<p>There is discussion about whether HYP (Harvard, Yale Princeton) or the other most prestigious schools matter as names or not for grad school admission. The reality is that kids who go to these schools tend to score very well on the standardized tests.</p>
<p>^^That’s absolutely true!</p>
<p>Oh, okay. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Thomas7, my daughter will also be starting at Rochester this fall and is very excited about it. You’ve already committed, but I thought I would share some of her “journey to Rochester” story here in case it might be helpful to somebody else down the line.</p>
<p>Rochester first popped up on our radar when I made a post in the parents’ forum at the beginning of D’s junior year asking for schools that met the following criteria:</p>
<p>-good linguistics or language studies
-urban environment at least accessible
-either no Greek system or one that doesn’t dominate the entire social scene
-good opportunities for a non-music/drama major to participate in music and drama for fun</p>
<p>Then last April I was at a professional meeting out in California and realized that the husband of a colleague of mine works for URochester. My colleague had lots of positive things to say about the school.</p>
<p>Then last May my daughter won an award from her high school’s social science department that was sponsored by URochester. As part of the award, Rochester waived her application fee.</p>
<p>So all these little things were happening that kept bringing our attention back to Rochester, although at the end of her junior year Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, was at the top of her list. At that point though, she didn’t intend to apply Early Decision anywhere.</p>
<p>Over the summer, she attended a linguistics camp and found that while she still loves linguistics and languages, the part that really got her was the little bit that they dabbled in computational linguistics. She came home intent on majoring in computer science.</p>
<p>We visited Rochester last September, and she LOVED it, so much so that she was seriously considering applying ED. We made one more visit to Macalester in October, and she ultimately decided that Mac might be just a little too small for her in the end. (She said something like she wished she could marry Rochester but be best friends with Mac. LOL) So she applied ED and had her acceptance before Christmas.</p>
<p>Then in February we went back to Rochester so she could interview as a finalist for the GEAR program (5-year combined undergrad/grad program in engineering). She was happy all along with her choice, but that re-visit really confirmed for her that she was doing the right thing. She got to sit in on another class (had sat in on one in the fall) and enjoyed it. She loved the kids she stayed in the dorm with, and the next day she saw them out and about around campus. She even saw one of our tour guides from last September! We drove around and checked out a couple of the malls and ate at a Japanese restaurant downtown (we had had Dinosaur BBQ in September). </p>
<p>She loves how the campus is a distinct and pretty campus with a city within easy access. Sure, Rochester isn’t NYC or Chicago, but as a city it’s got what she wants. Also, she has been participating in the class of 2017 group on Facebook and met a lot of people who have a variety of really cool interests and who seem eager to make friends.</p>
<p>She’s really excited about the open curriculum as well. In fact, while Macalester was top of the list for so long, she said after she got her Rochester acceptance that if they had rejected her, she probably would have gone to Kalamazoo College, which also has the open curriculum. We had visited there last summer, and it was the first she had heard of it, but her visit to Rochester in the fall really confirmed for her that that was something important to her.</p>
<p>Boland, thanks for that informative and great post. My daughter’s final two are UR and Macalester also, after weeding through a handful of others. Still have no idea which way she is leaning. Very close decision for her. She’s doen an overnight at both in the last couple of weeks. A big difference is that my kid is not a computer science/engineering person, but she loves everything else about UR that you mentioned.</p>
<p>Boland and finalchild, Best of luck to your daughters! Both are fantastic choices. :)</p>
<p>@Boland: U of R’s Class of 2017 FB page is very interesting - it’s amazing where all the people are from. Plus, they are very open about their interests and passions! It just makes me more excited to attend. Great academics combined with a passionate, supportive and intellectual environment - so exciting. When you and your daughter drove through Rochester, did you feel safe? Do you have a comment on the safety/“vibe” of the city?</p>
<p>Finalchild, good luck to your daughter in making a tough decision! The good thing is, she really can’t go wrong either way.</p>
<p>Thomas7, I asked my daughter’s opinion on your question regarding safety. She said that in touring schools, the city she felt safest in was St. Paul, and the city she felt least safe in was Chicago, and that Rochester is much closer in that respect to St. Paul than Chicago. </p>
<p>As to the “vibe,” there’s a lot of cool stuff going on. Having the Eastman downtown is a huge asset. There’s an independent movie house, and Broadway shows come through on tour. There’s a lot of good food, cool little shops, etc.</p>
<p>Can anyone provide insight on how the two’s engineering schools compare and contrast?</p>