Hi, I was accepted to University of Rochester Class of 2019, and I did enroll and pay my deposit. However, I know it’s kind of too late, but I’ve been wondering if I’ve made the correct decision, financially.
Here is my financial aid:
Grant: $42,600
Scholarship: $11,000
Work Study: $3,000
Loans: $6,000
Out of Pocket: $3,000
I want to major in Engineering which I heard is one of the hardest majors out there, but I need to keep above a 3.0 GPA in order to receive my scholarship.
I have a sister who is attending a local state university, and her financial aid got completely cut off for a reason that we are aware of and cannot fix, and now she has $15,000 to pay for this year, which we don’t know how much of it will be loans and how much of it will be out of pocket quite yet.
Our family’s income is <$27,000 and our parents don’t have anything saved for either of our colleges.
My parents have to help my sister pay for her college, and I don’t know if it is the right idea to ask them to pay my $3000, when I can attend my local community college and state university for pretty free through the Degree Partnership Program (same university as my sister), if I do work study and live with my parents.
But my state university doesn’t offer any of the majors that I am interested and want to pursue, and the quality of education as whole is much lower than that of UR.
In your opinion, and considering University of Rochester, is it worth it to pay that much to go to Rochester?
Is engineering at Rochester very hard that I wouldn’t be able to get a 3.0 GPA along with doing work study?
Our parents are saying that they will pay for my sister and for me, and told me to choose the path I want to take so that I don’t have to regret. But I don’t know if I should ask my parents for this, and I don’t know what kind of a sacrifice they are going to make to let us attend/graduate college. However, a different part of me screams that I’ve worked so hard during high school despite the language barrier I have (English isn’t our first language) and coming form a low income family and as a first generation, I think it’s a miracle that I got a chance to attend University of Rochester l that I didn’t even imagine getting into.
.
May I ask your opinions?
I’m starting to feel like I wouldn’t be able to think about this with a straight mind since I’ve been haunted by the decision of UR vs. State School for months.
I would still attend. My dh totally changed his life with his engineering degree - paying off the loans for it only took 5 years. We’ve been reaping the benefits since. Even if you go with 9K per year in loans, it ought to be able to be paid off later. You might not need all of 9K though. College costs are often overestimated and if you live more inexpensively with used books and lower costs for living, there are savings off that total.
Be sure you study from the beginning - always getting help when you don’t understand something - ALWAYS. There are plenty of students willing to help and then there are office hours and recitations (all free).
You won’t be the only student living on a tight budget - align with others like you and you should be able to have some good peer groups for fun and studying.
Looks like you got a very nice FA package. Yes take it and attend. If you transfer later you will not likely see that kind of scholarship, unless its is all need based.
Going to UR will dramatically improve your future opportunities. It’s an investment and your family will benefit in the long run.
As Creekland notes, there is a lot of study support, from faculty, grad students and peers.
And the city of Rochester is cheap to live in. A number of kids move off campus to save money and rents, especially when split, are low.
It’s normal to feel anxiety about the step but, you know, this is how it works. My dad, for example, was the only child of immigrants and he had so little money that, besides working in a steel mill during the summer and as a delivery driver during school, when he got into med school he sent off his deposit of $50, which was all he had, and then got into a much better school, his top choice, and had to go beg for his money back because he couldn’t afford the deposit.
I was talking to friend of mine last week about how lives have changed. He grew up the son of a mechanic in Stalingrad, got out when restrictions loosened in the 80’s and now all of his kids are college grads and one is a doctor.
You are exactly the kind of kid UR is looking for. You’ll make yourself, your family and the school proud.
@Creekland Did he attend UR? What field of engineering is he in? I’m thinking about Biomedical, but it’ll be nice to hear stories who went through a different engineering field!
Does he have any tips of doing well in engineering?
I will try to cut down as much as possible from personal expenses. Thankfully, I’m not a big fan of shopping or getting coffee every single day.
May I ask what recitations are?
Thank you for your tips. I used to be a student who never talked to teachers, and when I started asking for help my senior year in high school, it made so much of a difference, I will definitely keep that in mind. Hopefully find peers to form a study group to help each other out.
@Lergnom
I heard that city of Rochester is kind of dangerous, and since I don’t plan on having a car during college, I thought living off campus from my junior year wouldn’t be so good, in terms of safety. Although I do want to live off campus if I can save money and have my own living space (while sharing with a few others).
Thank you for sharing your family and your friend’s personal stories. To me, it’s amazing how hard people can work and be determined to accomplish something. I wish I could become as strong as them. Like you said, if I become honest., I’m really scared for this new life. Big concern financially, but also whether I can keep myself motivated during that hard times especially when my family who I truly love and need aren’t around.
Thank you for your last encouragement. It really touched my heart. Since the time I was accepted to UR, I’ve having doubts to whether I would be able to thrive in such a high achieving community without comparing myself to others and feeling like I’m not as smart as others or that I don’t belong here. Because I was so surprised I even got in, my family joked that they could’ve mistaken me for someone else, which I was slightly agreeing within my heart.
I will do my best for sure even if I end up deferring my admission. Thank you for your kindness. I’m happy to know that someone like you were willing to help me and that you made me realize how one encouragement can make a big difference to me.
I would take the FA package and roll with it. Like others have said it is very generous and you may not get as good an offer if you transfer. If you are worried about it, have a talk with your parents otherwise just work hard and remember you can really cut down on many of those supposed costs by living frugally or having a summer job
OP, my thinking is this: 1) You had what it takes to get into UR, which is not easy, and get a nice financial package. You are very fortunate! UR has confidence in your academic ability, so you should too. 2) You can try UR engineering and if you find it too tough, switch to another major where you may be able to maintain your GPA more easily. 3) Even if you flunk out and lose your scholarship, you can always transfer what credits you’ve earned to somewhere else that’s cheaper.
You’ve come this far, OP. You are on a great path, stick with it and give it everything you’ve got! Walking away from this opportunity may be something you will later regret.
No, my dh did not go to Rochester. He’s from NC and we’re both alumni of Virginia Tech. That said, I still stand by my advice to you that I’d still encourage you to go to UR with the financial package you have.
Recitations are “study classes” taught by students who have taken the class before and done well. All your regular classes are taught by profs. Recitations are an extra class to assist with complicated topics or homework, etc.
Which dorm are you going to be in? It’s a longshot, but my middle son is an RA in a freshman dorm.
Actually, there’s no harm in putting down that he’s in charge of Hoeing 2 (second floor) this year. If you happen to be there (or anywhere in Hoeing), I know he could easily show you the ropes with study groups and more. I’m pretty sure most RAs or Freshman Fellows (other upperclassmen there to assist freshmen with their academic transition) will help you out too.
Rochester is a city. They’ll give you tips about where to stay away from. UR hasn’t been dangerous IMO. My guy has even walked around the city a bit with no problems, but you don’t have to walk. There’s a good bus system.
There are a couple of other resources I want to mention:
the College Center for Academic Support (CCAS)-- which offers free tutoring in all academic subjects, but especially in math and the sciences. The tutors are grad students or students who have gotten As in the subjects they tutor and will work one-on-one with individual students to help them master whatever it is that’s giving them problems.
The CCAS also has a writing center to assist students with writing classes and term papers.
D2 was a math tutor when she attended UR and all the tutors try very hard to give personalized, individual help to any students they work with.
If you’re a resident of NYS (and possibly some other states as well), UR has a special mentoring and “academic head start” program for low income students called “Early Connections”. It’s 4 week free residential program that runs right before the new freshmen arrive on campus.
If you’re unsure about learning the ropes at UR, you may want to contact the office to see if you qualify.
(The program is run by the Office of Minority Student Affairs, but it’s open to students of all races/ethnicities.)
RE: moving off campus. D2 never had a car when she attended Rochester; she had a cheapo beater bike she rode between campus and her off-campus housing (during the summers). Her friends who lived farther away from campus rode the city buses to campus. Students can get free /highly discounted city bus passes.
OP - my kid graduated last spring and lived off campus senior year – east of campus. The neighborhood there is safe and the addition of College Town has made it even more attractive. Rent + food there was actually cheaper then room and board dorm life. The neighborhood across the river and a few blocks west of campus is a different story - while rents there are lower, you get what you pay for.
U of R was a great choice for our kid. We are blessed/cursed that we have doen well in life and qualified for zero financial aid so money was very tight for the last 4 years. But we’d would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Our new grad is gainfully employed in a great job with a bright future.
@FHRITP You’ll have to stop down and say hello, esp if you happen to be BCS/BIO or Pre-med! FWIW, my guy was in charge of Hoeing 3 last year. You missed him by one year… It was a great hall then - and hopefully will be this year for you too! He’s been in Hoeing for 3 of his 4 years at UR. Sophomore year he was in Sue B (as a D’Lion working with freshmen). Freshman year he was in Hoeing 4. He loves being on the Quad - esp Hoeing (but RA assignments are assigned more than chosen).
He flies to UR this Saturday to start getting things ready for y’all - going directly from his summer internship at Stanford. We got to see him the first month of his summer…
@ekdad212 - Then our two definitely know each other. I don’t know what your guy thought about mine, but I can tell you mine really enjoyed the hall and all the freshmen in it!
