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Sort By: [Date] [Major] [Rating] Electrical Engineering  Major Salary, Salary Trend, Satisfaction, Unemployment Quite Bright I hate to resort to a cliche in my review, but that old, horribly overused statement, 'college is what you make it', fits my rochester experience perfectly. I have both loved and hated the U of R, and in retrospect, it was really my own choices that dictated how much enjoyment I had. For a majority of my first semester, I hated the place. Coming from Central New York, I was used to the weather, but it certainly didn't help my mood to trudge to class through freezing rain, snow and sleet for the latter half of the semester. I met few people, even fewer that I liked, and generally kept to myself. I had set myself up a fairly easy schedule- the mandatory writing class, calculus 1, which I had already taken in high school, and a couple introductory engineering courses. Basically, I did everything the opposite of how I should have, and I was miserable for it. Second semester, I learned my lesson, and finally took initiative to change my experience. I took harder classes, joined a fraternity (something I would never, EVER have seen myself doing in high school), and met tons of people who I connected to and enjoyed being around. It was an entirely different world, and I was amazed at how much fun I had, and how much faster the second semester went by. The entire summer after freshman year, I looked forward to going back, and couldn't wait to see the campus, rendezvous with my friends, and even get back to classes. So, the moral of the story is, if you're going to go to UR, you have to be self-motivated. No one is going to make you take a hard schedule (though often it is inevitable), explore the city, or make friends, but if you do, you will only benefit from it as a student and person. I know that many people complain about the lack of a good city. Now, I come from a semi-rural city in upstate new york, so I may be biased, but I find nothing wrong with Rochester. If you are coming from Chicago, New York, or another large city, you will undoubtedly find less to do in Rochester, but that does not mean that there's nothing to do. If you make an effort to get into the city on the weekends, you won't be disappointed. No, the social scene is not the center of the rochester experience, but why should it be? To me, it's foolish to spend $50,000 a year expecting to get trashed 5 days a week. The social aspect of Rochester is by no means raucous, but it's enough to provide a break from a hard week of classes. That being said, the music scene at both UR and in Rochester itself is excellent. UR has a direct connection with Eastman, which is by far the best music school in the area, rivaling Juilliard, Boston and the likes for all things performing arts. The fact that you, as a UR student, can take lessons from professors at this bastion of musical talent is truly an invaluable draw for the school. For the truly super-talented and super-motivated, there is even a dual-degree option, considering you are good enough at both a scholastic and musical field to get into both schools, and want to spend 4 (or 5) years with no life whatsoever. For everyone else, however, there are concerts almost every night at Eastman and surrounding areas, everything from classical to jazz and world music. UR also has its own music dept., which is still far above the standards of most research universities. If you love, or even like, music, you could do much, MUCH worse than rochester. Aside from this, it's up to you. As I said, I have both loved and hated UR, based on my level of involvement. The frats/sororities can be a great way to get involved, as they are relatively mild (by frat/sorority standards), but still introduce you to interesting, like-minded people. Academically, if you want to challenge yourself, you'll have no trouble doing so at UR. The poli-sci, comp-sci, economics/business, and health-related (pre-med, biomedical engineering)departments are all world-class, and a degree there will get you in anywhere. Even in the ECE department, I managed to get a well-paying internship after only 1 year, while most of my friends from home were flipping burgers or working for minimum wage. The teachers and classes really cater to preparation for the workplace, and if you ever need help, they have always been friendly and helpful in and out of class, in my experience. No, UR is not perfect. But, for someone like me, it's about as close to perfect as I can imagine. Could I have gone somewhere else and had just as much fun? Possibly. Could I have gone somewhere else and had the chance to study at an internationally renowned music school, while completing an engineering degree and playing in 2 orchestras and a jazz band? I doubt it. I could write forever about my Rochester experience, but that's not what this is for, and I've probably already written too much. Bottom line is, Rochester is a well-balanced university with a large number of opportunities that are ready for you to take advantage of if you take some initiative. Faculty Accessibility: A+, University Resource Use: B Have a Question? Your Response/Question:     To be informed when someone replies to your comment. (private)  More →  Aug 17 2008 1st Year Male -- Class 2011    Forward  Blog it! Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account: Just copy and paste! <script src='sr_comment.js?sckey=53614&uid=1023'></script> <a href='http://www.studentsreview.com' style='font-size:8pt;'>Data Source: StudentsReview!</a> Rate this comment: Useless (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Helpful       Save   Language - French/Spanish/etc.  Major Salary, Salary Trend, Satisfaction, Unemployment Quite Bright They make the school out to be great, however they lie about what they spend money on to students such as the renovations in the main library on campus was done last minute and haphazardly since the grant money which they had to do the project was about to expire, also they used this as an excuse to raise the tuition. Also, the wireless system on campus isn't well thought through as wireless in dorms is only available to freshman and in the 2008/2009 school year they implemented a new wireless system without reusing any of the existing infrastructure which was in place before that school year so the University wasted several million dollars to add routers to the same locations which ones where already present and then used this as an excuse to say that tuition needs to increase since they did so much to increase wireless on campus. The University is full of administrators and Teachers who are there only for a pay check and don't care about the students who are there. On top of that the students aren't allowed to unionize but have what they call a senate, which doesn't do much when decisions are made. University Resource Use: B+, Education Quality: F Have a Question? Your Response/Question:     To be informed when someone replies to your comment. (private)  More →  Jul 15 2008 2nd Year Male -- Class 2010    Forward  Blog it! Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account: Just copy and paste! <script src='sr_comment.js?sckey=52682&uid=1023'></script> <a href='http://www.studentsreview.com' style='font-size:8pt;'>Data Source: StudentsReview!</a> Rate this comment: Useless (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Helpful       Save   Finance  Major Salary, Salary Trend, Satisfaction, Unemployment Super Brilliant I think it's much better if the school pays more attention to business school. There's only one business building, and courses about investment are not suffcient. Education Quality: A+, Surrounding City: B- Have a Question? Your Response/Question:     To be informed when someone replies to your comment. (private)  More →  May 23 2008 1st Year Male -- Class 2011    Forward  Blog it! Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account: Just copy and paste! <script src='sr_comment.js?sckey=47410&uid=1023'></script> <a href='http://www.studentsreview.com' style='font-size:8pt;'>Data Source: StudentsReview!</a> Rate this comment: Useless (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Helpful       Save   Other  Major Salary, Salary Trend, Satisfaction, Unemployment Quite Bright Background: I am a third year Microbiology major, I live off campus. I will now outline the pros and cons of U of R based on my own experiences: PROS: 1. Degree Value: A degree from U of R has exponentially increasing worth, especially in sciences. Each year the academic standards increase and the University's reputation continues to skyrocket up the charts. A degree from U of R will continue to give you an employment edge over your competetors for the rest of your life. 2. Research Opportunities: U of R is a research university. There is so much exciting and groundbreaking research going and it is very easy to get involved as an undergraduate and get some valuable experience in your field. 3. Curriculum: Unlike public universities, U of R does not force you to take general education courses. You are free to choose which courses you take and which program track you want to pursue. The only course you are required to take is an introductory College Writing course but you can choose from about 50 different topics to take the course in. I took mine in Coen Brothers' films. CONS: 1. Cost/Financial Aid: Obviously U of R is really expensive. Most students here have rich parents and it is therefore not a problem. Most students who need aid receive aid. But there are a few students, myself included, who fall through the gaps of their private-university financial aid system and get completely screwed over. My mother makes less than 30,000 dollars a year and my father abandoned us about a decade ago. I expected to receive a substantial amount of aid but received absolutely none. Apparently the University is allowed to investigate into my father's net worth (which must be a lot) and use that rather irrelevant information against me. Upon appealing their decision they treated me like dirt and I almost decided not to attend, but ultimately I decided to take out private loans and attend anyways, and I am still fighting the system trying to reach justice. 2. Food: The dining choices on campus are consistently rated poorly and the meal plans are ripoffs. Many students, myself included, move off campus just to get out of the ripoff meal and housing plans the university mandates. 3. Location: If you are not familiar with Rochester, the winters are long and brutal, the city is full of crime and economic dismay, and students are often discouraged from leaving the safety bubble that is campus. MISC. COMMENTS: Social life on campus is whatever you want it to be. You basically choose your own level of involvement. There is an abundance of Fraternities, Sororities, Clubs, and Organizations to keep you busy, but if you are like me you will make most of your friends with your first year hallmates. Don't miss freshman orientation week because this is when the strongest bonds are formed. You might end up hating your room mate but you will most likely have great friends next door to go hang out with instead. Also if you are like me you will make more friends staying up all night studying with classmates than you will partying all night on the frat quad. Try to make a few friends in your classes so you can help each other study and bond at the same time. For me, the pros outweigh the cons enough that I still wanted to go here. I have made many friends and so far I have had only positive academic experiences. My personal advice: Visit the campus, try the food, look at the dorms, tour the city if you dare, speak with a faculty member in your intended major, and weigh your options. Make sure you realize that this is primarily a science institute and its strongest programs are in natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, math, etc). Our humanities programs are not quite as challenging or as reputable. Also, if you are interested in music, check out Eastman school, I have never been there but my roommate loves it and it is consistently ranked one of the top music schools in the country. Campus Maintenance: A, Faculty Accessibility: F Have a Question? Your Response/Question:     To be informed when someone replies to your comment. (private)  More →  Apr 09 2008 2nd Year Male -- Class 2010    Forward  Blog it! Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account: Just copy and paste! <script src='sr_comment.js?sckey=45982&uid=1023'></script> <a href='http://www.studentsreview.com' style='font-size:8pt;'>Data Source: StudentsReview!</a> Rate this comment: Useless (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Helpful       Save      Prev    Select Page:  1  2  3  4  5  6  7 ... 20    Next

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