University of Rochester Top Questions

Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

Madeline

While Rochester students are dedicated to their academics, they also know how to have fun. There are definitely opportunities for all types of students in terms of events. Also, the students are not just interested in the sciences. The arts and humanities also have a prominent presence on campus.

Madeline

While Rochester students are dedicated to their academics, they also know how to have fun. There are definitely opportunities for all types of students in terms of events. Also, the students are just interested in the sciences. The arts and humanities also have a prominent presence on campus.

Alice

The nerdy part is true. As for rich most people are middle class and up, but there's quite a few people from lower income families. The financial aid packages are pretty generous.

Erika

No! Ok, we are pretty nerdy here, but we're more like the really relaxed nerds- we do study hard, but we're not obsessive about it. And the social thing is ridiculous. There's a million things to do on campus! We're not RIT, we're New Ivy. lol

Tessa

Unfortunately these stereotypes are true in most circumstances, but thankfully not all. I for one am not the stereotypical Rochester student, I did not choose Rochester because I didn't get into an Ivy league school but rather it was one of my top choices. And for the stereotype about the University, it seems to be true for much of the larger natural science courses, where they try to make it as cut-throat and challenging as possible, but there are a select few who in fact try to establish relationships with their students.

Rose

unfortunately they are very accurate.

Hannah

n/a

Ryan

As I said, we don't really have stereotypes. The description I gave above is pretty accurate, otherwise I wouldn't have written it :P

Laurel

For the most part

Jeremy

For the most part. I mean, there are always exceptions, and mostly everyone is friendly and down to earth. However, these stereotypes come through because the student body feeds into them and supports them. Also, 'unofficial' cliques form, but you can't prevent that.

Alana

Sadly, I would say yes

Laura

1) It is cold, December through March, no denying that. On the plus side, it makes you study more. Also, its not too bad if you prepare yourself well: layers, a good wind-breaking winter coat, boots, gloves, you'll be all set. 2) I'd like to say we work hard and party harder. If you want to study all the time you can, if you want to party all the time you also can do that, everyone finds their own balance that suits them. 3) Though many of us are science/engineering majors and would proudly sport the title of nerd, we are definitely the coolest nerds you will ever meet. I'm a physics and astronomy major and a TI (classifying me as a class A nerd) who is also a DJ and has a passion for people watching (some call it anthropology). Just come to campus and talk to some people and you will see that we are nerdy enough to be good at what we do but are people savvy enough to talk to you about what we do and love.

Brittany

Yes and no. It is hard, but if you work hard and do your best it is definitely doable. Also one of the great things is balance of studying and having fun; at Rochester we truly have the perfect balance.

Ryan

Mostly True. Somewhat True. School is, most students not really. TRUE TRUE Mostly/Somewhat True, majors dictate certain requirements and for engineer students FALSE TRUE TRUE

Diana

They can be very accurate if you do not make active attempts early on to be social. A lot of times it depends on who lives on your freshman floor or hall. It is likely that you will become very close with these people. However, only two of the girls on my all-female freshman hall became friends with me. Other halls (especially coeds) were more outgoing, and I can see that they are still close friends to this day. "Why is Mary-Sue hanging out with the basketball team?" "Oh, they lived on the same freshman hall." Many people, especially girls, choose to join a Greek organization. It is often these organizations that set up parties and bar nights. However, there are many other organizations on campus that allow for social interaction as well. And yes, a lot of the time, people will say "I can't, I have to study."

Kelsey

Only Monday through Friday

Kendall

Yeah, even though I'm not really. But its cool cause everyone still knows how to party and have a good time.

Sandy

The students are laid back and enjoy going well in their classes, but the party scene is there and everyone knows how to have fun.

Allison

To an extent. There is a predominance of science and medical-driven students at UR. However, these students often branch out and/or change their majors, and many other departments are equally good, if not better.

Royce

its really not true at all. everybody told me before i got to rochester that i was going to be freezing especially because i'm from california but really its not that bad at all. in fact i have more positive memories of fun in the snow than horror stories of it being too cold all the time.

ethan

mostly

Holly

In general and to a large extent, no. It might apply to only a very small percentage of certain parts of the school population.

Tim

I wouldn't say that we are nerdy, but paying $47,000 a year, we are serious about studies. We do use tunnels, but when the weather is nice, EVERYONE is outside.

Emily

For about half the student body these stereotypes are accurate, but everyone can find their niche somewhere on campus through the wide array of extracurriculars Rochester has to offer.

Nathan

Rochester is a research school but all that means is that can probably help with research if you want to. There tend to be a lot of project for the science majors. As far as the nerd stereotype, it's partly true but at the same time Greek life if pretty big and a lot of students believe in the study hard and party hard mentality. You definitely have to work really hard to do well because the top 15{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students do really study all the time. But if you're ok with maybe having a 3.5 or so then you can get away with studying during the week and having some fun most weekends depending what you enjoy. There are a ton of clubs and groups which is mostly good and you can probably find at least one that interests you; this is a good way to make friends.

Sean

Rochester is not some SUNY school. It's the first thing I hear when I talk to people who aren't from around here. The education here, depending on field of study, rivals that of many of the top schools in the world. There are very few departments here that can't compete nationally with other departments. Besides that the opportunity for an undergraduate student to participate in research and other non-undergraduate level things is very high due to the UR's even more astounding graduate program. This generally applies to nearly all of the disciplines of science, music (we have the Eastman school of music one of the best music schools in the nation), political science, economics, business, African American studies, Women's studies, and so on and so forth... Many of us are Ivy rejects, however we are also people who don't like Ivy league schools because we suspect their status has gone to their head and their education isn't as great as they make it out to be. The weather in Rochester is what you make of it. If you like it to be sunny and warm all the time you might not like it. But when it is sunny here it's one of the best places to be. Heck when it is rainy it's one of the best places to be. The spring and the fall are the best times in Rochester. If you like to ski, there's a reasonable amount of snow here and in areas where there are ski slopes. Parking is a nightmare. That is very true. Not only do your chances of getting a slot are bad, you pay a stiff fine and are usually relegated to one of the farthest parking lot on...or possibly off campus.

Travis

This school is filled with people who are antisocial and generally dont do any socializing on friday/saturday night. The weather fucking sucks and its cold and snowy and WINDY all day everyday from nov-mar. The food on campus is flat out pathetic and incredibly unhealthy, the employees are miserable and very unfreindly, and the university makes no attempt to improve the quality or sevice. The sports here are terrible(im running out of synonyms for bad) the football team is the laughing stock of the school cuz they think they are the shit when they struggle to win 4 games a year, the only respectable team here is the mens basketball team, which was ranked #1, but failed to really make anything of the season.

ben

its probably accurate for probably about half of the student body, but i know a large number of counterexamples

Sarah

1.) Somewhat true. Winters are long and it can get pretty cold, but it's not as bad as people make it out to be. Just bring warm clothes and you'll be fine! 2.) No. I find that while people here are studious, intellectually curious, and serious about academics, but they are also a well-balanced bunch and definitely don't shy away from fun.

Charlie

U of R is not RIT...It is also not a state school.

Andy

somewhat, yes. however every student is not like that, but many are and should expand their social lives to gain great life experiences

Shawn

Yeah, UR has a nerdy feel, but it's more like the chill nerds from high school than the true overachievers. There is a whole range of students, and although we do have the nerds and the frat kids, we've also got a nice, though fairly small progressive community here.

Jenna

There are alot of pre-med students and alot of Biology majors, but you get your occasional Economics or Political Science major here and there. Although, the pre-med and engineering students have been known to look down upon any student who isn't majoring in science, because apparently, there is nothing else to learn. Rochester itself has completely unpredictable weather, but it's just part of the atmosphere. The winter does seem to last forever, but eventually fades.

David

See above.

Josh

Eh, depends on who you look at. It doesn't have the hottest campus ever, but there are good looking girls and not good looking girls. same goes for the guys probably.

Cristina

Absolutely not! One of the reasons I came here was because the people were so down to earth and welcoming and they honestly cared about the person coming to the school rather than the grades. When I visited other schools, they were so stuck up and boring. Rochester was unique because it was totally the opposite. In terms of weather that is true but there are tunnels so it really isn't too bad.

Alex

To a certain extent every stereotype is based in some accuracy. From my own experience the only way to gain the glorified "college experience" at the University of Rochester is to get involved in Greek life. Due to the comparatively lower numbers in attendance here, each group is extremely tight knit and open to new people. This is true despite the cliques that form in any social situation. As far as the city itself is concerned, it is pretty dead. It is considered a ghost town due to the largest industries such as Eastman Kodak and Xerox moving on or losing business. The only places worthy of a visit are the night clubs and local restaurants (Dog Town!!). There are frequent reports of muggings and strong-arm robberies, but I still feel safe enough to jog off campus with a friend.

Yell O. Jacket

We're not RIT. We're "new ivy." Lol.

Theresa

No they are not accurate. I know of people who got into scholls such as Harvard and Columbia, who chose to come here.

Dawson

I wouldn't say my stereotyping is accurate for everyone, because a lot of people who come here are assholes themselves and they get along just fine with everyone else.

Amy

No, but it is fun to live in the cold weather for some time.

Kristen

Not really.

Jesse

depends who you compare us with

Robin

while we do have a large part of the student body who pays a great deal to their studies, we still have fun, and if you want a party, you can always find one

Pat

I think that there are a lot of rich kids who are not experienced to a lot of things. I think that Rochester athletics are not given the credit they deserve most of the time.

Jesse

absolutely not

Charlie

Absolutely- but there are 5000 people here. There are PLENTY that don't fit into the stereotypes.

Harper

They are somewhat true. Rochester excels in science, but I don't think its fair to say this this is a "science school" which is something that I've heard people say in the past. I know many students who major in science but I know more that don't. Yes we are an "Ivy-League reject" school, but that is a little bit misunderstood. It is not the case that most the students here applied to most the Ivy's, got into none and then came here because it was their backup. Rather, high school student in Northern New York know about UR. That makes for a very large number of smart students that can come to UR for free if they wanted. I have seen many cases where students only applied to two school: Harvard and Rochester. We all know that Harvard has to reject "perfect candidates" (perfect SAT, 4.0 GPA, many extracurriculars) and in that case they end up here at UR and the result is an incredibly intelligent student body.

Lauren

Many students get off campus when they can. They explore the city's restaurants and shops, and many volunteer and intern in locations outside of campus. The college also offers students plenty of opportunities to explore the city through its bus and transportation system.

Cassandra

Although there are definitely some nerdy people here, I find the students here to be real. Instead of people made up of material things and lots of makeup, they are just real people interested in real things. Some people refer to that as unattractive, I find it refreshing.