<p>I applied to a ton of colleges knowing that most of them were huge long shots, so so far I'm deciding between Rochester and RPI (still waiting on Carnegie Mellon and USC). I am interested in doing Chemical Engineering BUT I don't want a career in engineering, I want to go to medical school. </p>
<p>Rochester pros:
I went to the open house event and loved the beautiful campus and the people there. I would also love to go to Germany to study abroad which seems pretty easy to do at Rochester because of the excellent studying abroad oppurtunities and it also offers a lot more German courses than RPI. Also, many people get into medical school from Rochester. The percentage has been increasingly greatly over the last 5 years. For last years class, 75% of applicants got into a medical school (63/84). Of those with a GPA over 3.6, 88% got in (36/41).</p>
<p>Rochester cons:
It is not ranked high in engineering and the engineering program is kind of small.</p>
<p>RPI pros:
I live very close. If I went there I would be close to home and be able to hang out with my current friends. My parents would probably buy me a new car also.</p>
<p>RPI cons:
I know a ton of people who have gone there and a lot of them hated the professors and the fact that mostly overly competetive nerds attend there.</p>
<p>Cons of both:
I feel like I had the potential to get into better colleges with my SAT grades (2200 total) but I didn't work hard in high school (understatement).</p>
<p>Cliffs: Should I go to Rochester for engineering if I want to go to medical school, or should I go to RPI?</p>
<p>I say go to UR...I've heard much about the professors and how well they teach...so that's a good thing...like i heard that physics is usually a hard class for me, but after looking through a professors' teaching notes, it makes a lot more sense...idk, might be a personal call, well i'd pick rochester to get ur concentration set cause u never know what you'd do if ur close to home...but that's ur call...why can't u get a car at rochester? cost?</p>
<p>LOL are u kidding me, Rochester's engineering program is top-of-the-line.
Its actually better known for its engineering rather than its other disciplines (well...with the exception of Optics Science and Imaging) - not that its other disciplines are weak at all - just that when ppl think UR, they think: science and engineering school.</p>
<p>But really tho - UR is great for alot of things and engineering is one of em.</p>
<p>USnews Top Engineering Schools of America</p>
<ol>
<li><p>University of Rochester (NY)</p></li>
<li><p>Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>And also - RPI isnt very well known for its medical programs.
UR, on the other hand, has one of the strongest Clinical medicine programs in the nation and its Medical Research is ranked among the ivies.</p>
<p>Usnews top Medical Schools of America</p>
<ol>
<li>University of Rochester (NY) - Primary Care</li>
<li>University of Rochester (NY) - Research</li>
</ol>
<p>RPI - Not Ranked In Top 50 in Medicine</p>
<p>UR has a strong ass Pre-Med program thanks to its nearby nationally recognized Medical Center and it boasts some of the most competitive medical students in the nation from its REMS program (early medicine).</p>
<p>See if u were to say something like english or art...eh. Look at Liberal Arts Colleges.
but ur looking @ engineering and medicine:
UR is obviously ur best choice here.</p>
<p>lol i know i sound really (and probably overly) zealous about UR - but it just ticks me off that so many people short-change this school and since im gonna be there this fall, i think its time ppl started hearing about UR =P</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply but I dont see where you got those numbers. I'm on the USNews site under best undergraduate engineering. UofR is 85 and RPI is 19. And by clinical medicine program do you mean the medical school there? RPI doesn't have a medical school so it wouldn't be ranked.</p>
<p>Awakien, you did a lot of researches on URochester!</p>
<p>Although URochester is ranked higher than RPI, due to the lack of advertisements, people in my area know more about RPI than UR. But, if that doesn't matter, I'd say URochester for the beautiful campus and excellent academic programs. :)</p>
<p>that is true, the numbers are based on the graduate programs at each of the colleges - but I believe the rankings on the graduate programs are more accurate than the undergraduate programs in reflecting the quality of the education at the college because : usnews uses only peer assessment to judge undergrads while it uses awhole slew of other criteria for the grad program.</p>
<p>a top rate grad program will have a beneficial effect on the college's undergrad program im sure - mostly because the professors are probably involved in research/work at the grad school while the teach students at the undergraduate.</p>
<p>On the other hand, yes it is probably true RPI has a better undergrad engineering program - but i dont believe that UR's engineering program lags taht far behind if its graduate eng program is ranked higher than RPI's</p>
<p>Id think that having a top medical school affliated with ur college enables u to make use of many more opportunities than when there isnt one. - UR's medicine programs are >>>> RPI's</p>
<p>Okay thanks for the clarification. You seem to know a ton about Rochester, so can you explain some stuff to me? So University of Rochester Medical Center is a school of medicince and dentistry and is affiliated with UofR? And what exactly is REMS?</p>
<p>yes, the URMC includes a school of medicine and dentistry and that , in turn, is associated with Strong Hospital.</p>
<p>REMS is a highly competitive program that admits only a small percentage of the freshman class (who apply for REMS) into an accelerated 7 year bachelor-MD degree program.</p>
<p>Quote from the Website:
"The University of Rochester Medical Center is at the heart of medical knowledge and expertise for western New York State. It includes the School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Dental Center, Strong Memorial Hospital, Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong, and Medical Faculty Group."</p>
<p>Hey, I'm currently deciding between RPI and U of R (for pre-med). I went to the Spring Open Campus and really liked everything they had to say. I'll be visiting RPI this weekend. Which college do you guys think is better for pre-med, in terms of rigor, reputation, etc.</p>
<p>My son was leaning heavily to RPI (several years ago) until he went to both schools' accepted students days. He ended up at U of R and never regretted his decision (double major computer science/math). That said, I recommend that you spend time on both campuses, sitting in on classes, talking to students and professors, etc. and I'll bet one place will just "feel" right for you. Good luck.</p>
<p>You guys have me convinced. The only problem is, my acceptance letter and welcome packet are totally destroyed, I spilled milk all over them.. I'm going to ask them for another packet, I forgot what was in there and I need another form to enroll.</p>
<p>I'm on the priority waitlist at Carnegie Mellon. If I accept my place on it, that means I am bound to go there if they find a place for me, and the chances of getting in from it are higher than the normal wait list. If I still wanted engineering as a career, I probably would have done it..but now I want to go to medical school. So, should I stick with University of Rochester? I don't want to get myself all ready to go to University of Rochester and then be forced to go to Carnegie Mellon later.</p>
<p>no one's forcing you - both CMU and UR are great places to be - its the kind of people and the atmosphere that you should look at now.</p>
<p>A visit is usually what becomes the final deciding factor. Visit UR during the Spring Open House and see for yourself. These questions you're asking are all very subjective and everyone has their own preference and bias soo - yah, see for yourself =P</p>