NYC, but that take 6-8 hours. It’s not an easy trip to make for a casual weekend, but it’s do-able over short breaks (4 days).</p>
<p>3) Housing info is mailed separately and will arrive in mid to late May. There are no priority deadlines for housing. Just the same deadline for all regular admission matriculants. You can only choose your roommates if both of you mutually request each other separately during housing registration. International freshmen are strongly discouraged from rooming with someone they know from their home country. (It’s isolating.) Roommates are more or less randomly assigned by gender.</p>