The Rochester Curriculum

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Rochester
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<p>I am already pretty much a believer, so consider this in that context.</p>

<p>For any of you with recent grads or upperclassmen, have your kids found that The Rochester Curriculum actually did make a big difference in a positive direction?</p>

<p>One of my kids is at a very good LAC and one of my laments is that I can already tell he will finish without getting to take a ton of courses that he (and/or I) would love for him to take. If we assume about 4 courses per semester for 4 years (roughly 32 classes), and once you account for courses required for a major, language requirements that might require 1-2 courses, a quantitative requirement, courses that count for more than one course credit with labs or whatever, and area requirements, etc, etc, then the grand smorgasbord of wonderful classes that seem out there for the taking gets whittled down very quickly to a small snack. And of course grad school is going to be even more focused and limiting. [As an aside, this is partly why I don't get juniors and seniors in high school already deciding on a very clear...and limiting pre-professional track like engineering.]</p>

<p>Anyway, have you all found that the Rochester curriculum does make a material difference? And are the two cluster requirements really materially different from area requirement at other similar level schools?</p>

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<p>I have a junior (and a freshman) at UR. It is actually different from what I consider traditional general ed. There are a total of 7 courses you have to take outside of your major, and each of them is very difficult (impossible) to get out of taking on the UR campus (canā€™t use AP credit or take a class at another school to satisfy these). </p>

<p>Oh - and I donā€™t want to be confusing - you can get AP credits or take courses at other schools for transfer credit (with some limitations), but not to satisfy the 6 cluster classes or the freshman writing that are required. Those 7 are going to be needed to be taken on campus. You can overlap one course from each of your two clusters with a major or minor requirement if your choices work out that way.</p>

<p>So that means out of 32 courses required to graduate, 7 are spoken for, leaving 25 courses that students can pick and choose from however they want. And honestly, my kids have taken 5 classes each semester after the first one and not found it to be too much, so for students that take 5 courses per semester, that leaves 32 classes they can take beyond the clusters and writing course. (Itā€™s probably harder to take 5 course per semester for students in a major that requires a lot of lab time or performance ensemble time - donā€™t know)</p>

<p>Where it makes a positive difference, is that you can select your clusters based on your interests and dislikes. </p>

<p>For humanities cluster, you may pick Architecture, Space, and Institutions, Dance and Performance, Popular Music, or Buddhism and never take an English Lit or foreign language course. </p>

<p>For a science cluster, you could take Mind and Brain, Human Computer Interaction, or Impacts and Mass Extinctions and never take math or physics, or get a cluster in The Nature of the Universe or Probability and Statistics and never take biology.</p>

<p>For a social sciences cluster, you might choose Medical Anthropology, Theoretical Economics, Language and Meaning, or Medicine in Context and never take a history or political science if you donā€™t want to. </p>

<p>I think, bottom line, it does feel different than taking a 101 course in 7 unrelated subjects. I guess itā€™s deeper rather than broader. But youā€™re still left pouring over course listings trying to find one that fulfills a cluster and sounds interesting and fits into your schedule. I do think you can still run into not having enough time to take all the classes you want. </p>

<p>Hereā€™s a link to the cluster search engine - choose which of the three main categories you want to look up (natural science, social science, humanities) and take a look at the choices. <a href=ā€œhttps://secure1.rochester.edu/registrar/CSE/index.php[/url]ā€>https://secure1.rochester.edu/registrar/CSE/index.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>My oldest attends a traditional LAC with a required course each year as well as required subjects that one needs credits in. His choice in classes - pure choice - was quite limited, BUT heā€™s ok with that.</p>

<p>Middle son has far more freedom to choose what he wants and thatā€™s even with including the Pre-med requirements. He took 5 classes this semester and is doing fine. Heā€™s also actively considering the Take 5 to have even more opportunities for wildly different fields. Even the mandatory writing class freshman year had oodles of options. Itā€™s not just ā€œone classā€ everyone has to take (like happens at oldestā€™s LAC).</p>

<p>Itā€™s all a fit thing.</p>

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<p>My d was able to do a double major (humanities & social sciences) and a minor because of the Rochester Curriculum. She was able to study abroad. She took a number of ā€œcourses I just wanted to takeā€ classes.</p>

<p>She also felt that college was ā€œeasierā€ than high school. I told her that it was because she could play to her strengths and her interests, and not have to struggle over classes she didnā€™t care about.</p>

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<p>My kid has 2 declared minors because it was easy to do. The curriculum does make a difference, both in the classes you take and the enjoyment of them.</p>

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<p>A double major is only ā€˜easy to doā€™ if your majors fall into two different categories of the three specified by the Rochester Curriculum. (humanities, social sciences, natural sciences)</p>

<p>D2 doubled majored (BS in each) in 2 natural sciences. She had to overload several semesters in order to fulfill her requirement for both majors, complete 2 clusters and be able to graduate on time without taking summer classes.</p>

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<p>But that we can discuss the circumstances of ā€œeasyā€ is telling. At some schools, you are in a specific college - say business - so you may need to ā€œdouble degreeā€, which is much harder. Thatā€™s an extreme. UR is at the other end of that spectrum.</p>

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<p>My daughter decided last night she is going to be a Yellow Jacket. Very happy for her and relieved.</p>

<p>I want to thank all of the regulars here, as all of the information was extremely helpful. And thanks for putting up with me. I know I was occasionally a pain, but as you all know, the stress of the whole process including this last phase is not easy and in the living of it the decision seems bigger and more critical than it probably is.</p>

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<p>LOL! If you think undergrad admissions is stressfulā€“try living thru medical school admissions. TWICE.</p>

1 Like
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<p>Haha. Understood. But if youā€™ve done well enough to get two even in the position to go through med school admissions youā€™ve done very well indeed! You must be incredibly proud, and Iā€™d love for you to describe how you got two southwest kids (if thatā€™s where they were) all the way to UR. And I do have one shooting for med school so weā€™ll see.</p>

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<p>BTW, WOWM, you are IMHO one of the very best posters on CC in general (not just here on UR).</p>

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<p>WOWM is first ballot hall of fame.</p>

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<p>Only one kidlet went to URochā€“the other stayed closer to home.</p>

<p>And indeed we live in the Sunny Southwest. I still do, but only 1 of 2 kids currently reside here. </p>

<p>Story isnā€™t all that interesting. Just two words: merit money. (Or as I used to tell folks: UR bought kidlet fair & square.)</p>

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<p>Glad to hear it finalchild! I really do think sheā€™ll enjoy her time and be well-prepared for whatever comes next in life.</p>

<p>BTW, WOWM was extremely helpful when we were going through the process too - looking at neuro in our case. Iā€™ll add my kudos!</p>

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<p>You do realize this is probably the last time youā€™ll be this involved. Itā€™s bittersweet.</p>

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<p>Yes, although I am sure it is going to hit me harder later. I do feel good that weā€™ve shepherded both of them to good places (and not just where they are going to college). Right now the hardest thing for me is letting go of the other top choice, but seeing her relieved and more confident since making the choice with probably subtle pressure in the other direction helps a lot. And with the bittersweet, thereā€™s also some excitement about what this next phase of life is going to bring after 20 years of near-constant focus on two kids.</p>

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<p>Iā€™ve heard a wonderful description of this processā€“</p>

<p>Raising a child is like flying a kiteā€“the hard part is knowing when to let go. (But if you donā€™t let go, the kite canā€™t soar.)</p>

<p>And, indeed, thereā€™s life after the fledglings fly. Itā€™s a bit lonely and too quiet at first, but youā€™ll find you enjoy knowing that anything you put down will be in the same place as where you left it when you go back to get it and if the milk runs out, itā€™s because you used it up. (I used to hate to reaching for the milk carton in the morning only to discover that someone had put an empty carton back in the fridge and didnā€™t tell me we were out of milk.)</p>

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<p>LOL. All of my kites ended up in trees.</p>

<p>And I have no idea what to do todayā€¦other than workā€¦so I guess Iā€™ll post a little for a few more days :)</p>

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<p>

I like these:</p>

<p>Parenthood is the only relationship youā€™ll ever have in which you affirmatively prepare the other person to leave you.</p>

<p>and</p>

<p>Being a parent is consenting to have your heart walk around outside your body.</p>

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<p>finalchild - congrats to your daughter on making the decision. No matter which school it was, just pulling the trigger is a huge relief. Now she can focus on getting excited about whatā€™s to come. Not to mention dorm shopping!</p>

<p>I remember the first day my son - who is now a freshman at UR - went to all day school - 1st grade. Those first few days it was very strange to not know what he was doing all day and I stared at the clock waiting for 3 oā€™clock to come.</p>

<p>This year Iā€™ll admit the first few weeks were a little tough on me. And instead of the clock I was staring at the calendar. I was so thankful fall semester had 2 breaks - 6 weeks apart. And not because he needed it, but I did. And letā€™s not even talk about the empty seat at the kitchen table every night.</p>

<p>I still have a younger one at home, as do many here. And it is nice to not be so child focused every second and have more time to focus on just one. I really feel for those who go through college admissions 2 years in a row! </p>

<p>Hereā€™s a few positives. The kids arenā€™t fighting, leftovers actually remain in the fridge, no nagging about homework, college apps & essays and no anxiety about the ā€œwhat ifsā€ My grocery bill has gone down considerable - but I have a boy, so it may not be that big of a deal. </p>

<p>However, I still worry about him. Is he warm enough, is he studying, is he making friends, does he feel connected and engaged, whatā€™s with the cafeteria giving such small portions to these hungry boys, will he get the dorm he wants, is he homesick? etc. I will say heā€™s grown tremendously this year and a few comments have been hilarious to me - gee school is like a full time job, or did you know professors will discuss things with you during office hours to figuring out how to manage declining dollars and when to do laundry when itā€™s not so busy. I know a lot of kids are a lot farther along in life skills than my son, but you will be amazed to see how your daughter handles herself and grows.</p>