There is a presence on campus and the community is very accepting. U of R has a very diverse student body and in general is very accepting of people of all backgrounds.
Yes. More importantly and specifically, there are research opportunities available to undergrads, including freshman/sophomores. It’s up to you to go looking for the opportunities, but you’ll find them more available at U of R than most other universities.
I think that depends on the institution you are transferring to. I don’t think that U of R credits would be any less accepted than credits from pier schools.
I always walked - you can walk from one end of campus to the other in 10 minutes, although most classes are probably all within ~5 minutes. It’s easy to bike on campus an a lot of people do it. Also, there are buses that you can hop on at one end of campus and get off at the other end (Park Lot to Rush Rhees Libary)
Inside campus: never felt unsafe. It’s pretty much just filled with students and University employees. There are “blue light” phones all over campus and public safety is present. Outside campus: Anywhere south/east of the river (Strong Hospital, Mt Hope, College Town) is very safe. Directly across the river is “less safe”, but still really not that bad (there are some upperclassmen dorms over there). Keep going north/west into the 19th ward or Plymouth/Exchange and it gets worse, although this is easy to avoid.
Social life is what you make of it. Greek life and athletics teams have a presence on campus, but there isn’t pressure to join if that’s not your thing. Typically there are parties on weekends at Fraternities, and people go to downtown bars on Thursdays, unless that’s changed. There is a club for just about everything - with an activities fair early in the year that makes it easy to get involved. The music scene is obviously big because of Eastman.
Classes are tough, but it really depends on your major. Generally speaking, if you were smart enough/worked hard enough to get in, then it shouldn’t be a problem. But get ready to work hard. The student body is more collaborative than competitive. Most classes are curved as necessary. It’s generally fairly easy to get a B, but much more difficult to get an A - but still not impossible (just requires more work). So depending on how you look at it, that could lead to some grade deflation.
I had a great experience at U of R and would do it all over again if I could. The open curriculum and research opportunities are huge selling points, but what did it for me were the people. I can’t think of a place where I’ve met more genuine people from all walks of life. It’s a great place to find your niche or get involved in whatever it is you enjoy doing. I hope this info helps and good luck with your decision!
Woah you majored in mechanical engineering!? That’s actually what I want to do as well! I was recently accepted, but I am a little unsure on how the “declaring a major process” works. Is it like basically going through another admissions/acceptance process, but this time specifically for the school of engineering? @RocEng
@lifeisastruggle It’s pretty easy - really just filling out some paperwork. During freshman orientation, you go to an advising session for whichever major you intend to declare. Basically, you just sit down with a professor in your department for 15 minutes and make sure you are scheduling the right classes for whichever major you want to do. As long as you take the right classes for the first year or two, declaring your major is just a formality. They don’t really reject people… I guess you could be asked to complete a class or two before being allowed to declare (in the case that something went wrong with your class scheduling fresh/soph year), but this would only happen if you were switching majors or something.
Does know if the Geomechanics program at U of R is any good? I haven’t seen anything like it at other schools. I was also wondering how math extensive it was.
Yeah. Basically, you just meet with two advisers when you start so that you’re taking the right classes for both majors. U of R really does give you the freedom to structure your own education. So even if you don’t meet with an adviser for two majors, you can do the research and take classes toward a second major, then make the decision later. As long as you meet the requirements for declaring the major (right prerequisites, pass classes, not terrible GPA, etc.) you should be fine.
A side note - U of R requires that you take one or two clusters (3 courses in a related field of your choice) - one for engineering majors and two for most others. This is a substitute for gen-eds in that it still gives you a “well rounded education” but it allows you to choose something you’re interested in. Many people roll these clusters into minors or a second major.
@strider1998 I know the number of students in the program is typically small. It requires Calculus 1-3 and Differential Equations/Linear Algebra, so the same math courses as engineering programs at U of R. The remainder of the course requirements are a mix between mechanical engineering and earth & environmental science courses. It looks to be an “easier” course load than a ME degree, mostly because it is far less extensive. For research, I know there are a couple of professors in the ME department that do work related to geomechanics.
As far as career prospects go, the most common job would probably environmental engineering. I’d say you are probably better off majoring in ME since there are more options, but could still get into geomechanics research. It also looks like it would be pretty easy to double major or even get a minor in one or the other.
