<p>So, she loves everything about the U of R...it's open curriculum, the beautiful campus, the amazing library, the access to music and art, the city of Rochester and its environs......but....she's a bohemian, a free spirit and the vibe she got when visiting was one of uptight, science geeks (some of whom had switched over to become social science or humanities geeks)...Do people have fun? Do they let loose? She's thinking Colby or Middlebury might be the better choice...but she (and I) really like Rochester. Any one have experience to offer?</p>
<p>I feel like University of Rochester is more “serious” than the LAC’s mentioned, meaning that students are more likely to focused on a more med/law/grad school track. University of Rochester probably has a good deal of arts and politics influence though, and it has one of the top music schools in the country! (Eastman School of Music) I have not been to campus, but I’m sure there is a great art scene there, but your daughter just has to look harder to find it! At Middlebury or Colby the arts will probably be more on the forefront of student activities. People have fun no matter where they go! Or you can always make your own fun, which is a lot of fun.</p>
<p>Is she a junior now? Can she schedule an overnight?</p>
<p>I have a son who’s a sophomore right now (and another son attending in the fall). My oldest was kind of how you describe (Birkenstocks, fair trade everything, very strong political feelings), and I had always pictured him at a small LAC where every student had a cause they were worked up about at any given time. He absolutely loves it at UR, but he’s also a math nerd so there you have it. 
He was actually turned off by some of the campuses that were heavily political - it seemed a little…I don’t know…protesting for the sake of protesting, maybe? To him anyway. I think he felt like he was going to school for academics and that people who care about issues would be everywhere, even if it wasn’t the overriding culture. </p>
<p>I think the vibe at UR is that the students do take their studies very seriously, and beyond that - students are into all kinds of things, and are valued for it. It doesn’t matter so much WHAT they’re into - just THAT they’re into getting off their butts and doing something.</p>
<p>She really needs to visit several schools and spend some time with students if possible, so she can get a real impression of how she likes it.</p>
<p>UR has a lot of music (not just the Eastman students - River campus too), it has theater, I know I see student art around campus, so there must be some of that, although I don’t know much about it. The city has some cool stuff - an awesome indy film theater (The Little) (film festival in April I think?), art galleries, Artisan Works (which I’ve never been to, but my sons have and they say it’s REALLY cool. Resident artists have studios there, but they hold events and tours too), a good farmers market, and beautiful parks, etc. </p>
<p>If she loves UR so far, then she’ll probably like being a student there. If she wants to be utterly surrounded by students who are very politically aware and active, there are definitely schools out there with a lot more of that.</p>
<p>Good luck with the search!</p>
<p>UR is political but not in a campus confrontational way. There’s a thread about this from a month or so. </p>
<p>My kid is somewhere between arts and science and loves UR so much she’s staying there this summer - in the dorm as an RA - while working and doing an internship. She has a lot of friends and contacts in the Rochester community because it is a fairly small place compared to Boston. I have to say Rochester in the summer is a pretty nice place. </p>
<p>If I would summarize, the school is interest driven. People join clubs they like and that draws them into circles of shared interests. There are lots and lots of clubs. Interests cross lines. You’ll find the microbiologist is also a singer or dancer and the religious studies or poetry geek is also a soccer player. A lot of UR sits at the intersection of arty geek and other nerd geek. My kid is a dancer but she also juggles, something I still don’t understand, and her main academic interest is public policy. One of her roommates is an art major. Her friends are all over the map.</p>
<p>Perhaps even more music geeks than there are science geeks, though most of them aren’t majoring in music. I was amazed how musical and down to earth people were my first semester. I spent this saturday jamming with friends in our hall lobby room till like 1AM so not everyone is uptight and there are alot of people youd consider ‘artsy’. I think people get that vibe on their visit (I did too) because people are so interested in what they are studying, and that is why it seems like the might be a little ‘geeky.’</p>
<p>If you are interested in english/poetry we have had quite a few visiting poets, a few friends on my hall go to quite a few and are always pretty impressed
[Hyam</a> Plutzik, Poet: A Centennial Celebration : Rochester News](<a href=“http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=3933]Hyam”>Hyam Plutzik, Poet: A Centennial Celebration : Rochester News)</p>
<p>We also just had this last weekend:
[ArtAwake</a> |](<a href=“http://www.artawake.org/]ArtAwake”>http://www.artawake.org/)</p>
<p>I wanted to add: Rochester geek is not CalTech or MIT geek. I’d say UR is normal geek, meaning people interested in what they do but with regular interests and social skills. </p>
<p>(I’m not bashing MIT. I’ve known many kids there over the decades.)</p>
<p>D2 is a “science geek” (the full magilla–double science major, research awards, etc, etc) but she is like most of UR’s “science geeks” in that science isn’t all she does. (She’s on the board of directors for ArtAwake, for example.)</p>
<p>At UR, the science geeks are serious about their academics, but they also appreciate & participate in the other stuff. There isn’t an artificial line drawn between one group and another like those you’ll find at some other campuses. Lots of intermixing of interests and ideologies among students.</p>
<p>And if you want to know if UR students have fun…this Friday is D-Day. A campus-wide party to celebrate the arrival of spring.</p>
<p>My d loved Rochester, and she took 1 science class and 1 math class because she had to for her social sciences major, and 2 math classes for her cluster. She also had a humanities major (but was not “forced” to). She loved the fact that she didn’t have to take science and/or math.</p>
<p>She was friends with a lot of artsy types - she was a dancer. She also had a lot of science and non-science friends.</p>
<p>Note as well that the science friends she had were serious students, but not competitive. Even the pre-meds helped each other; there was no cut-throat actions among them. And no one asked anyone else what their grades were. </p>
<p>The atmosphere was serious, but laid back at the same time.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughtful and very helpful responses. I think Rochester could well be the place for her - and with 5,000 + undergrads she is sure to find kindred spirits. But hearing others experiences is enlightening and encouraging.</p>
<p>She did feel quite at home at the Sage Art Center and could envision spending a lot of her time there.</p>
<p>One more thing, does anyone know about Rochester’s outing club? Is is very active?</p>
<p>dyslexicmom,</p>
<p>UR Foot (the outing club) offers a few trips the week before orientation. Incoming freshman can choose between a backpacking trip in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks, another less intense backpacking trip, or a series of day trips to waterfalls and parks in the Finger Lakes Region.</p>
<p>Beyond that I’m not sure how involved the group gets, and I suppose it depends on the group dynamic each year.</p>
<p>In the fall of 2010 I was hiking the “trailless” ridgeline between Santanoni and Panther (2 of the more remote High Peaks in the ADK) and I randomly crossed paths with a UR Foot group doing a weekend trip. We even picked the same campsite that evening by chance! So if I could randomly run into a UR hiking group in the middle of the wilderness in early October, then they must be fairly active during the year!</p>
<p>She could always email the current club president by finding their page on the Campus Club Connection: <a href=“https://sa.rochester.edu/clubs/URFOOT/about[/url]”>https://sa.rochester.edu/clubs/URFOOT/about</a></p>
<p>URFoot is fantastic but getting in is random selection for limited spots. Do the app and hope.</p>
<p>A huge advantage to URFoot or any activity that starts before regular move-in days is you get to move in before regular move-in. Imagine pulling up to the door to SueB in your car and having a bunch of kids unload you and bring the stuff upstairs. You can then run to Target, Walmart, Wegmans, etc. and again park right out front or in the lot next to the health service. Then compare that to waiting for your time in line and the busy bee activity of regular move-in day. I’m not a fan of lines.</p>
<p>D2 has gone 2 trips (multi-overnight) with the outing club during breaks. Neither was wholly satisfactory experience. For a number of reasons. PM me if you want details.</p>
<p>I will say the dynamic probably changes depending on the composition of the club (which changes from year to year) and who decides to go on a particular trip.</p>
<p>D2 has extensive outdoor experience, mostly in the Rockies and the Sierra Nevadas. (multi-week unsupported backpacking trips, multi-day canoeing trips, mountain/road biking overnight trips, multi week climbing trips and more)</p>
<p>Other than wearing the clothes and chatting in cafes, how can students at Middlebury or Colby really be bohemain given the rural environs? While students may be hard working, I am sure your daughter can find some like-minded friends at UR, while still taking advantage of the open curriculum there. Some other ideas depending on test scores etc: Brown, Macalester, Swarthmore, NYU (the capitol of Bohemia), and Wisconsin, plus any CA public.</p>
<p>Two things that are true:
- Yes, we are geeks.
- We take academics seriously.</p>
<p>But just because of these things, it does not mean that we don’t like to have fun. I’m an art fart myself, and the art scene is really small but intimate and cosy. There’s always little art galleries in the Pit that I like to stop by sometime and Sage/George Eastman/MAG/ESM often throws galleries and events and a decent amount of people attend. ArtAwake is held annually and it’s usually really big. I thought it was great this year. They really do try to make an effort to make the art scene better.</p>
<p>But your D will have to explore and get out of the U of R bubble to find stuff that she might like. There’s a Creative Arts Club which meets every Friday to paint/do crafts and stuff, there’s an Undergrad Art History Council, and there’s a really strong theatre program if your D is into that. Not all students are stereotypically geeky/nerdy in a sense that they’re wound up all the time and don’t like to have fun. </p>
<p>It’s really up to your kid. I like it here, despite the fact that it’s more natural science based. I like that the art scene is compact.</p>
<p>^^^ heh-heh, not a bad place for an art fart or a culture vulture. Looks like I’m heading up there for the jazz fest in June.</p>
<p>^^I went to the Rochester jazz festival 2 years ago and it AWESOME!</p>
<p>I was at a street festival and thought they were playing a jazz recording because the music was perfect. It was Eastman kids.</p>
<p>I can’t wait for the fringe fest. It’s going to be awesome.</p>