University of Rochester--Intellectual Environment?

My son is looking at colleges right now. He wants a very intellectual place, and wants to avoid places full of kids that just worked hard to get straight As. He himself is naturally very curious and loves to learn. He’s interested in several of the well-known intellectual places such as U Chicago, Swarthmore, Carleton, Reed–although he’s trying to avoid an environment that’s so far left that other points of view can’t be expressed comfortably (I’m not implying that the aforementioned schools are like that, but he’s come across some that are). He (and we) are also trying to find places that give merit aid. Recently he’s come across University of Rochester, and it really seems like a hidden gem. Not as well-known, but seems to be full of kids that just want to learn. Does anyone have any experience with the school? If so, would you describe the atmosphere as intellectual? Thanks!

Very well known and highly respected. I think the use of the word “intellectual” is basically a comment on the social environment and not the academic one. Be careful making decisions that way. It is often used to denigrate schools that have sports cultures and reputations for attracting socially popular or goal-driven kids. Duke, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame would be examples, among dozens of others. The kids at the schools you mentioned are no more intelligent than the schools I mentioned.

I think intellectual can describe an overall environment–one where students love to discuss ideas, read, think about things deeply. If I were just looking for schools with intelligent students, I wouldn’t need to post here. I have two sons, both highly intelligent–one loves to read, discuss ideas, is interested in math, history, politics, science, everything really, and the other prefers to play sports in his free time and spend time with friends. They won’t be happy in the same college or university, even though they’re both bright. My older son is surrounded by kids in high school that are obsessed with getting As, but not with learning, and with doing the “right” extracurriculars, not with activities they are passionate about. He wants to find passionate learners he can fit in with.

Personally, I think the balance a school strikes between sports and academics can be an indicator of the strengh of the intellectual atmosphere available there. In terms of URochester specifically, I think they get their relative emphases and priorities about right.

I believe the OP is looking for an environment where a critical mass of students are genuinely interested in discussing ideas-- where conversations on philosophy, politics, history, etc. are not confined to the classroom but go on in dorms and dining halls.
Although there will be students who value intellectualism at most colleges, they are a majority and/or critical mass at some colleges but definitely not at all. Even some colleges with very bright students may have more students who are ‘passing through’ college en route to a career than really like to engage in such conversations.

When the term “intellectual” is used on this forum it is almost always used as a way to trash certain schools where there is a balance between academics, sports, socializing, etc. Reading the responses confirms this. Case in point the one above. If you read it students at Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Duke and others never, ever talk about anything except drinking, chasing members of the opposite sex, the upcoming sports event against a bitter rival and Spring Break. They just study hard to get good grades so they can get a big job after graduation, that first BMW and swanky NOLITA apartment.

It sounds like the OP’s son wants to steer clear of colleges that, while they may be full of intelligent and capable students, are apt to emphasize the prevailing culture that places high value on ‘material success’, thereby putting the loftier goals of intellectualism in the figurative ‘backseat’. Sounds to me like the ideal, that is, education for its own sake – nothing less and nothing more.

While some colleges may provide just that, they also must be filled with students who have the maturity to benefit most from such environments. And that is a rare trait in youth. Even rarer is having the maturity AND the wherewithal to pursue such a purely intellectual aesthetic. More power to those that do…

To answer the OP’s question: From what I have heard Rochester would be a good fit for your son. You should go see it and you’ll know if that’s true.

Alum here. It sound’s like a good fit for your son to me. Intellectual conversation certainly makes it’s way outside of the classroom at UofR. Funny enough, going to a party on a Saturday night and having an intellectual conversation are not mutually exclusive things at UofR. Many times I found myself having a discussion with friends drunk at a party and thinking “god, we’re a bunch of nerds”. But now that I look back at it, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Many of the undergrads are involved in research and it was common for students of different majors to discuss research with one another or attend each other’s presentations. Almost all of my friends (and I) went on to graduate schools following our Bachelor’s degrees - and we were heavily involved in social life (Greek Life, sports teams). That may give you an indication of what the environment at U of R. It isn’t just the “geeky kids” - most people there are cut from that same “intellectual” cloth.

I have toured several colleges with my daughter so far and definitely would classify Rochester as “intellectual” / nerdy for sure, and that is one of the reason’s my daughter loved it so much. The library is absolutely amazing, great balance of real stacks and historic quiet study areas with modern group work areas. I think the balance of sports to study can sometimes be seen very visually with comparing the athletic facility to the library. For example we also looked at WPI and they sports area and training facilities are amazing, the library was cold and dark and didn’t see a single book on the tour.

If you can make it to the area to visit you definitely should. One thing that stood out from our info session was that the merit aid is pretty generous but has a finite pool they award each year. If you apply regular decision she told us apply as close to December 1st as possible to get the maximum merit award as possible, also try to schedule an interview as well as it sounds like it has an impact on the merit awards as well.

Thank you for the responses. I appreciate the feedback.

My son got his degree from Reed last year. I am a grad school alum of Rochester, however that experience was so long ago, reading the alumni magazine is now most of my first hand experience with the school.

I will say, if your want to pick a school where the other students are really there for the schooling, then traveling to a city where the weather is among the most cloudy in the nation is the way to go. I think the top of that list is Seattle, Portland, Rochester, and Pittsburgh. And, as the local economy has not been really good in Rochester over recent history, I would expect you nowadays get students there that come for the learning experience, rather than the local interning opportunities.

At smaller and intense schools like Reed and Swarthmore, your fellow students are really going to be part of the learning experience. I wouldn’t worry so much about a leftist bent to those schools, but rather just making the grade that calibrated by the internal standards the other students have for themselves and their work. Not in the sense of competition between students, but rather in how much many of the students would like to master the material they are studying.

At university size places like Chicago and Rochester, there will be a bigger menu of departments and programs for specializing your study, if you want to go both all intellectual and laser focused on some topic as an undergraduate.

And if you really want to mainline that intense, communal, intellectual fever, I guess there is also St. John’s and Deep Springs.