I love everything UR has to offer, especially the community and overal campus feel. However there are two problems. I have lived in rochester my whole life and prefer to not stay here ( especially with the weather!) my parents both when to UR for undergrad and my mom is currently a professor there… the other problem with UR is they dont have a civil or environmental engineering major ( the two majors im looking at) do you have any suggestions for similar campus feel but not UR? Thank you 
Responded and saw this was the same post you had started about Case Western ; ).
Hahaha yeahhhhhh… Its honestly a struggle to try and get what I have here elsewhere when UR is so unique. I want UR just located not in my home city and with the major i want xD
For engineering, have you considered Lehigh? It’s a bit smaller than the UR but has a gorgeous campus and a wonderful engineering program.
Schools commonly align themselves with similar schools through athletic leagues. UR plays Division III sports in the University Athletic Association. So look for other UAA schools that have CivE/EnvE, such as:
- Case Western (in Cleveland)
- Carnegie Mellon (in Pittsburgh)
- NYU Tandon (engineering school is in Brooklyn, not Manhattan)
- Washington U in St Louis (EnvE only)
Other possibilities:
- Tufts (in Boston suburbs, not UAA but still Division III, seems like it could be UAA)
- Johns Hopkins (in Baltimore, former UAA member)
- RPI (near Albany, more engineering-focused than UR)
- Clarkson (in Potsdam, less selective than UR)
Case Western and Tufts might be the closest overall.
I (most) like the suggestions of Case Western, Tufts and Lehigh. I guess I’d maybe add Brandeis and Boston U, though the latter lacks a traditional campus.
No engineering.
“Campus feel” is obviously a totally subjective concept. However, these are the general campus qualities that I associate with UR (and hey, I could be mistaken):
- private research university
- with traditional residential campus
- in medium sized city
- with a balanced mix of liberal arts, engineering, business
- that enrolls quirky, nerdy students who play non-scholarship, D3 sports (unlike most "universities")
- with US News Ranking in general #25-50 range for National Universities
- where it is cold and snows a lot
If this list seems reasonable (and hey, maybe I’ve missed something), then you want schools that share these general characteristics, but which also have CivE/EnvE. But maybe you can compromise on some of these points (like #7, for example).
To me, the closest matches seem like:
- Tufts and Case Western (but in big cities, so they miss on #3)
- Lehigh (but has more mainstream students with a D1 sports culture, so misses on #5).
- RPI (but a tech school, so it misses on #4)
You aren’t going to find a perfect match, so think about which of these points are more or less important, or if there are others that should be added.
Carnegie Mellon seems to fit the bill, especially with its strong engineering programs.
I don’t think Cwr and CMU are going for to be much of an improvement weather wise. And they are much bigg r cities than Rochester. But both are similar.
For environmental engineering and your stated goals. I bet you would love UVMs EE program. School is great and beautiful. Burlington is the Austin of New England. Weather is cold too. But you got that down by now.
Rice is a match in size and somewhat similar in the personality of the student body. Has the warmer weather you’re looking for, without the Greek-dominated social life that many southern U’s have. Also has a music conservatory as UR does, although I would say the arts culture pervades the whole university more at UR than at Rice. Very strong engineering, and has your preferred major(s). A little tougher admit than UR & CWRU though.
I think Rice is a good suggestion. Though Houston is a much bigger city, Rice’s location and proximity to the medical complex also reminded me of Rochester.
And, though it’s in (or at least next to) a bigger city and has D1 sports (but not a D1 sports culture so much), Northwestern seems to have a lot in common with Rochester when it comes to campus, student profile, and general “vibe.” Again, a little tougher admit than UR. But less of a stretch if you opt for ED rather than RD round.
I second Rice. You can get the majors you want there. My daughter’s suite mate is a environmental engineering major. She is in London and Paris this summer with a group from Rice studying sustainability. The weather at Rice will be hot at the beginning of the school year, but mild during the fall, winter, and spring. I assume you would get a tuition break at UR because your parent teaches there. Are other schools reciprocal with tuition/affordable? Unless you get merit or need based aid, Rice’s tuition, like that at the other private schools mentioned on this thread, can be steep. Rice has Division 1 sports, but the sports are not a big deal on campus. Most students do not go to the games. Rice is in the middle of Houston in the museum district and is right across the street from the medical center.