Visit Report by dijon (Member since October 31 2006 with 1 posts) Visit Date - September 2006
Visit to University of Rochester in September 2006 by dijon (Parent of Student, HS Class of 2006)
Visit Activities:
Admissions Interview:
Yes - The counselor spent about 45 minutes with my son and he's usually not that much of a talker. Information Session:
Yes - The speaker was young, not a UR graduate but very animated, friendly and enthusiastic. Campus Tour:
Yes - We had a tour guide to ourselves and went inside the library, the student union and the gym. Classroom Visit:
No - We didn't go inside a class. The classrooms seem to be mostly on one large quad and per the tour guide are all wireless.
University of Rochester Campus:
Friendliness/Courtesy of Students: 5 - Excellent -
Our tour guide was from Hawaii! He seemed like one of the most genuine we've met. He really seemed to think about his answers. He helped make the campus seem very laid back.
Friendliness/Courtesy of Staff: 5 - Excellent -
While my son was in his interview what struck me is the staff walking by were friendly not just to me and the other guests but to each other. Several seemed to be just getting back from trips and glad to see each other. A good sign.
Appearance of Campus: 5 - Excellent -
This campus seemed like something out of a novel...big brick buildings but spaced around the quad in a nice way. Lots of grass and trees.
Building/Facilities Maintenance/Cleanliness: 5 - Excellent -
I don't think I saw a piece of trash or grafitti on campus or in town...mostly open doors. We were told that when it snows the sidewalks and roads are plowed almost immediately...sounded good!
Dormitories: -
The freshman class was much bigger than expected and no showcae room was available. Almost everyone lives on campus (brochure says 85%).
Security/Safety: 5 - Excellent -
I had no sense this was an issue. The campus is kind of an "island."
Overall Campus Impression: 5 - Excellent -
We have visited Hopkins, Georgetown, GW, Penn, BU, BC and Tufts before, and my son saw Carnegie Mellon on his own. Rochester was a surprise add-on. It's smaller/not like the rest but it turns out to be his favorite.
Off-Campus:
Area Immediately Around Campus: 4 - Very Good -
The campus is between a river and a cemetery (and the Medical Center). I didn't see much student life off campus except a sandwich shop but my son doesn't seem too concerned about that.
City/Town/Community: 4 - Very Good -
Rochester was a nicer city than I expected. The airport is convenient. We just saw a little of downtown. Supposedly the economy is in trouble because of Kodak layoffs but we saw no sign of it...there's a new soccer stadium & we saw no boarded-up
Campus Visit Notes for University of Rochester:
Visit Description:
This was my son's favorite visit so far.
Even though it has a science reputation, UR had a very laid-back feeling. The campus is not huge so the tour was slow enough to see a lot in depth and answer questions as we went. Each family had its own tour guide, a nice touch.
We were late for the beginning of the information talk, but in both the tour and later I heard that the biggest point to be made about Rochester is the "freedom" of the curriculum (more like Brown). You'd think with big pre-med and engineering the place might be very traditional and rigid, but the representative said they look for factors other than grades and test scores. My son should score at least 2200+ but does not have a 4.0 so he was glad to hear there is flexibility.
I will post other visits but this visit was the best (of 9 so far) and has made UR my son's first choice. He had an interview after the tour that he wouldn't say much about it except it was "great!" He may even go ED which he wasn't considering anywhere before.
Hotel/Lodging Recommendations or Comments:
Up and back in the same day.
Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments:
We were in a hurry so we bought sandwiches to go from a local hangout recommended by admissions...good enough but it's very popular at lunch--10 minute wait for our order.
Other Comments (Transportation, local attractions, parking, etc.):
We had just one hour to see the "city" using a driving brochure from the admissions office. It's not huge but has several museums/parks/older housing. We did see the Eastman School which is a separate part of the university--huge theatre an
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Our tour guide was from Hawaii! He seemed like one of the most genuine we've met. He really seemed to think about his answers. He helped make the campus seem very laid back.
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The freshman class was much bigger than expected and no showcae room was available. Almost everyone lives on campus (brochure says 85%).
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The campus is between a river and a cemetery (and the Medical Center). I didn't see much student life off campus except a sandwich shop but my son doesn't seem too concerned about that.