University of Rochester RD Class of 2020 Decisions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Rochester
1

Now that people are starting to hear back, I was thinking it may be useful to have one of these results threads for UR. Feel free to copy the format below and respond with your stats!

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

2

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2110
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 790 Physics 780 math 2 780 chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): n/a
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/60
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis): 40 points…diploma may 2015
Senior Year Course Load: Physics Hl Math Hl Chemistry Hl English A: literature Sl, bus and man Sl French B Sl
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): many
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: about 4
Summer Activities: independent research non scientific
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 8.5

Teacher Rec #1:8
Teacher Rec #2:9
Counselor Rec. 7
Additional Rec:
Interview: Yes…with senior

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: mechanical engineering
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Nigeria
School Type: Private, one of the best in country
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~150K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM,

Reflection

Strengths: My acceptance letter said I was chosen due to my passion for engineering and my desire to use film as a tool. I was surprised cos I demonstrated these two things to a high extent. Surprised my acceptance letter was specifically for me. It also mentioned they had a 25% acceptance rate so that is for anyone
Weaknesses: SAT scores. The test does not fully show academic strength and is very winnable to those who can game. Amean seriously, obscure words and all!
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:I can grow there and contribute to their community. Part of the chosen 25%
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: waiting on MIT, Yale, Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Vanderbilt, JHU, Northwestern, and Duke

3

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 32 composite (33 Eng, 35 Math, 25 Read, 34 Sci, 31 essay)
SAT II: 740 Chemistry, 780 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83 unweighted, 4.3 weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): American Gov, Biology(4), Chemistry(4), Calc AB(5), World History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Stat, AP English Lit, AP Calc BC, and Differential Equation (post-AP may be?)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Maryland Science Olympiad bronze and silver medal, Chemistry Olympiad state finalist, department awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): a bunch of leadership positions, but I doubt those even matter.

Job/Work Experience: intern/student researcher at Johns Hopkins Hospital
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities: Internship at Johns Hopkins
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9

Teacher Rec #1: 9
Teacher Rec #2: 9
Counselor Rec: 8
Additional Rec: my mentor neurologist wrote a fantastic recommendation for me!
Interview: nope, I signed up for an interview way too late…

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Cognitive Science or Mathematics
State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Korean!!
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: I submitted a research paper regarding Neurological dysfunctions. And my decision letter also specifically mentioned they were impressed by my research. I was quite surprised how closely they reviewed my application.
Weaknesses: my reading score in ACT. gosh it bombed everything!
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

4

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2260 (720 CR, 770 M, 770W, 10 essay)–taken twice, this is my second test
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35E, 34M, 36R, 34S, 9 essay)–taken once
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 770 US History, 710 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A, school doesn’t rank but probably top 10%
AP (place score in parentheses): World History (5), US History (5), English Lang and Comp (5), Chemistry (3)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Gov and Pol, AP Spanish, AP Calc BC, AP Biology, English 12, Theology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing huge, but AP Scholar with Honor/National Merit Commended Student

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): JV Tennis 9-10 (Co-Captain 2013, MVP Award 2013), Varsity Tennis 11-12 (Co-Captain 2015, Coach’s Award 2015), FIRST Robotics 9-12 (Safety Captain 2014-2016, Scouting and Analytics Co-Lead 2016, loads of awards), National Honor Society 11-12, Girl Up! Club 12, Stage Crew 10
Job/Work Experience: Order Processor/Admin Temp at a local business (summers 2014-2015)
Volunteer/Community Service: Checkout volunteer at school’s biggest fundraiser 9-12, Lego League mentor/table resetter at my team’s QT 9-12, Volunteered at a local hospital (summer 2014)
Summer Activities: Mini Medical School at the UR (2015), volunteering, working
Essays: Common app essay 11/10, this essay I took a lot of pride in and my English teacher loved it. It was about what I’ve learned from participating in robotics. 10/10 for the supplemental essay, my teacher loved this one as well, and this was about having major back surgery and how that’s inspired me to pursue medicine in the future.
Teacher Recommendations: 9/10 for my PreCalc teacher, I’m just concerned she could’ve put in a comment she made to me about “being very bright but lacking a bit in confidence.” 10/10 for my Spanish teacher, we have a very good relationship and she knows me to be a hardworking student.
Counselor Rec: 8/10. She seems to really love me but since my school only has three counselors, they’re all quite overloaded and I just don’t know if she put enough effort into it to call it fantastic.
Additional Rec: 10/10. It came from a family friend who has known me for a very long time and was able to accurately portray me as a person.
Interview: 8/10. I only say this because I had a student interviewer and we did not talk very long. However, we connected pretty well as she’s from Rochester too.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Biological Sciences - Neuroscience
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Private/Parochial
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 150k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy, attended pre-college program, won Xerox Award (through UR)

Reflection
Strengths: Scores, GPA, essays
Weaknesses: Don’t have a hook, letters of recommendation, no major awards, ECs might be weak?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Probably due to my involvement/demonstrated interest of the UR
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: SUNY UB, CWRU (interview for PPSP in medicine), Pitt Deferred: Harvard, No decision yet: Johns Hopkins

5

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):2220 (690 M 800 CR 730 W)
ACT (breakdown): did not take
SAT II: 800 M2 800 EM
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): school does not calculate
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio 4, French 5
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, Internal Medicine/Neuroscience Medicine, Public Speaking/Cultural Studies, Physics, French V
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): GSA (president), LGBT+ Book Club (founder, president) Peer Leadership, a multicultural writing magazine (writing editor) + community service stuff
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: 120 hrs at office of international nonprofit and 70 hours at soup kitchen
Summer Activities: international nonprofit mentioned above
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8/10 rochester essay, i needed to cut it a lot so the final draft wasn’t as good as the first and 9/10 common app essay it talked about a hobby that i didn’t get to mention in other parts of the app
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: didn’t get to read but my precalc teacher loved me so im guess at least his was pretty good
Teacher Rec #2: again didn’t get to read but assuming french teacher didn’t go senile, she loved me too
Counselor Rec: should be good we had to do 3 surveys for them
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: SPECTACULAR i was interviewed by the admissions counselor for my geographic region and he clearly really liked me

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: biology
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: college preparatory school w admission by selective exam, known as an ivy feeder
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 100k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses: SAT 1 score somewhat, essay could have been better, lack of STEM related ECs when applying for bio major
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: overall strength of application, interview def had to do w it
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Stony Brook, CWRU and waiting to hear back from Cornell CALS, JHU, and Oberlin

6

Decision: Son Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 760 US History 800 English
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/68
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP Gov, Ap English Lit, AP Calc, Electives
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Poetry Award, National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Musicals (leads), Band
Job/Work Experience: Short time in retail
Volunteer/Community service: Autism program
Summer Activities: none
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): unsure-did not see

Interview: Yes- with student admissions helper

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: political science
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: private Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: less than 100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: Son’s acceptance letter said they liked the fact that he won a national poetry contest and was #1 ranked in his class.
Weaknesses: ECs.

7

Decision: daughter Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): M, 760; CR, 720; W, 760 single sitting
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: Lit, 750; Math 1, 720 single sitting
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10th?
AP (place score in parenthesis): Psych, 5 (self-study); Eng Lang, 5; Stats, 5
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: 4 AP, art, precalc,
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, Nat. Merit Scholar Commendation

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): haha! Fundraising Officer
Job/Work Experience: short internship
Volunteer/Community service: 3 summers at a state historic site, tutoring, assorted service stuff
Summer Activities: Carleton College Comp Sci program for college credit; BU summer program
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Hmmm, I think it was good, but not spectacular. Prob 7 or 8. Was quite honest about what some might describe as an undesirable personality trait.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): No idea, she never saw them. I am sure they were good, especially from one teacher in particular.

Teacher Rec #1: ?
Teacher Rec #2: ?
Counselor Rec: ?
Additional Rec:
Interview: yes, she interviewed, as she was told by rep that they STRONGLY recommend it.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: –
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): No hooks

Reflection

Strengths: She was very honest about herself. She also demonstrated her interest in Psych by self studying it and was able to illustrate that in her app. She did academic stuff in the summer for two years.
Weaknesses: weak ECs
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: She is obviously intelligent and motivated to do well, and it showed in her app.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: So far, 2 others with good merit aid. Still waiting on several decisions.

8

@DOLIKEIDO hey man, I’m Nigerian too, haven’t heard back though. Still seeing the ‘come back in 12 hours’ poster. Congrats and I must say, your college list is pretty strict; no safeties?!

9

@artie1 Did you really get a personalized acceptance letter?

10

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): Highest single sitting: 2350 (800CR/800M/750W). Superscored: 2400
ACT (breakdown): None
SAT II: 800 Spanish, 750 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.05 out of 4.2
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): None
AP (place score in parenthesis): Spanish Lang and English Lang, both 5s
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP English Lit, Honors Chemistry, Spanish 5 Independent Study, US History, Acting 4, Voice 4, Movement 4, Audition Lab (I attend an arts high school for theater. This was the most advanced courseload available.)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad Semifinalist, US Presidential Scholars Candidate, National Merit Finalist. Also received Princeton Book Award and School’s Dean’s List.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Various theater productions. My school doesn’t have traditional clubs, but we spend half our time in arts classes and it eats up most of our time. (stage manager, props manager) (4 years)
Creative writing group (2 years)
Internship at a local nonprofit (2 years)
Independent study of linguistics (3 years)
Job/Work Experience:
Counselor at a theater summer camp (3 years)
Babysitting (4 years)
Volunteer/Community service:
Tutoring at a Hebrew school (3 years)
Tutoring as member of NHS (president) (1 year)
Service trip over spring break (1 year)
Summer Activities:
See Job/Work Experience!
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Won’t give these a number, because I have no idea how one can do that! I tried to emphasize my passion for linguistics and my intellectual curiosity/general nerdiness. As my supplement I sent in a video of myself doing two monologues and explained why I wanted to pursue the unique stage management certificate.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Can’t rate.

Teacher Rec #1: Spanish teacher from all 4 years of high school
Teacher Rec #2: English teacher from Jr year
Counselor Rec: idk, probably good
Additional Rec: None
Interview: Done on campus with a senior. Went well–slightly awkward, but we were interested in similar things.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Linguistics
State (if domestic applicant): Mid-Atlantic
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Small, public, performing arts high school
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 150K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: SAT I and SAT II Spanish scores, performing arts high school background
Weaknesses: lack of impressive ECs besides acting
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My acting background is unique and I want to major in linguistics, which is relatively rare!
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to UMass Amherst Honors EA, Hampshire EA, Wellesley EE. Still waiting for Swarthmore, Haverford, Brown, and Yale.

11

@NICE8x , I suspect they personalize the letter for everyone. I am sure 99% of the letter is the same for everyone though. There was a sentence that mentioned unique aspects my daughter had very specifically mentioned. Probably each rep just plugs a sentence like that into the letter:-) It was a nice touch though.

12

@NICE8x I agree with @Lindagaf, I think they do that for everyone. I have not heard of other colleges doing that.

13

Case Western does this also.
’

14

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**

15

I have some safeties but they are quite a lot. Applied to 26 schools in total…

16

Dope. I did 18. It’s funny at the end of the day, you can only attend ONE!

17

@DOLIKEIDO @iocbobby10 My friends think that I’m crazy for applying to 15 schools. It is nice to find people on the internet who make you feel less insane :slight_smile:

18

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t submit lol
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35,35,33,36)
SAT II: 760 chem, 800 math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): calc bc (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: IB LA, IB Spanish, IB Chemistry, Physics, Calc 3
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none lol

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): sports, art
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: tutoring some with sports
Summer Activities: sports
Essays (rating 1-10, details): idk my common app was pretty good but I wrote the URoch one in like 2 hours right before the deadline
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): i didn’t submit any extra

Teacher Rec #1: idk
Teacher Rec #2: idk
Counselor Rec: idk
Additional Rec: none
Interview: didn’t know it was offered lol

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: biochem or something i forget
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): sports?

Reflection

Strengths: test scores? they said I had passion so that’s good
Weaknesses: ec’s, literally no awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: idk man
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted UMich, deferred UChicago and MIT.

19

@DOLIKEIDO @iocbobby10 @NICE8x
Now that the applications are complete, do you feel like you applied to too many? I only applied to 10 (which is still more than most kids at my high school), but it took a lot to convince myself not to apply to a whole bunch of others, and immediately after I kept regretting not applying to more. Now, though, I’ve heard back from one match and two safeties (I applied to an excessive number of safeties…) and I feel like I seriously could have cut back.

20

@usualhopeful it was stressful applying to a lot of colleges, but in my case; I’m an international and I needed a lot of fin aid. I guess what I’m trying to say is, whenever I wanted to not apply to a certain college, I would say to myself, “why not”… so it’s just a decision you make for yourself and know if you need to cast a wide net or a short one or if you just want to feel safe with too many safeties. Now, I’m happy I applied to every single one of them because the hardwork is over, it’s decision and money time!