Offered January 2013 Enrollment, should i accept it?

<p>So I am an international student from Europe, I am admitted to UR but for January enrollment, they offered me to either go travel, self-study, go to a temporary college for one semester, work, or join their Italian study program in italy. I am also offered admission from Syracuse(also one of my top choice), Drexel, PennSt, etc. for fall enrollment. U of R is definitely my top choice school but I don't wanna wait for another few months. But in terms of overall ranking and stuff, U of R is ranked higher than Syracuse. so now i dont know What should I do?? go to italy? go to a temporary college? take one semester off? and is it possible that if I talk to admission person and try to make them reconsider for fall enrollment if spaces are available? ... any advices or anyone experiencing similar situation??
Also, if i join the school in January, will it be hard for me to make friends ?</p>

<p>anyone…???</p>

<p>Spring admits have a special freshman orientation in January. It’s held on campus slightly before the whole crush of returning students come back after winter break. It gives the newbies time to learn their way before diving in campus life. So there is organized support for spring admits. You will not be the only spring admit. In the past UR has offered spring admission to about 30 students/year.</p>

<p>Rush for social organizations (frats & sororities) is held in February so if you’re interested in that route, it’s certainly open to you.</p>

<p>Second semester is not too late to make friends. Many freshmen are still figuring out their majors, their interests (social and otherwise), their social circles, etc second semester. </p>

<p>You can certainly contact admissions and ask to be considered for fall admission on a space available basis, but historically space has not be available. (However, it’s possible this year may be different since a new dorm is opening this fall. UR’s enrollment has been constrained by available bed space…)</p>

<p>As for whether you should go to UR or another school–no one can answer that question for you. It’s a decision that you and your family need to make based upon WHAT’S BEST FOR YOU.</p>

<p>Italy sounds nice… but it’s your decision. Personally, I think U of R is worth it compared to your other choices, but again, everyone gets to decide for themselves based upon what fits them.</p>

<p>You could try and talk to an admissions counselor and see if they can get you on some sort of stand by list for Fall. </p>

<p>SO many things change between now and when the semester starts. Heck, things even change A LOT the WEEK BEFORE a semester starts. If you really want to get into Fall semester, start talking to admissions now and see what you can do to get in.</p>

<p>If not, then Italy would be a nice place to go and probably a fabulous experience to have.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

<p>Thanks for your advices… I think its most likely that i will go to U of R. However, I dont understand that if spaces are available, why would they take people from the waiting list rather than admitted January students. It kinda makes no sense …</p>

<p>Hi! My daughter was also admitted for Jan. She has applied for the study in Italy program. The semester abroad sounds really great and she will receive 18 credits! She won’t be a semester behind when she starts in Jan. Where are you from?</p>

<p>I live in the Czech Rep., Europe. Congrats to your daughter! Maybe I will meet her in Italy… who knows… xD</p>

<p>

It has been many years since Rochester took anyone from the waitlist.</p>

<p>I don’t know if this matters but one of my close friends way back when was a January start. She was really lost for a few weeks. But she became one of the most popular people in my class. Because that’s who she was. That’s what matters, not a date when you start.</p>

<p>i know an international student who came in second semester. she fit in perfectly with our hall and she’s settled in fine. it might take a bit more effort to join in on things, but it’s definitely doable and people are really friendly (there’s also a huge population of international students compared to most colleges, so you’ll probably meet a some of them through iso [international students office], since they plan certain programs to help international students network).
there is a clear effort to make sure jan or transfer students feel welcomed and freshmen ra’s are required to continue holding hall programs throughout the semester so you’ll have a chance to get to know your hall well</p>

<p>i never understood how there might be open spaces the spring semester though some transfer out by sophomore year or can’t work out the financials even after a semester. </p>

<p>academics wise, just make sure that you can jump into course sequences. if you’re going into the sciences, many intro science courses are only offered in the fall. if you don’t have maybe ap credit or transfer credit that may allow you to skip ahead into the second semester course, you will be behind. (and even transfer credit is sometimes hard to get approved) of course, all bme/cheme students take the gen bio and/or gen chem as sophomores since it doesn’t fit in their schedules, so there isn’t a huge problem and you won’t feel alone, but still something to consider. there’s plenty of flexibility in the rochester curriculum though, so even if you have one less semester before you graduate, you’ll be fine.</p>

<p>To ohhowrandom and other Rochester students /////// </p>

<p>Hi, I got into January admission too.
I’m Japanese student who goes high school in Boston.
I have some questions. </p>

<p>First, Approximately how many students come in second semester?
In my admission letter, it says they offered 20 spots for january enrollment. But I don’t think all those 20 people will decide to attend Rochester. </p>

<p>Second,
How do students in Rochester think about students who came in 2nd semester? I know it’s dumb question, but I just wanna know the reality. What I mean is… do they feel (not all people) superior to january students in terms of educational background. ahh it’s very vague question but i hope you understand what i’m talking. Thank you in advance!</p>

<p>I really don’t think the students pay much attention to when someone starts. In part, because some room switching goes on at the beginning of second semester. So the new kid on the hall could be a spring admit or just someone whose roommate situation didn’t work out. </p>

<p>If the letter says 20 spring admits, then UR will likely have 20 spring admits. (As people decline spring admissions, the open slot is then offered to people on the waitlist. Since UR hasn’t taken anyone off the waitlist for fall admission in years and years, guaranteed spring admission is a waitlisted individual’s only chance to attend UR.)</p>

<p>According to the thread few years ago, an admission counselor said that “Students offered admission for the spring semester are selected because they show a lot of academic potential and because they are outgoing and sociable people that can easily adjust to a new environment mid-year.” … haha now im not sure if outgoing is a good thing (Plus I am not THAT outgoing anyways)… xD</p>

<p>I also was wait listed/offered January enrollment. My question is are we guaranteed a spot for the spring of next year, or will we be considered among the other applicants that will be applying to transfer in?</p>

<p>I think we are guaranteed in, otherwise they wouldn’t be asking for our acceptance form by june 1st and deposit.</p>

<p>Well I am on the UR Alternate List, so I guess that means I’m not guaranteed in, but the committee gets to review my application again.</p>

<p>wait, i have a question now, if I get the guaranteed enrollment for jan 2013, will that be class of 2017 or 2016?? cuz for the alternate list, it says “I wish to remain on the Alternate List for Fall 2012 but I am also willing to be considered for admission to the
Class of 2017, which starts in January 2013.” , but on my thing it just says “ I accept admission to Rochester, beginning in January 2013. I have enclosed the nonrefundable enrollment deposit of $700. I understand that the enrollment deposit will be credited to my student account.” nothing about Class of 2017 is mentioned …im so confused …</p>

<p>If you are a January Admit, give the office a call with your questions. Please don’t rely on ancient CC posts, the Admissions Counselors in the office can explain everything, and it usually requires a long conversation.</p>

<p>Alrighty, I’ll do that tomorrow. Thank you TSocash!</p>