University of Rochester Top Questions

The best thing about this school is that everything could be so easy, if you weren't an engineering major or on a pre-med track. These intended studies have a mandatory curriculum, so while the school boasts that you can slap together a proposal of study and show how each is relevant to your end-goal, you can't make up your own chemical engineering major. Besides that, forget how smart you thought you were, and prepare to be humbled by your peers. Besides just here, but in life there will always be some one who knows what you don't. There is competition, as there should be, but it isn't cut-throat, and if anything it promotes learning, collaboration, and trust. For lecture classes, participation isn't really expected, but in classes with a 10:1 student instructor ratio, your voice is expected to be heard.

Academics are obviously rigorous, but the open curriculum allows students to avoid classes they really don't like. So, students get to take courses they want to enroll in and actually like.

The classes at UR generally range from academically stimulating to downright difficult. You'll surely end up taking a few 'easy A' courses (depending on your major, possibly a couple more than your friends), but in generally speaking, expect to do a good amount of studying and writing -- there are no easy majors. One of the most unique aspects of UR's academics is how we handle required courses. Get this: there are no gen ed requirements at UR! Instead, we take clusters -- groups of courses geared toward some interest outside of our major -- to fulfill something akin to gen ed's. I'll spare you all the details in this brief description, but suffice to say it's definitely a unique system. One of the things that drew me to UR was my major. It's called Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and in my experience it's a pretty rare major. It's a flexible degree that basically falls somewhere in between neuroscience and psychology. My work is closer to the neuroscience side of things, but unlike a neuro major, I get to spend my time learning about how the brain works, rather than how individual synapses and protein channels work. Pretty cool stuff! My favorite class, and one of the more unique ones I've taken at UR, was called The Intelligent Eye. We got to learn about the anatomy of the mammalian eye, learn about how the brain processes several aspects of the visual world, and go on several lab visits to see firsthand how researchers are studying this stuff. My least favorite class was probably Calculus 162 (if you took AP Calc in high school, this class would be your next step), but this class is pretty much the same from university to university; I'm just NOT a math person. It's tough to make generalizations about professors, since at any school the range of personalities will be vast. Overall though, I've found my professors to be very personable, knowledgeable and most importantly, willing to help. My advice would be to build a rapport with few of your profs, not all of them. I've even shared a beer with one of my favorite professors (don't fret, I was over 21). Students are competitive, but more importantly, they're engaging. I've stumbled into conversations about everything from astrophysics to what it means to appreciate art, and I love that there's that type of ambiance around student conversation at UR.

Classes are small and there is definitely very good professor-stuent interaction. Most of the small classes are run in a workshop setting, where students are allowed to learn interactively. Students are very academically oriented and competitive. However, Rochester was one of the first places to run workshops, and students here respect that and reflect this environment by studying together and sharing knowledge. Biology, Optics, engineering, as well as economics and political science are some of the strong fields. Research in biology, psychology and optics are big in our school.

The academics at University of Rochester are great. However, due to significant amount of research the professors have to do in this school, sometimes they are not as focused about teaching their classes, or put 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} into their lectures. Students here study quite a bit, I know some people who study on Friday and Saturday nights, and that is challenging. My major is chemical engineering and our department is on the small side, mostly because of the number of students who are part of it. The department has its own building and several laboratories, that are open to undergraduates and graduate students. Students who choose to interact with their professors, do so. Similar thing happens to intellectual conversations outside of class. Some students are not as focused on interacting with others about intellectual topics, while some are extremely passionate, and get into some big debates regarding variety of topics.

The academics at Rochester are not for the faint of heart. The school is undoubtedly known for strong engineering and science programs, but also has strong programs in the humanities. The academic requirements are pretty loose, which allows you to take almost anything you want. I have strong relationships with most of my professors which allows me to talk about the material outside of a classroom setting as well as other current issues. In order to succeed at the highest level, a large amount of time needs to be devoted to your studies.

Humor writing, hands down. We not only got to give presentations on our favorite comedy writers/shows/authors, but we learned how to write and be funny. It really make reading things like the Onion and the daily show an art-and I'll never forget taking that class.

Humor writing, hands down. We not only got to give presentations on our favorite comedy writers/shows/authors, but we learned how to write and be funny. It really make reading things like the Onion and the daily show an art-and I'll never forget taking that class.

We get a rep for being a science/engineering school here, so English majors sometimes don't get the respect we probably deserve. I'm personally on the English Lit track and intend to become a college professor myself some day, but I've also gone through almost all of the Creative Writing classes, not to mention my brief stints in Computer Science and Psychology. I can't speak for professors in other departments, but the English professors are top notch here. They win all sorts of teaching awards and are nationally recognized as researchers. I've been to academic conferences (that the college has completely paid for for me to attend) at which the heads of international academic societies have expressed their extreme regrets that my adviser could not be there. Even better: if and when this happens, it will be the absolute FIRST time you realize how professionally important your adviser is. My adviser had always struck me as a brilliant academic and professor, but he wasn't at all arrogant about it. I've been to dinner at his house multiple times. He's driven me to off-campus events, introduced me to out-of-town scholars, spent summers helping me conduct my research for no benefit to him whatsoever. I know his wife, his kids, his grandchildren, and his favorite desserts. He is not the only professor for which these things are the case. That's what you get here, down-to-earth professors who take the utmost interest in their students' lives and progress... who also happen to be academic rock stars.

Students are passionate about their studies, and it shows. Professors in most departments care about getting to know students, even in large classes. That's definitely less true in some departments, but it is true of the majority. Clusters are a huge part of academics. We have NO REQUIREMENTS! Rarely are classes closed to only majors, so anybody can take any class they want. Clusters are the heart of our curriculum; basically, every student has to take 3 classes in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. That's it! http://rochester.edu/College/CCAS/clusters/ for more.

Lots of students are very type A and they work for good grades. It's a friendly competitive most students wouldn't hesitate to help each other out. Classes range widely in size I've taken a large 101 class with 90 people and a 200 level English class with 4 people. The cluster system is awesome. There's only one general education requirement a writing class, taken during your freshman year. After that you need to take 3 related classes in each field Humanities, Social Science and Natural Science. Your major covers one field and after that it's up to you. It's hard to end up taking many classes you don't like. Designing your own major or minor is really easy. Unless you are in engineering there's plenty of time for electives or going abroad. There's lots of cool classes on the history of rock, porn, fairy tales which can serve as a break in a science heavy schedule. There's lots of opportunity for internships and my resume is much better for having attended a research university. Professors in the Natural Sciences aren't easy to get a hold of and aren't that helpful. Every other area my professors have been really easy to talk to whenever I had a problem.

This one is sort of hard, because it really depends on your major. This year, as a freshman mind you, I have a literature class with 6 people in it. It's completely amazing. However, I also have a logic lecture course with about 50 people in it, and it's probably second only to the 6 person class. And then there are a lot of classes in between. Obviously the Natural Science courses are larger- the Humanities division is much more likely to have small classes. But I've never heard of a class here with over 200 people, which is really small compared to some schools. Class participation is encouraged by all the professors I've encountered, but obviously I can't speak for all. The curriculum is Rochester's number one draw. There are three divisions, Humanities (think English, Women's Studies, Philosophy, etc), Social Sciences (Anthropology, History, Political Science) and Natural Sciences (sciences and math). You obviously need to major in one of these, and your major will have certain requirements based on what it is (English and History are probably the two most flexible; some of the sciences leave virtually no extra time for other classes), and you need to complete a "cluster" of three related courses in the other two divisions. It's really relaxed, and I love it. General education sounds absolutely terrible, and I'm so glad we don't have it here. Students are competitive, but not in a bad way. We don't attack each other to make ourselves look good. It's more like "let's have an intellectual conversation". I've heard a few intellectual conversations going on in the halls and on the quad, but I don't think they're really common. Then again, I doubt they are at many universities. There's a pretty large amount of work that goes into our classes, and once the homework is done you need a break.

I've had classes with over 300 other students and classes with only 5. Intro classes are generally large, but as you get more advanced and specialized, that will change. Rochester advertises the fact that all professors are required to do research as well, but it's important to look at this fact from another perspective: all researchers at the University are required to teach. Unfortunately, this rule makes it much more likely that you will have professors who are not meant to teach. I've been at this school two years and have already lost count of the number of professors I've had who, though they are very smart people, cannot teach.

The University of Rochester takes academics very seriously, and we have been called a "new Ivy League" school status; implying that the methods used in the classroom and demands of the students are very vigorous. As a result many of the classes are very cut-throat and competitive, which is not a surprising reaction at a school filled with students who were at or near the top of their high school graduating classes. The Rochester curriculum provides fantastic opportunities for students to explore the different divisions of academia, of which anyone who attends here should take advantage. With the Cluster system rather than multiple required courses such as gym that all the students must take, students have the ability to choose something that they like or at least can tolerate instead of putting up with tedious required courses.

There is a mixture of large lecture hall classes where the professors probably don't know your name, and small classes where they definitly will. The vibe on campus is less intelectual and more studious. The nice thing is that the academic requirements are very flexible. There aren't hoops to jump through in order to take most classes unless they are higher level classes. The campus itself is extreemly studious. It's totally common to see people studying at all hours of the night in the study locations on campus which are open 24hrs a day (there are two).

I really do like the freedom in the academics at the university and the classes themselves are quite good. I have not had that much personal interaction with my professors which I would like to improve upon, but many of my classes so far have been big lectures. It's also a little hard to find your way in that area as a freshman who is undecided because you really have no idea what to take. The advisors are as helpful they can be but they are just general advisors, the real ones come when you have settled on a major and picked a department. Also, the professor really makes the class. I have had some classes that could have been a lot better had I been more enthusiastic about the professor. I also really like the writing class requirement, for it's help with essay-writing, but even more so for the interesting theme's they come up with. It's a great break from everything else that you're studying, and for me, it really gave me a hint as to something I was passionate about and maybe should look more into, because for the first time I enjoyed writing essays!

The cluster system is amazing. It lets you explore new and exciting topics. Professors are generally easy to get a hold of. The only exception would be the huge freshman lecture classes, but in those classes you have T.A.s that are more than happy to meet with you. The music department at Rochester is awesome. It's pretty small, but I like it that way because you get to know all the professors really well and they get to know you. Also having the resources at the Eastman school of music is an amazing oppertunity that only Rochester can provide.

The biggest downside to the campus size, in my experience, is that we have fewer courses each semester than bigger schools. You won't necessarily be able to find that narrow speciality course on the one decade of Albanian history that really fascinates you or whatnot. For its size, though, the course offerings are pretty good, and the Rochester Curriculum gives you tons of flexibility. Speaking of the Rochester Curriculum... It's awesome! General ed requirements sound like a horrible idea, and they don't exist at Rochester. You have to take either a major, minor or cluster (3 related courses) in each of 3 broad thematic areas. Plus, you have to meet your major/minor requirements and take one freshman writing class. Other than that, it's up to you! With 32 classes in a normal full-time schedule over 4 years, and many majors taking less than half that many to complete (Poli Sci takes 12. History takes 10. Math/sciences usually take a lot more), there's usually tons of room (for Humanities/Social Sciences majors, anyway) to take random classes just for fun. There's a wide difficulty range between different classes. If you plan your schedule entirely around easy grades, you could probably get a 4.0 without too much difficulty with a moderate amount of work. In some classes, you'll be buried to the neck in work just to pull a B. It pays to ask around, or to use various online resources to pick profs and classes. As with the classes, students' grade consciousness varies a lot, too. There are a fair number of GPA competitive students trying to go to law school, grad school, etc. There are also a fair number of students who could care less so long as they don't get kicked out or lose their scholarships/grants. As I said, there's a wide range in class difficulty, so if you want a challenge it's there, but if you want to coast through you probably can do that as well. As with difficulty, classes range a lot in terms of quality of discussion. I've taken some classes with discussion that was, in my opinion, easily grad school level. I've taken some classes where, every time certain students opened their mouths, I began to fantasise about jabbing my pen deep into my eye socket to poke a hole in my brain and end the misery. Smaller, higher level classes are obviously more conducive to good discussion. There are a variety of classes in the Comp Lit department that are usually under 20 students with over half grad students. These classes are awesome if you like good discussions and knowledge for its own sake. They will also never help you get a job outside teaching ;) The Quest courses offered to incoming freshman are great. I took the one on Nonviolence, and it's one of the best classes I've ever taken. I've heard mostly good things about the other ones, too. If you find one that interests you, I highly suggest signing up for one.

The best thing about the academics at Rochester is the fact that you don't have to take any prerequisites except for a writing course your freshman year. Other than that, you only have to take the courses for your major and 'clusters'. Clusters are sets of three related courses that have to be in the two fields that are not in your major. For instance, if you were majoring in psychology, that is a social science, so you would have to take two clusters, one in the humanities and one in the natural sciences. They can be any three courses of your choice as long as they have some relation to each other. The professors, at least in the biology and math departments, are incredible people. They are always willing to answer questions and make themselves available. The best class I ever took was Organic Chemistry, which sounds crazy, but because of small groupwork called workshops, I was able to master the material without ruining my sophomore year. Group work is very common and we have many communal studying centers in Rochester, and one is even open 24 hours. The one problem about academics at Rochester is that I think people study too much and don't know how to study correctly. People are constantly in the library, and in the end may not do as well. This is probably typical of every school, but many people will sacrifice their social life completely at Rochester for the sake of academics. Getting an education from U of R looks great in the professional world and will set you on the right path to a great career.

Great. We have an amazing literary classics, biology, writing (who knew), ASL, and political science department. We have great teachers, but that varies. you'll learn who to stay away from and who you MUST take. Education is particular to your major and students are competitive, but will help each other out - at least, in the humanities division. Students do a lot of allnighters and procrastinate in the library, sometimes amping out there, but usually it involves playing video games. Rochester students have dance parties, drunk fests, themed parties, moustache parties...all depending on what group you find.