Funny, my daughter got the mail invite about a week ago, and then the email yest.
Same. I even got the message in my personal email as well.
My son has yet to hear from URI - he applied for early action in October. Does anyone know when we might finally get the word?
He should have heard by now - I would definitely reach out to admissions tomorrow. Good luck!
2 Likes
Did anyone attend the honors meeting last night - I thought that the program seemed nice - not overwhelming at all.
2 Likes
Yes our daughter did. URI is in her top 3. Her main concern about URI is that it will not be academically rigorous enough for her. She desperately wants like minded peers since she has never had them at her high school (or very very few of them). So the honors program seems like a good option for her there. She liked the smaller class sizes and the fact they would have a capstone type project under the mentorship of a faculty member.
3 Likes
My daughter did. She seemed to like the program.
URI is in my daughterâs top 3 too (with UMass and UDel). Her worry about URI is whether itâll be too âcliqueyâ with a large Greek scene and her being OOS (sheâs also had a rough HS social experience). But the honors program did give it a nice small school vibe.
1 Like
Thanks for the update on the honors program. My daughter was invited but didnât attend the program last night due to another commitment. We are looking forward to the Test Drive day for Neuroscience in March. I think we are going to drive down during February break next week to do some more exploring. URI is her #1 choice.
3 Likes
Thatâs great! My daughter is in the sciences also - technically Biology but who knows where she will land specifically. They would likely be in the same LLC!
1 Like
Fwiw my daughter has ranked these three schools as potential âcliquinessâ as follows:
UD (most dominant Greek/Party social life)
URI
UMass
Sheâs actually crossed UDel off her list for this reason.
Disclaimers:
She has no real experience with any of these schools besides visiting - only research and social media etc
UMass seems to draw the most students from outside the local area/NE
She actually does probably plan to Rush a traditional sorority - but not all Greek communities are the same either.
Finally she can only choose one school on the end so this is one way to narrow them down for her.
1 Like
Where is the idea of clique heavy issues at URI coming from? My daughter didnât have the best high school experience even though she has a decent amount of friends and was active in sports and leadership. I think a lot of it has to do with Covid and how schools did or didnât respond to it. She would be out of state going to URI as well and is drawn to the beautiful location, the wide range of activities and clubs and as well the Greek scene. You can still go to parties and meet people and not have to be a part of it although she may rush. UMass Amherst has active Greek life - no worry about that? Are your daughter(s) the first of your kids to go to school? We have children at a NH college and one at UMass and never thought to worry about that at college - especially considering URI has over 10,000 students, so many friends to choose from! So Iâm very curious what brought them to these thoughts - thanks
1 Like
Iâm embarrassed to say that what brought this on for my daughter is watching tik toks of current students. Sheâs not sure if sheâd want to rush and she didnât want a school where the Greek scene was dominant. Sheâs heard (through sources on social media) that youâll feel left out if you donât rush. I know that UMass has an active Greek life, but it seems less central there. I completely realize that this may be off base, but itâs on her mind. She is my first child to go to college so I may be overthinking, and Iâm also really hoping that sheâll have a nice social experience because COVID was so rough (her HS was closed for well over a year). I realize the danger of listening to random things on social media, but trying to put info together from diverse sources. Weâre going to visit her top four again, so hopefully can get a more comprehensive/accurate sense.
3 Likes
My daughter felt similarly to yours as well about Greek life. She had the chance to talk with a current URI student who went to her high school about Greek life. It seemed very positive. DD is considering it, but may way wait just to get her feet wet first.
1 Like
Thatâs interesting - weâre going back to see Delaware again. But I agree that UMass seems to have the broadest range of students from OOS. She likes the size of URI better, though and she got into honors at URI and not at UMass, so thatâs on her mind as well (she likes the smaller classes). Such a hard decision - theyâre lucky to have great schools to choose from.
1 Like
My daughter and I speak with no real knowledge or authority on these schools- we are just trying to make an educated decision as best we can with what we are able to discern from the West Coast.
For my D24 the main reason she is looking OOS is because she wants a med-large public university and we have 2 in state: one is very hard to get into and she wonât hear till mid march. The other is what sheâs trying to avoid: There is a well established social hierarchy there - itâs basically like a huge partying high school with great academics. Going there is absolutely not an option for her. No. Way.
That said there is a ton of value in a vibrant social dynamic at a school. D23 is actually very social and is eager for a vibrant social scene that is diverse in itâs options. For you UD she gets the feeling there are things to do that arenât partying (and all that goes with it). But those are âalternativeâ activities at UD. The question is more how many people actually enjoy spending their time that way? At her current high school itâs not very many. Her social life is very limited by the fact that sheâs not a partier and doesnât live on the edge so to speak.
Basically sheâs like everyone else: she reds to find her people. (I was in a sorority and have done a deep dive into the Greek systems in these schools and UMass appears to have a vibrant Greek life but not one that totally dominates the campus social scene. That would be perfect for our D23 we think).
URI is in her top 3-4! She loved it there! Her only social concern there is that so many ppl live off campus and/or go home on the weekends. I think it could be a great school for her!
The persistent social media trends were one of the nails in the coffin for UD for our daughter. Otherwise the school checks every box for her.
It got to the point where it looked like a duck and walked like a duckâŠ.
And she needs to start narrowing her list anywayâŠ
1 Like
I have heard or seen nothing about the amount of people who go home and donât live on campus. There are many dorms frats and sororities. A ton of kids live on campus and those who donât are mainly upperclassman who have the lovely benefit of living at a house on the ocean during their junior and senior years! For the most part in college you make your friends freshman and sophomore year when most kids live on campus anyway. Upperclassman are too busy with more difficult classes internships and clinicals to be in to the âgotta meet new peopleâ they are on their way into their careers .
URI is a big place and even if half the kids went home there still be 6000 people on campus!
I went to UVM and back when I went fraternities and sororities were even bigger than they are these days. I had plenty of friends in both. I decided not to get involved and guess what I had plenty of friends in the same size school that URI is. And a ton of kids I knew went home from UVM as well since over half of them were Vermonters.
I would say visit and try to talk to as many students as you can who currently go there. Stuff on social media is the best and the worst. Everyone puts their âbest lifeâ on Facebook for goodness sake. Itâs not reality.
Sorry I might have mentioned it before but what does UD stand for? Not you Delaware Iâm guessing University of Dayton? University of Dallas? Thanks for the answer Iâm curious.
By the way the school my oldest went to is a very small school about less than a quarter of the size of URI. I was very worried because my child can be quiet at times. Even there he was able to find âhis peopleâ. The school had partiers, geeks, athletes, highly intelligent kids etc. Most of these colleges are just larger sized high schools with cliques everywhere.
Not trying to sell you on URI. I have found it to be similar to UMass. Just a little smaller, a little less of a behemoth when it comes to registering for classes and being a ânumberâ. UMass does have exceptional food! After visiting over 30 schools with my oldest three and one more to go I would say it has the best food hands-down. More restaurant quality, very good restaurant quality, than any other school weâve eaten at!!
I got curious so looked up the percentage of students in Greek life at URI, Delaware and UMass on each schoolâs website. Delaware was 26%, URI was 20% and UMass was 8.5%. Nothing against Greek life, and my daughter may rush in the end, but sheâd also be happy if it wasnât totally central if she decides not to.
1 Like