@najnul I believe it does not. Currently, I have 4 close friends studying at Rochester and none of them had one.
@helloitsmelol Oh, okay. Thanks for clearing that up.
I was worried as it is listed as ‘highly recommended’ in myROC.
@helloitsmelol Nobody knows when the next batch of decisions are going to be released so none of us can answer that question for you. The best thing to do at this point is try to relax and be patient waiting.
As for SAT scores, UR is holistic in its application review process so high scores won’t automatically get you accepted and low scores don’t mean you’ll be rejected out of hand. Ideally, all aspects of the application have to be great for someone to be accepted. That said, people with scores below the 25th percentile or so might have to have a truly amazing application otherwise because holistic admissions means that personality and passion can beat high scores any day. If you have good essays and your grades reflect your true academic abilities then you should be just fine imo but nothing is guaranteed for anyone. It’s out of your hands now, you did your best and you’ll get into the school that’s best for you, don’t worry, there’s nothing any of us can do now but wait and see.
@thisgirlcodes thank you for your reply! I have been pretty nervous haha… but yeah as you said at this point it’s just about waiting.
Just one more question… If my application status is sent on the last batch does it mean I have less chances of getting in?
@helloitsmelol No I don’t think what batch you’re in has any effect on how likely you are to be admitted. This is all pure speculation on my part but I think by now most if not all applications are past AT LEAST the first reader so UR has a rough idea of who to reject and who to accept and now it’s just finalizing places. Remember, the way it’s works (or at least my understanding of the process) is that both readers give their recommendations and if it merits further discussion or the application is special in some way like if you applied to REMS or something like that, it goes to committee to be discussed and voted on. That’s why I think more rejections and wait lists have come out than acceptances because those are easier to flat out determine than who gets accepted. So basically no I don’t think what batch you’re in has any bearing on the actual decision you eventually get its just about how long it takes them to go through your file and come to a final decision. It may seem like every acceptance that comes out means less space for those of us who haven’t received decisions yet but I think that UR already pretty much knows approximately who they want to let in and they’re just making extra sure now. We don’t want any Ms universe or oscars debacles happening here lol.
So far two batchs of reject/waitlist were sent out, and only one batch of acceptance was given out…Hopefully we will hear good news next week.
@bling0202 do you think that batch can be today?
@Noor230 No. Batches are only released during working hours for the admissions office which are 9am to 5pm on weekdays so the earliest another batch could be released is Monday.
I know merit scholarships are up, but does anyone know when financial aid will be published?
Does anybody know if with our acceptance, it means that we are accepted to the school of our intended major? Because I really want to go into engineering, but on the MyROC account there is no specification on whether or not I was accepted for that major. It is also blank under the “Degree Program” category within my profile, so I was wondering if that holds any significance.
If I am still in Step 4, does that mean I need to wait longer for a decision? Does everyone reach Step 5?
Yes and yes
aw dang it lol
@thisgirlcodes your reasoning quite diminishes our fears: thanks.
I have recently gotten an email from financial aid asking for W2s from my mother and I was wondering:
- It asks to write my name and U of R ID on all of the documents...I don't have an ID, what does this mean?
- Could this be the reason why my decision letter has not come in yet, because we have just gotten a hold of my mother's W2s and I am just barely sending them in?
ALSO, has anyone else received their decision letter yet? If so, could you like tell me your gpa, scores, extra curriculars, if you don’t mind? 
@oyealexa Accepted RD / Merit Scholarship $18K
Ethnicity: Asian Male living in Asia (US citizen)
GPA top 5% (graduated 1st place)
SAT 2180
2 SAT2s ranging from 740 to 800
5 APs ranging from 3~5
EC - published book/ research paper at int’l conf. / top leadership positions in school / VERY involved in Model UN (The merit scholarship was titled “Mock Trial and Model UN Scholarships” lol).
I’m currently waiting for other colleges to post results. But I’m VERY thankful and appreciate the fact that Rochester accepted me and gave me a merit scholarship 
(If you are reading this admissions officers! Thank you sooo much!!! Love ya!)
Does anyone know when Need-based scholarships will be released?
Financial aid said that if you received your acceptance on the 9th and merit notification on the 16th then your aid package should be here by the end of this week
@zaetoven Accoring to a New York Times report UR took no students from the waitlist for the class of 2017, 6 students from the waitlist for the class of 2016 and 19 students from the waitlist for the class of 2015. This is the most reliable data I could find though I can’t vouch for its accuracy and you can look it up yourself on the choice blog. I’m sorry but it seems extremely unlikely that you will be admitted from the waitlist as the trend has shown that each year less and less students have been taken to the point that none appear to have been accepted from the waitlist into this years graduating class. The best thing for you to do now is write a letter of continuing interest to your admissions rep updating them on what you’ve been up to since you applied and enphasising that you will happily attend should a spot become available and then just hope for the best. I hate to say this and I’m not sure what UR’s policy here is but if you can pay the full COA you might want to indicate that in your letter. I’m incredibly sorry that you’ve been put in this position but you have to accept it, do what you can to help the situation and try to move on. I’m sure you’ve been accepted to other places or you’ll be hearing from colleges in the coming weeks so try to focus on those options rather than dwell on this decision. Start researching those schools more and try to find aspects of them that you love to focus on instead. Learn to love the schools that love you rather than being rash and dramatic about this. It’s just a college decision, it in no way reflects on your character and it doesn’t determine the rest of your life. This isn’t the end of the world so please try to relax. The reality is that you’re unlikely to get in now and although I hope you do, I have to encourage you to look at your other options and try to move past this setback. Communicate with the admissions office, let them know you’re still interested and then make your peace with this. It’s out of your hands and if it’s meant to be, it will be but if it’s not, something better is waiting for you just around the corner but you’ll never make it there to see it if you refuse to move on from this.
@Karachibound , unfortunately, she got rejected, I got deferred with her as well on the same day but I didn’t get a decision yet. about 20 percent of deferred students get accepted according to my admissions counselor. i hope that helps! 