Scholarships, optics, music, Christian support, diversity and more!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Rochester
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<p>I just "discovered" U of Rochester as a possible school for my son to look into further. I would love to hear about how good the scholarships are. Finances are a biggie to us. I don't get a feel for the amount of each of the scholarships. Below are some stats on my son and I'd love more feedback on optics, music, and anything else mentioned.</p>

<p>My son: Currently a junior from So. Cal; 1/2 Puerto Rican; Christian; family income: 78K</p>

<p>SAT I: 2320 (800M, 790CR, 730W)
SAT II: 800 physics, 760 M II (will retake since he took it in 8th grade), 730 Lit; will take 1-2 more in October
5 APs in math and physics: Four 5s and one 4; will take 2-3 more in senior year
4.0/4.6 GPA</p>

<p>Homeschooled/part time college; has taken apx. 60 units of classes at CC and has audited two years of physics at univ.</p>

<p>Currently auditing an upper division E & M course and will do research in Optics at SDSU this summer' currently studying real analysis with online math tutor</p>

<p>Physics Olympiad semi-finalist twice; AIME twice; nationally ranked for age in chess; local math competitions; team wins in chess</p>

<p>Music is the biggest EC, though he's only won one competition; he's a classically training violinist 10+ years; does professional work in a quartet (weddings, etc) and local theater companies (pit orchestra) and is in two bands and a university orchestra; teaches private violin students and teaches violin at an elementary school; Youth worship leader on guitar; plays violin in church worship service</p>

<p>Community service is mostly music related-teaching low income kids, church worship, etc.</p>

<p>Varsity baseball this year for small, Christian homeschool team; previous MVP on freshman team</p>

<p>Transcript is a little lopsided-no outside courses in history (weakest area of interest) and no AP exam in Lit and USH until senior year</p>

<p>He heard there was an optics major at U of R and thought that was cool; he thinks he won't mind cold weather but has never lived away from So. Cal.</p>

<p>Schools currently on his list:</p>

<p>Princeton-visited and liked it very much
Penn-visited and liked it very much
Harvey Mudd (close to home;great math and physics)
Vanderbilt (he loves the idea of Nashville for music but doesn't know much about school)
Univ. of Texas, Dallas (great chess)
Davidson (strong Christian presence and possibly great financial aid)
UCSD (local UC but admissions are pretty crazy and cost may be prohibitive)</p>

<p>Possible: Harvard, Stanford, CalPoly, U of Tulsa</p>

<p>He is a social kid who loves to learn what he likes to learn. :-)</p>

<p>I would love comments on U of R as it relates to financial aid (merit scholarships mostly), music opportunities, math and optics, Christian support, other clubs and activities, types of students, ethnic diversity, and anything else!</p>

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<p>I thought of two more questions. Can u/g students take grad level courses if they need to? </p>

<p>Also, how is crime on campus? I read somewhere that it was a little higher than some other campuses.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>1) UR offers merit awards, but they can be unpredictable. Meaning that scores+GPA do not guarantee merit. Merit awards are holistic, as is admissions. Merit awards range from full tuition to a few thousand $$. NMFs are guaranteed $17,000 + an additional $2000/year if they name UR as their first choice by the deadline. Criteria for keeping merit awards are among the most lenient in the US. (2.0 GPA, not on academic probation and making “satisfactory academic progress”–typically taking and passing [C or better] a minimum of 12 credits per semester). Merit awards are good for 8 semesters and do not cover summer classes.</p>

<p>2) UR students may take up to 22 credits/semester without paying any added tuition charges. Credits above 22/semester incur a per credit additional charge</p>

<p>3) UR has a EFC calculator on its admission’s site. Use it. UR requires the CSS Profile so your FAFSA EFC really means nothing except that it determines your eligibility for federal loans. UR will include federal loans in its FA package.</p>

<p>4) Optics program is among the best in the US, with grad program having an excellent international reputation. New state of the art labs, plenty of NSF and private funding support research.</p>

<p>5) Math dept. is small but supportive, with excellent advising for its majors. Several course sequences for Calc depending on the student’s interests.</p>

<p>6) Upper level and grad courses are cross-listed. Meaning undergrads may enroll in grad level courses if they have fulfilled the pre-requisites</p>

<p>7) River campus students are eligible for free weekly music lessons at Eastman with a grad student. Student must be intermediate level or above, and must audition. Violin is a popular instrument so not all violin students are likely to be accepted for lessons. The River Campus has its own musical ensembles so RC students will not be competing with Eastman students for playing time. River Campus students may not audition or play in Eastman ensembles. There is also a dual degree program for Eastman and UR–but it is intensely competitive as students must be accepted into each program independently. River campus offer a music major and there are practice rooms on the River campus.</p>

<p>8) Crime in campus is mostly stuff you’ll find on any college campus—theft of unattended property, vandalism, car break-ins, D&D (drunk & disorderly). D2 has felt Ok walking around on campus at 3 am on a week night when no one was around. (Though why she wanted to do that is beyond my ken…) UR is in an urban area, but the campus is largely isolated from the rest of the city by a river, a large historical cemetery and the medical school/hospital. People talking about crime in the “area” are generally referring to the 19th Ward which across the river from campus. </p>

<p>9) UR does have several active Christian fellowship groups on campus, as well as an active Hillel and Muslim student group.</p>

<p>10) The Student Government supports over 200 student organizations and clubs. From academic societies to cultural clubs to sports (including Quidditch!), and everything in-between.
<a href=“https://sa.rochester.edu/clubs/[/url]”>https://sa.rochester.edu/clubs/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>11) UR students are friendly, engaged and cooperative with one other. Not a cut-throat or “gunner” in the bunch. (Not even among the pre-meds.) The students study hard, but also know how to have fun.</p>

<p>P.S. The admissions people and all of the administrative & support staff are some the nicest people I’ve dealt with. Just genuinely nice. And open and willing to answer questions. (See this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-rochester/1119919-some-notes-our-decisions.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-rochester/1119919-some-notes-our-decisions.html&lt;/a&gt; and this thread; <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-rochester/1119995-what-people-rochester-like.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-rochester/1119995-what-people-rochester-like.html&lt;/a&gt;) </p>

<p>12) According to IPEDS data thru 2011, UR’e enrollment by ethnic group:

</p>

<p>13) There are tunnels between the classroom bldgs and the library. (Though not between the dorms and the classroom bldgs.) The students use them to avoid winter when the weather is bad.</p>

<p>14) D2 grew up in the sunny Southwest and has adapted to Rochester’s winters pretty well. She doesn’t like the 6 months of gray skies, but deals with it. However, if you’re prone to SAD, Rochester is place where you’ll get it. (BTW, full spectrum lights are available in Student Health for those who do get get SAD.)</p>

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<p>WayOutWestMom,</p>

<p>Thank-you so much for the detailed response!</p>

<p>Is there a way to know more about the individual scholarships? On the website, they list bunches of them but there are no separate links to understand each one and how much they might be worth. I’ll check out the EFC calculator.</p>

<p>That’s great to hear musicians can take lessons at Eastman. My son’s an advanced violinist so hopefully, he would qualify to do this. He will be submitting a CD/DVD of his playing with applications.</p>

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<p>There are no links to individual scholarships. They are awarded at the discretion of the admissions staff. </p>

<p>The Renaissance & Global Scholarship is for full tuition; Genesee Scholarship is 1/2 tuition; Dean’s Scholarship is (I think) $22,000/yr; Rush Rhees is (I think) $20,000/yr; Wilder Trustee is (I think) $17,000/yr (pretty sure about that one since it’s the one NMFs get). </p>

<p>The other scholarships have varying amounts and may even have varying amounts awarded under the same name.</p>

<p>All applicants are considered for merit awards, but your need to have a UR interview to receive the highest consideration for merit. </p>

<p>NOTE: Applicants do not have interview on campus during a campus visit. They can interview with a traveling admissions rep, with their regional admissions rep over the phone, or with an alumni. Once your son has created a MyRoc account to apply, he can register for an interview. He will also be able to access a list of local UR recruitment events to see if any are being held near your hometown.</p>