The University of Rochester, in Rochester, NY, is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university offering undergraduate and graduate programs.
The Basic Facts
- One of the smallest and most collegiate among top research universities
- Average class size: 21
- 10:1 student to faculty ratio
- 98% of undergraduate classes are taught by faculty
- Over 200 academic majors offered within 8 schools and colleges
Distinctions and Priorities
- Students are authors of their own education. Rochester has an open and extremely flexible general education curriculum and requirements. Students have the freedom to choose classes of interest to them in three broad areas: the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. And because students choose classes of greatest interest to them, engagement and discussion in these classes is lively because students want to be there.
Additionally, students can select a cluster of courses related to a particular interest or theme. As one of the senior admissions staff emphasized, “Students are the authors of their education. Our flexible curriculum and extraordinary research opportunities heighten student engagement in the classroom and around campus.”
The only required class is a first-year writing class which provides students 30-40 options to meet the requirement. The flexibility of the curriculum also makes it easy for U Rochester students to double major — and 45% of students choose to do so. This also makes it easier for students to study abroad even if they are taking engineering or other classes in the STEM fields given the flexibility of the curriculum. - Research opportunities come in all shapes and sizes at Rochester and are pursued by students across disciplines in the form of self-directed research, faculty-led research, mentorship by faculty, and paid research experiences. This
all happens on a campus that is much smaller than many national research universities, making connections with professors, mentors, and students easier. - Eight-year combined degrees — BA/BS+ MD and BA/BS + DDS — are offered in medicine and dentistry. These are highly competitive programs and typically only about 10 students are admitted to each program every year.
- Five-year programs allow students to take something of interest to them in the year five without having to pay tuition for the extra year. For example, a student may have an entrepreneurial idea about a startup business and can pursue a project in the year five that enables that student to get the project off the ground.
U Rochester Community
- University of Rochester is divided into three campuses: the main 154-acre River Campus where the majority of undergraduates live and study, the Eastman School of Music at a downtown campus located in the heart of Rochester’s cultural district, and the U Rochester Medical Center located minutes south of the main campus.
- 25% of students participate in Greek life on campus, but there are no fraternity or sorority houses on campus.
- 70% of faculty are involved in research across disciplines which increases the opportunities for students to be involved in research of interest to them.
- 30-35% of students come from New York and 30% of the enrolling class comes from other countries.
Admissions Information
- 20,130 undergraduate applications for the fall of 2018.
- Increase of 10.5% in undergraduate applications for fall 2018.
- Rochester encourages students to interview and wants to interview as many prospective students as possible (open May 1 to January). Admissions reps conduct 20-minute interviews to get to know students.
- Admissions options: ED I binding, 11/1; Priority deadline 12/1 to be considered for need-based financial aid and merit scholarships.
- 71 percent of students receive merit aid scholarships. However, a senior admissions officer noted that “Merit aid has been significantly reduced this year (2018). We can’t guarantee as many students will receive merit scholarships in the future.
- Average GPA and test scores for admitted applicants: 3.82 unweighted, 1410 SAT, and 32 ACT scores.
- GPA and test scores of students placed on the wait list: 30 ACT score, just under 1400 SAT. For the fall of 2018, 3400 students were placed on the wait list.