So among the schools I’ve been accepted to, these are my top choices. I’ve been admitted to BME for both. I’m having a hard time deciding- although both are vastly different types of colleges, I feel that I would be a good fit at both, for different reasons,obviously. Due to financial reasons, I can’t visit the campuses. It would be really helpful if I could know about the social life and student body at both campuses- I’m not much of a party animal, but then I’m not a bookish nerd either. I would preferably like to go to a school where there are all kinds, and lot of activity on campus. Any help?
I initially preferred U of R- I love the program, and the research opportunities, and Eastman, but now I’m having some second thoughts about going to such a small university. Davis is bigger, and has a few other advantages (lot closer to home, for one).
Also, is U of R a prestigious college? I know its good, but not many people seem to know about it- why is that?
How does Davis rank up against the other UCs?
Also- completely unrelated but i didn’t want to start a different thread- I’ve been waitlisted at Berkeley. What are the chances of those on the waitlist?
Thank you so much!
I’d mostly love to know about the student body at each, but any input on the music scene/sports scene/greek would be appreciated!
What’s your parents ’ budget? And how much does each university cost?
UR is a very prestigious university, especially for the sciences. ‘people have not heard of it’… Might ‘people’ here mean high school students in SoCal? Because I can imagine teenagers 4,000miles away wouldn’t. Anyone who ‘matters’ for your career would have heard of it (PhD programs, medical schools, employers, industries…)
You are comparing academically heterogeneous schools to some extent. By the standardized scoring of their students, and therefore quite possibly by their students’ levels of academic preparation, UR is 60th in the US and UCD is 189th. In terms of the vast differences to which you referred, this may be the greatest. You could override this baseline factor based on other considerations, but at least you should be aware of it.
(“610 Smartest Colleges,” Business Insider.)
I can’t comment on Davis but we visited UR and really liked the vibe - student group seemed to be very cohesive (different student groups working with each other) and engaged.
@MYOS1634 : Finances are not really the big issue here as they’re both coming to the same (albeit expensive) also, I grew up in Norcal, but am currently an int’l student…well, a lot of factors actually- for example, its acceptance rate seems to be high for a school of its reputation- why is that? Just curious, not judging…it just doesn’t seem to be as well known as, say, NYU ( i think they’re on the same level academically- am i wrong?)
@merc81 : Could you elaborate a little further? I honestly thought UCD and U of R were more or less on the same level academically- also, usnews ranks U of R as #33 and UCD as #41 in the list of national universities.
I guess what I’m really asking for are other schools where the student body is similar or the colleges are academically similar- it would help me make a better comparison, that’s all.
Ok, let me put it in a slighty different way- I would like to work/live/study in California after graduation. Will U o R’s reputation (or lack of it) hinder me in any way? Also, if I’m interested in graduate/med schools in California- will going to UC Davis help me in any way? Also, internships in the medical/biotech industry- what is the scenario in both places?
Statistically your choices’ student bodies differ most at their 25th percentile SAT scores:
UR: 1240
UCD: 1080
In terms of comparable schools by the above standard, URochester would be between UC-Berkeley and UCLA. UCD would be fairly similar to the College of New Jersey.
Medical school options depend to a great degree on state/country of residence, not the location of the undergraduate college attended. That noted, UR appears on an online list, “The Experts’ Choice: Colleges with Great Pre-med Programs.”
Regarding graduate schools more generally, they accept from a national pool.
Comparing your choices in terms of California employment prospects would be much like comparing, for instance, UC-Berkeley graduates to those from, say, MIT. If you think the prospects for a UCB grad in this scenario would be greater, then the same would probably be true for a UCD grad in relation to one from UR.
If the costs are the same, I can’t imagine anyone picking UC Davis over Rochester.
Thank you for your responses, everyone! I guess unless I get Cal, I will choose UR. Returning to my original question, can anybody tell me about the social life at UR? I keep hearing stuff like “it’s dead” etc, but is it really very different from another school of its academic standard? FYI, I’m not talking about parties every night, but general activity on campus- and is the student body too academically oriented, or is there a lot of diversity?
Note, however, that the UCs in general emphasize SAT/ACT scores less than most colleges. This tends to surprise some test-score-heavy applicants who think that a given UC is a “safety” because their test scores are much higher (but their HS GPAs are a bit on the low side, so they get rejected or waitlisted). Frosh at UCs are likely to be HS-GPA-heavy in their stats, while their test scores are not all that great.
Note, however, that if you apply to California public medical schools, traveling to interviews will be much more hassle from Rochester than from Davis.
@ucbalumnus : I have thought of that, guess I’ll just have to cross the bridge when I come to it. Also, I am one of those people- overall HS performance on the lower side but high SAT! I got into Davis/Irvine but none of the higher ones. I’ve been waitlisted at berkeley - do you know what my chances are?
Also, I just recently checked the incoming freshman profiles for last year- Davis and UR seem to be mostly equal! Davis gpa is slightly higher, and UR SAT scores are slightly higher. Is there a really large difference in the make up of the student bodies?
@merc81 : This is exactly my point- UCB and UCLA are both far, far better known than UR. Why is that? Here on CC, when people talk about schools, say, Tufts or Northwestern, UR never seems to come up, even if they’re similar schools.
Regarding UCs vs UR I think the trouble is that I don’t find many lists (except usnews) where these schools are actually compared because they’re so different.
UC Davis, tho, seems to do well in rankings.
@MindCastle15 The student profiles are not similar.
U of R, Students scoring above 30 ACT, 70%, Davis, 36%.
U of R, Students scoring above 700 Math, 51%, Davis, 28%.
U of R, Students scoring above 700 CR, 25%, Davis 11%.
U of R Middle 50% ACT 29 - 33, Davis, 25 - 31.
Funny, I searched for the admitted freshman profiles at both of the colleges and saw some different stuff. If yours is accurate, thank you.