U of R- a worthwhile school?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Rochester
1

<p>I understand that academically, the University of Rochester is fantastic, which is why i am applying. It is also tentatively my first choice.</p>

<p>However, I have also heard that people drown in their schoolwork, students rarely go out, and the parties are awful. I am not looking for a huge party school, but I do want to go out on weekends and have fun with my friends. It is also rumored that everyone at this school is ugly or nerdy.</p>

<p>I understand that these are probably undeserved stereotypes, but can someone please expand upon the social life at U of R??</p>

2

<p>Social life at UR is really what you make of it. The student body has a really wide range of personalities. There’s a significant amount of Greek life, for those who are interested. There are parties there, as well as plenty of events for other clubs/ activities. I also found it easy to get into the city on weekends with friends (I feel like people don’t make enough use of the shuttle buses!), or just hang out on campus. </p>

<p>People generally take their schoolwork seriously, but I would say only a few are really “drowning in it.” It really depends on your major and your personality. Every waking second isn’t spent studying, although like all schools there are busier times (midterms, finals). </p>

<p>On the whole, I’ve found students here to be friendly, involved, and interesting. But if you’re concerned about what the student population is like, take a tour! You’ll probably get a good idea of what the environment is like, and whether you’d enjoy being a part of it.</p>

3

<p>My kid does a lot of dance, is involved in a couple of organizations and does juggling. (I still don’t understand why the juggling.)</p>

<p>UR is a good school. That means it’s a mix of work and play. How you mix those depends on you.</p>

4

<p>I’m a freshman here at UR who’s studying english and political science and playing a sport. Let me make this clear about UR: If you are not willing to invest all of your effort into your academics, please don’t come here or any school ranked in the top 35 of US News and World Report. I don’t mean this in a rude way whatsoever, but its a major fallacy to think that you aren’t going to be pushed by your fullest at a school of this caliber. </p>

<p>There is a decent to good social life here on campus; not every weekend is the craziest, but there are good parties and you can always find something to do on campus. My team always has a party or mixer basically every weekend. Unless you’re from the south and used to southern belles or southern guys, the people here are not drastically uglier or nerdier than any other school of this caliber. Yes, we are all nerds in some form or another, but if you’ve got enough intelligence to get into UR or a similar or better school, chances are pretty good you’re a nerd as well.</p>

<p>As I’ve learned over my 3 months here, college isn’t about how nice the dorms are, how great the cafeteria food is, or how crazy frat parties are. The job of the college is to simply provide you the best possible education to prepare you for the working world. The University of Rochester is going to push you to the edge with workload and challenge you to a nearly unbearable level, but the end result is being as prepared if not more prepared to survive and thrive in the working load as most ivy league graduates. Once again, I don’t mean this in a rude manner, but if you are not able to see the value of putting in 4 years of work here and getting truly challenged in an environment of very intelligent people, I really recommend not going here or anywhere else that offers a very strong degree.</p>

5

<p>hhammer …</p>

<p>great perspective… can you ballpark how many hours a week you study … Holy Cross claims 40 hrs/week (4 courses) and I hear UR is a tougher school</p>

6

<p>My kid works hard but 40 hours is a lot, if that’s not counting classes. That would be nearly 6 hours a day just studying. Take away the before exam study rush and that would be high for an average. So for example, my kid was in 3 dances, went out, cooked dinners, went to meetings, worked out at the gym a bunch, slept, hung out, etc. And a lot depends on your classes and whether they are hard for you, as in math majors tend to find math classes much easier than non-math majors taking them for a science need.</p>

<p>One point that’s important: any school might be hard for the student who is average to below average for that school. If by some chance you got into a much more academically rigorous school than your grades and test scores suggest, you would likely have to work harder than your peers.</p>

7

<p>lerg great insights… so if u get into a stretch school getting ready to work your tail off !</p>

<p>thx</p>

8

<p>My son was accepted to UR and it was his favorite for a long time. He ended up attending NEU but his best friend is attending UR as a freshman and she loves it. She is on a sports team as a recruited athlete but is managing to do quite well handling everything.</p>

<p>I am actually pleasantly surprised by this as based upon what I had heard of the academic rigor combined with the demands of being on a team I thought she would struggle. She is a very hard working person though so I am sure she puts in a lot of hours.</p>

9

<p>cckerry. Just a dad’s perspective but my older son goes to Holy Cross and all us parents would be astonished and delighted if he or any of his friends studied 40 hrs per week. (and he has a very solid GPA.) I think Lergnom’s observations are very astute.</p>

10

<p>I also imagine if you have a kid who studies a lot now, they’ll probably study a lot in college. I don’t happen to have one of those, things have been fairly effortless so far for him. He does homework and studies now, but I hear about kids in his ap classes studying for untold hours, and he does not, but still does fine. </p>

<p>We’ve spoken to lots of people in his perspective major and no matter where he goes he will probably do more work than his humanities counterparts, and that would happen no matter where he went. I’m still guessing freshmen have plenty of free time to hang out considering they live right there, food is made for them and all they really have to do is go to class and and study some.</p>

<p>Makes me long to go back to those times when studying for a test or boyfriend drama was the biggest thing I had to worry about.</p>

11

<p>My son is a sophomore at Rochester. His study habits in high school were like eyemamom describes. I think he worried that he might not know how to kick it in and study hard in college. I considered Rochester a reach for him. </p>

<p>1st semester freshman year was easier than he wanted it to be. They limit you to 4 classes, and one was the required freshman writing class that was easy. He’s ramped it up since then, and I think he was pretty much working all the time this semester, but he is taking 22 credit hours (including 4 honors or upper level math or physics courses) and TA-ing a class. He loves it. His GPA is awesome so far. His circle of friends includes a lot of students who have tough schedules and study a ton, but there are definitely students who find time to succeed in classes and do sports or other leisure activities and/or party. For some kids, studying hard stuff IS fun. </p>

<p>As Lergmom says, I think Rochester offers a range of how to balance what you do with your time. It isn’t a 30,000 student big-time football, rah-rah, everyone’s partying everywhere you look all weekend long school, but that can’t be a surprise to anyone who’s looked into it or visited.</p>

12

<p>And PN’s post is why it appeals to ds. He likes to have fun and hang out with friends, but he doesn’t drink, do drugs or go to big parties on the weekends. His fun is not your typical high school party boy fun. I can totally imagne him loving just hanging out in the dorms with friends and talking about stupid stuff, being engaged in class, maybe joining some clubs, and hopefully not taking full advantage of the all you can eat situation. The boy can eat, and at some point his metabolism will probably slow down a little. People say the dining is expensive - I say he’ll eat his share. I could see him joining the quidditch team.</p>

<p>He’s also really into music and it would be fabulous to have that music school right there.</p>

<p>And believe it or not, I’m tempering my anxiety over his admissions. It is also kind of a reach for my s so I haven’t bought the sweatshirt or snowboots and since he’s received admissions elsewhere, we aren’t in pure panic mode. </p>

<p>I imagine if what you are looking forward to most is a re-enactment of Animal House (age myself much?) you may want to keep looking.</p>

13

<p>Hey there. I’m a senior from the U of R, and I’d like to chime in. U of R isn’t a school for everyone - though it was good enough for me to turn down more than a few higher ranked schools nearly four years ago. </p>

<p>Dining: Dining just got re-vamped this year. General student consensus (I work with freshmen at the U of R as a Freshman Fellow - been doing this for three years! :D) is that dining got much better. It IS expensive, but the freshmen have unlimited access to two dining locations, both of which are open fairly late and are all you can eat. </p>

<p>To our meatarian displeasure, the amount of vegan and vegetarian options have been expanded greatly. The salad bar in Danforth is in a prominent location and, unfortunately, actually look appetizing. Enough to the point where many die-hard greasy burger fans have adjusted their eating habits for the better. </p>

<p>Some people do drown in schoolwork, yes. But for most of us we’ve plenty of time to have fun. It’d kind of help if you let us know what kind of fun you’re into. For me and my friends, for instance, fun could range from going to an Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra concert to hanging out in the library stacks debating world politics over hot chocolate. </p>

<p>Others have already touched on academics, so I won’t go into too much detail. Like any school, what you make out of your education is what you put into it. I will point out that studying here (really, anywhere!) is less about how many hours you grind into a course and more so about how efficient you are at actually studying.</p>

14

<p>I remember reading these things before I came to the UofR… They are definitely accurate. Since it was so helpful for me, I would like to contribute my first semester experience. I intend for it to be extremely comprehensive and detailed, since that’s what I preferred to see when I read through these things. I will address each issue by specifying my standard for comparison for each aspect of the school I talk about. I also intend to include a lot of personal bits of information for the sake of increasing the reader’s understanding of a UR student. </p>

<p>First, though, I’d like to address one of hebrewhammer’s comments:</p>

<p>“As I’ve learned over my 3 months here, college isn’t about how nice the dorms are, how great the cafeteria food is, or how crazy frat parties are. The job of the college is to simply provide you the best possible education to prepare you for the working world.”</p>

<p>I do not agree with this. The University seems to care a great deal about these things. The revamping of the Danforth Dining hall is a significant indication of this (the food is awesome compared to Missouri State University’s cafeteria food). The university obviously put a lot of money into building an aesthetically pleasing cafeteria with a variety of tasteful options. Another sign of student life improvement is the perpetual presence of workers in my hall painting or improving things. Since the administration’s goal is to make it to the top 20 over the next decade, they are very dedicated to making the university a favorable student atmosphere, and it shows through the above examples and their dedication to student financial aid. Also, I have never really gotten the impression that the university is simply preparing its students for the working world. A lot of my smarter friends back home went to schools that actually are geared toward sending their students to industry, and their classes seem very different. Most of the material I have covered has been very academic/theoretical, whereas the courses at other schools seem to have a lot more applied material. I love this about the school because I did not decided to attend college with the intention of it being the next step in my life toward getting a job. I feel more like I am being taught the material for the sake of learning, and maybe a little bit like I am being prepped for grad school. This doesn’t mean it isn’t a good choice for pre-working-world kids, though. Many of my friends at the UofR are oriented that way. Other than that, I agree with Hebrew. </p>

<p>OK, so, this is how it’s gonna go… (end of ze world joke anyone)? </p>

<p>First - Finals and education:
It is Christmas day and things are nice and slow around the house. It’s nice to be in this atmosphere because I just finished with finals on the 22nd, which is a nice transition point for the first experience I want to talk about! FINALS. I had mono (this should contribute to your understanding of the social life at UR) for a portion of the semester, so the explanation might not fit perfectly, but is still applicable. Anyway, finals were murderous for me. I have friends at other state universities back home (none of which are particularly renowned) and they definitely seemed to have an easier time than me. My friend at UChicago, on the other hand, seemed to be having a similar experience (from what I know about UC, probably worse). Some people I know laughed their way through them, though, but I think that is because I didn’t take any intro classes and they did. I was in the physics library for a solid 10 hours a day studying (keep in mind that I was also making up missed work from my mono weeks). It was also really hard for me to study since I wasn’t a hard worker in high school. Although it was really hard, I eventually learned to enjoy it, and am kind of excited to go back next semester and start studying hard BEFORE finals week comes. I did, however, find a really close friend that did this with me, which helped enormously. The entire campus was in finals mode and it was kind of awesome. People were sleeping in libraries (myself included), and 24 hour shops were bustling with activity at 3 in morning. I tend to enjoy the slow, post-apocalyptic feeling of the first 6 or 7 AM hours, but it’s also pretty enjoyable to be in an environment where everyone is working that hard toward a similar goal. I have always fantasized about being a hacker in a dark room of like 3 team mates, working against a clock to save the world, and that’s probably the closest it gets. </p>

<p>Second - The Social Life (Standard for Comparison: A private, rich-kid school back home, MIZZOU, KU, and Missouri State University):
Like I mentioned, I developed one really close friend, so that is awesome. The most fun I’ve had all semester was probably the time he and I decided to walk all the way to Lake Ontario. We slept at the base of a lighthouse on a pier over the lake. Definitely something to remember.
As for the parties, frats seem to be all that’s available at times. Aside from one or two of them, I try to avoid them. I partied quite a bit in high school, so my expectations were relatively high coming in, though. The parties I attended at state schools were substantially better.
As do all socially oriented freshman, I had to figure out what the scene is like and who to know before things picked up (which they did, thank god). There are also a lot of small groups of friends drinking together because of the weather, and I tend to really enjoy that. Also also, there are a lot of club parties that take place at peoples’ houses off campus, which I have had very positive experiences with (easily compare well with the comparison schools).
I agree with everyone when they say that the social life is what you make of it. I have observed people leading basically any lifestyle imaginable. My roommate never leaves the room (except to play magic with a few people in the lounge), and he seems happy. I, on the other hand, am rarely in my room
Attractiveness of students on campus? The rumors are true! It should be noted before I start that my comments only apply to female attractiveness (I would comment on the males, but comparing my attempts to gauge males attractiveness in terms of a girl’s or gay guy’s perspective with their actual perspective has tested to be very inaccurate). At the beginning of the year, this was especially true. I am not sure if my standards dropped over time or if I am just exposed to a statistically improbable, high-end sample (does that make sense?) of the students each time I am in the company of many of them (cafeteria, performances, etc.), but the median (I say median instead of mean with purpose) attractiveness of students seems to have improved over time. The fact that my friends have experienced the same thing makes the situation even more odd. It still, however, pales in comparison to the media (and the mean) attractiveness of girls I have seen elsewhere. But don’t worry! The combination of even a little bit of attractiveness and greater intelligence is massively attractive in itself, and more than compensates. I suggest bringing a ‘Talk Nerdy to me” shirt to campus. </p>

<p>Third – Food (Standard for comparison: Missouri State & UMKC):
I love it! Like everything else, I hated it at first. I then learned to use the dinner schedule thing on blackboard to see where the good food is, and now I love it. There is always something good somewhere. Having an unlimited plan is awesome as well. You can walk in whenever you want and eat as much as you want.</p>

<p>I realize now that I have pretty much addressed your concerns, so I am going to stop. I am typing in MS word, and it is five pages long (double spaced). Anyway, if you or anyone else has any other questions, pm me or post again (prefer the later so that other people can see it) and I will be very happy to reply!</p>

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<p>@gamahead- Thanks so much for the time. I also applied to U of R and feel like it is a match school for me, so it will definitely be an option. The female attractiveness is slightly disconcerting, but I feel like your honest perspective is very helpful to understanding a school I haven’t visited. I liked what you said about finals week/mode. I also believe I would get great joy from being part of the all-night study sessions.</p>

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<p>Yeah, the lack of attractiveness is definitely unfortunate, but it eventually just becomes something to laugh about. Let me know if you need anything else</p>

17

<p>I would presume that it is easier to get into Rochester than a comparable school because it is not located in a “sexy” city. The same could be said, for example, about Case Western.</p>

<p>Thus, for a kid trying to get into the best school possible, this represents an opportunity.</p>

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<p>can you expand upon the frat parties? who goes, how often, what they’re like, ect…</p>

19

<p>One peculiarity of NY and some other states is laws that prevent sororities from having their own houses. So they exist at UR but have housing floors - like in Phase, which is dorms on the hill behind SueB. My point is they also have parties. Some are off campus; they rent a place - a restaurant or a club - and have a bus. </p>

<p>There are also parties off campus. A fair number of kids live across the river.</p>

20

<p>ooooh frats. Each one attracts a certain crowd, so asking who goes is hard to answer. Also, each frat has a different dynamic. Some of them throw ragers like one would see in a movie, some of them are generally more mellow, some play a lot of beirut, etc. Finding the right frat definitely wouldn’t be a problem for anyone looking to join. How often? Nearly every weekend. What they’re like? Again, each is different. The Frat Quad looks extremely nice, though, and the interior of each is decent compared to other frats. This is the only picture I could find: <a href=“http://farm2.static.■■■■■■■■■■/1150/4720825951_c7f59af6d0.jpg[/url]”>http://farm2.static.■■■■■■■■■■/1150/4720825951_c7f59af6d0.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;