<p>im wondering whether I should keep UR on my college list.
besides the cirriculum I cant see much good stuff about it.</p>
<p>I'm sure someone else could help more, but since nobody's replied yet, i'll take a stab:</p>
<p>The academics are great overall, as you noted. Strengths are in basically any liberal art and engineering. Lots of pre-med. #1 music conservatory in country (eastman, tied with julliard) is associated with it, though it's like 3 miles away.
A nice looking campus. It's in a legitamite city of medium size, but at the same time it's kinda off to itself by the river, so there's plenty of green space and you don't feel like you're right in the middle of new york city or something scary like that. I personally really like the city of rochester.
Overall very friendly seeming atmosphere. The people are quite nice. Not really a party school like ASU or something but there are parties i hear. Yes, parties are at frats but they are not dominated by elitism or anything. Parties are open to anyone. Campus is very safe, too, if you're obsessed over that.
Also it seems like rochester has made some nice moves in terms of administration. The General Education requirements are basically entirely dispanded, which is great and allows a lot of freedom between topics. They've got this "take 5" program which is a FREE fifth year after graduation. Not sure why you would want to do it, but hell, it's free.
They offer merit aid, too. The <em>recomended</em> deadline for some scholarships is passed, so you might be out of luck for a few of them.
Also, it's a well-rounded university but at the same time it's small and undergrad oriented, so it's somewhat LAC-like.</p>
<p>I dunno if this has helped you any, but I think rochester is a really awesome school. I've never heard anyone say anything bad about it.</p>
<p>Ok-- do not question the awesomeness of Rochester.</p>
<p>Basically, I made this huge college list and one of the 50 schools listed was rochester. I didn't think much of it at first-- I thought it was cold and not prestigious at all and that there was no point in going to it when I had some great schools much closer to home that were warm.</p>
<p>Then I actually visited the school. Upon doing this, all of my preconceptions vanished, and I fell in love (if it were possible to fall in love with a school, that is :) ). I loved the atmosphere-- close enough to the city to provide a cultural outlet, but secluded enough that there would be plently of people just wanting to chill on the weekends. The academics were awesome-- and pre-med is especially strong, as is engineering. The people are amazing-- my female tour guide was wearing sneakers and cut-offs with the required rochester polo. Almost every other person I saw was also dressed in a laid back fashion. The people for the most part seemed incredibly friendly, and I remember seeing the guides laughing amongst themselves, although you could tell they weren't in the same social groups, somehow they were. I felt like anyone could fit in there. And then the people in my info session seemed kind of nerdy, yet laid back-- a lot like the tour guides who were leading us around. Overall, I felt that I had found my place.</p>
<p>When I went back to visit for an overnight and class visit, I fell in love all over again. It felt like I had returned home, and my host was very similar to myself, showing my that I would fit in well there. We baked cookies-- without a whisk-- and watched patch adams and played mariokart. Not stressful or overwhelming at all, like I had imagined an overnight would be. the class I sat in on was actually very interesting-- organic chem-- and I found that I could understand a lot of what was being said. </p>
<p>I just felt right there, and since I applied ED and was accepted, I know I be going to the school of my dreams :)</p>
<p>I advise visiting-- it's not nearly as publicized or sought-after as it should be. If you can live without the pretige of the ivys, definitely consider it.</p>
<p>Hmmm...I really want to apply ED to Rochester and be a pre-med there...but then again I want to go to JHU and be a pre-med (more prestige than anything honestly). I am really thinking about it...I know ED II offers scholarships whereas RD does not. I may be deferred to RD which may not be completely terrible. I am at a crossroads in my life and I have only 6 days to make my choice that will affect the rest of my life. If anyone wants to help me out in my decision, I am more than welcome to any insight!</p>
<p>Robotab - What a great report on URochester. You should post a version of it on CC's College Visit forum. We never made it up there -- it was on S's original list, but distance was a little too much of a factor. Good luck, and hope you have a great freshman year!</p>
<p>JHU is no doubt a great pre-med factory with a lot of pretige. However, my Dad went there and really regretted his decision. He said the professors didn't care at all about the students-- they were there to pursue their own research and the teaching was just in the way. The students were overly competitive-- an unknown person scrapped an entire lab simply because he or she was not doing well even though the lab was nearing the end of 2 weeks worth of work. Also, people ripped pages out of textbooks in the library that they knew other people would need to study simply because it would help their own grade on the curve.</p>
<p>Basically, I ruled out JHU onl;y after strong deliberation. I knew that as a legacy, I would have a slightly easier time of admissions, and I knew that going there would pretty much ensure my success as a doctor so long as I did fairly well academically. However, I realized that the environment would not be right for me and that I wanted a place that would allow me to grow both academically and socially. This place was not JHU-- it was Rochester.</p>
<p>My Dad actually said that he would have chosen Wake Forest or Muhlenberg for me if he had the final say, which he doesn't :). He liked that fact that I could get a great education at Muhlenberg and would most likely have an easy time with classes and rise to the top of my class, thus ensuring my future success. He loved the atmosphere of Wake Forest-- he's very into the "collegiate" feel and Wake is so beautiful-- definitely a product of years of weath generated from the south's tobacco crops. He actually would not have me go to Rochester-- too cold and too far away (6 hours). However, to him college was not centered about the social reltionships that he formed, which basically was the larger appeal of Rochester.</p>
<p>Without the students, I most likely would have chosen JHU, but a school id strongly defined by those who attend.</p>
<p>Consider how big of a factor everything plays in your decision-- academics, closeness to home, social life, etc, and choose the school that is the strongest in the areas that you find crucial to YOU specifically. If prestige is the largest factor, then you've already made your decision. Also, no one can deny that JHU is a pre-med factory-- you have a greater chance of being a doctor by attending JHU, though this is not a huge difference, and a good student will fare well many places.</p>
<p>Use studentsreview.com as a resource to help make your decision. Consider other schools as well if you're not completely sure.</p>
<p>You will most likely not be any more certain of what you want from a college in May, so that's a big reason why I really pressured myself to decide early-- so I could have a slight edge on admissions at the school of my dreams. Also, I know that Rochester will only give you merit aid if you apply ED or by Dec. 1st, so if you want any at all you have to apply ED. This excludes financial aid of any sort. Also, don't quote me on this-- just a tidbit that I think I remember reading, though I'm not 100% positive.</p>
<p>I appreciate the advice Robotab. I think I am just going to apply RD for all schools and keep my options open come April/May. Is JHU really that cutthroat? I read some student journals on the JHU forums/website and everyone that posted said that JHU was not at all like that. Anyway, thanks for the advice. I think that I will give my SAT's one last shot to see if I can get into JHU, if I don't perform as well as I need to, then I probably will be attending UR (Lets hope I get accepted)!</p>
<p>You will get accepted to Rochester if they see that you have the capability for greatness, which is not necessarily determined by scores or GPA. The acutally do look at the app. holistically, which is evident from my acceptance :)</p>
<p>Also, I've heard how JHU really isn't as cutthroat as people say, though I personally can't even imagine going to a school that is reputed to be like this. Obviously the rumors stem from somewhere and perhaps it's just that the people attending take the level of competitiveness for granted. I'd much rather do group study sessions than have to study alone b/c everyone else fears that I'll do better on the curve if they help me. My dad's experiences alone were enough to validate my not applying there. </p>
<p>Didn't matter anyway b/c of Rochester though :)</p>
<p>Waiting b/c you want to raise your SAT scores is a good idea since you're still undecided at this point.</p>