University of Rochester Top Questions

I have had multiple classes with under twenty students which I think is great, and even in my larger lecture classes (never surpassing 200, which is actually quite a low number) active participation is encouraged. My favorite class right now is definitely my History of the Beatles class which is working toward a cluster in music. The cluster system is awesome because you can take care of requirements while still doing things that actually interest you. The intellectual conversations I have with students outside classes are definitely fulfilling and everyone has something to contribute to everyone else.

I can't speak for every department, but in the English department, many of the professors are charismatic and enthusiastic. If you want them to know you on a name-basis, you hae to make a genuine effort, though. The music department fails in its ability to push students in their abilities; because of the Eastman school of music, which many U of R students can take advantage of (I took guitar lessons there but did not this year-- many people there seem stuck up), the university department has limited space for practicing (esp. for bands), and not enough ensembles to serve everyone who wants to join. In high school I was interested in visual arts but was unable to pursue them here because the art building caters to only art majors. This school is meant for science-oriented majors.

I would say that about half of my professors know my name, especially in the departments where I have taken a lot of classes. You have to study enough at UR, not too much, you can still have a life, but I guess that depends on your major.

Most of my professors know my name, but it's harder when you're in intro level classes that are huge. Favorite class was Speaking Stones in the Mt Hope Cemetery, where we toured and learned about the people buried there. It was amazing, not creepy as you may think. We researched people and did presentations. Chemistry classes are the worst here...they are HARD! MANY intellectual conversations go on outside of class, everyone here is so smart. Students are not competitive here, I don't believe. I am a philosophy/pre-law major and I love all the professors in the department. They are all always willing to help you with anything! I don't really see them outside of class or office hours. Rochester's academic requirements are amazing. The clusters are great to do and choosing your own plan is so much better! The education here couldn't prepare you more for the real world.

to be brief, the classes are above average. Class is class, but lectures on the whole are interesting and pertinent. Most if not all my professors know who I am, and are willing to meet with me whenever I need to.

I love Rochester because students are, in general, pretty smart, but no one brags about it or acts competitive at all. Thats definitely a benefit over big-name schools like the Ivy's, people want to do well, but not at the expense of their friends. Honestly, I think I've participated in less than 5 "intellectual" discussions in my time here. I distinctly remember the first one, the spring of freshman year a bunch of us ended up talking about philosophy and religion for many hours into the night, and were then really excited that we had finally done something so "collegey." There are TONS of freshmen who are pre-med bio majors (pre-med is not a major of its own). By junior year, there are significantly fewer. The stereotypical progression is pre-med to econ to psych. I know several people who have made exactly those changes in their major. With all the people who think they want to do bio at the beginning, the intro bio and chem classes are pretty big. Of course, most all of the science classes I have taken thus far have workshops as well, so in addition to 3 lectures a week you have a 2 hour timeslot where you meet in small groups with an undergrad TA and generally do problems. Now all the science professors love these and constantly tell us how educational research shows how great they are, and it's true you often do learn a lot more in workshop than lecture, but they are usually in the evening and kind of painful to go to. College literature often emphasizes small class size and not having students as TAs, but it's really kind of nice to have someone not so intimidating you can ask questions and complain about the professor to in workshop. It's also a really good job/resume booster for people who did well in the class. If you get a 4 or a 5 on the AP biology test you can take an alternative freshman biology sequence, which I did and although the first semester is fairly difficult it was very interesting. The professor, Dr. Platt learned everyone's names within a few weeks (over 100 people). I had him again for biochemistry and he again, new the 250+ students' names. I got a job working as a dishwasher at the beginning of freshman year, which was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I have continued working there, moving my way up to doing research, and I adore the professor and everyone else at the lab. There is an annual lab holiday party at the professor's house, and I've gone out to lunch, the movies, and a bar with them on various occasions. I have not done this with any of my other professors, although I think people who are TAs for professors get to know them pretty well too. The school likes to brag that the only required class is the writing requirement, CAS 105, which is true. That was probably one of my least favorite classes ever, but I know some people who have taken fun ones too. Basically it depends on the professor and topic, because there are a lot to choose from. Prepare yourself for lots of BS writing assignments in that though. The whole cluster system for a liberal arts education is actually really cool. The college is divided into 3 groups: social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. To graduate, you have to have a major, a minor, or a cluster in each of those groups. A cluster just consists of 3 somewhat related classes. I started a cluster in linguistics, which I knew nothing about, and now I'm minoring in that. Out of all the classes available in those groups, usually people can find three that interest them.

The poli sci dept. is great! It had a lot of opportunities for students to get really cool internships, like at the EU or in Congress.

Depending on class size,

When I was first told about Rochester all the tour guides talked about was how the class sizes were so small and the professors were very personable. I have personally only had 1 class that was under 20 students. The rest of my classes are all large lecture halls with 200 plus students.

Rochester tricks you into thinking you don't have to have any kind of structure to your academics- but you do. And it's a good thing, otherwise I probably would still be taking 4 different courses in 4 different departments each semester. The loose structure allows you to pick your requirements, fulfilling studies in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Aside from that, you're going to be hard pressed to find a really superior education to the one you get at UR, from the professors to the courses themselves.

I still get surprised when my professor makes such an effort to learn the names of every student in the class. There are exceptions to this of course (classes of over 100 students) but I had a few teachers that remembered the names of 70 students in the class. This is a school where people go to class, even if there is a crazy party the night before so needless to say there are close relationship with the teachers here. Students study alotttt. This was quite intimidating when I first got here because it is so competitive. With the exception of some easy classes, most grades are on a curve and therefore you are competing with your classmates and when most students study 15-30 hours a week, it is intimidating. However, this is not a school where students try to succeed by stepping on someone else's back (a friend of mine got their textbook stolen at another University of the week of finals just so they wouldn't do well on the final exam.) Every class offers support from TA's and from the professors (office hours) and I found that in most classes the students come together to form large study sessions which can be very beneficial. I am a double major in Math and Economics. It is very common for people to choose that double major so I ended up taking many of the same classes with the same people. That is even more true with other majors that have less flexibility such as Engineering where there is a strict class schedule and so you are likely to take almost all your classes with the same people throughout your four years. Economics and Math are both very flexible not only in terms of what classes to take, but when to take them and so you are rarely faced with a situation where you have to take a class that you absolutely don't want to and that brings me to my next point. The lack of academic requirements are my favorite part of the academic life here. Some people choose a liberal arts education for a reason but if you choose to go to a non-liberal arts school I feel that you shouldn't have a liberal arts-like education and that is what rochester does. Outside of your major, there are almost no requirements and that leaves students with the ability to choose what they want to learn and for those that have only one major, that leaves them with plenty of room to explore the curriculum and study some interesting things they've always wanted to learn.

What I love about Rochester is that students can work in a collaborative environment. It is not cutthroat and students do not try to sabotage or manipulate each other when it comes to grades or classes. Students are constantly studying together or helping each other out with assignments and research. We all mutually support each other and want to see each other succeed. I find myself learning even more by working with others than working individually.

I only have a few professors that know my name and these are classes in the humanities. If you are a science major, classes are always big and you have to take the initiative to talk to the profs. Classes will consist of you sitting in a lecture and taking notes.

Professors of small classes know my name, but as a pre-med most of my classes have over 150 students so proffesors do not know my name. My favorite class currently is my CAS class because i get to discuss my opinion of shakespear's classic Twlfth night. My least favorite class is my biology class because I feel that the class is taught in an unexciting way and seems to be taught under our level of understanding. Students at Rochester are very focused on their grades but so not seem to be competative with others. I also think the requirements at rochester are amazing because they allow for people like me to double major while being able to enjoy the other social aspects of college.