About University of Rochester
Location: Rochester, NY
Undergraduate Population: 6,767
Most Popular Majors: Business, Psychology, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Economics
Motto: Meliora (“Even Better”)
Demographics:
White 40.1%
Asian/Asian American 16%
Latinx 7.8%
Black/African American 4.9%
Multiracial 4%
Native American less than 1%
History:
The University of Rochester was founded on January 31, 1850 by a convention of Baptists, alongside Madison University, which is now Colgate University. Classes began that November, with approximately 60 enrolled students, including 28 transfer students from Madison. From 1850 to 1862, the university was located at the old United States Hotel in downtown Rochester. For the next 10 years, the college continued to grow, expanding in endowment, student body, and faculty. A gift of eight acres of farmland from local businessman and Congressman Azariah Boody helped build the university’s first campus The first building on this new land, Anderson Hall, was constructed in 1862. Over the next sixty years, the Prince Street Campus grew, adding fraternity houses, dormitories, and academic buildings including Sibley Library, Eastman and Carnegie Laboratories, the Memorial Art Gallery, and the campus center, Cutler Union.
During the 1890s, a number of women took classes and labs at the university as “visitors” while not being officially enrolled. The first female students were admitted in 1900, courtesy of the efforts of famous suffragist Susan B. Anthony and Helen Barrett Montgomery. Thirty-three women enrolled among the first class in 1900, and Ella S. Wilcoxen was the first to receive a degree, in 1901. In 1955, separate colleges for men and women were merged into one university on the River Campus. In 1958, three new schools were created in engineering, business administration, and education.
In 2005, the then-President Joel Seligman announced the Meliora Challenge, a $1.2 billion capital campaign. In 2016, the university announced the Meliora Challenge had exceeded its goal, and the funds were allocated to support over 100 new endowed faculty positions and nearly 400 new scholarships. In 2021, the Sloan Performing Arts Center opened, providing space for theatrical programs, dance programs, concerts, and other activities, and serves as a home for the Institute for the Performing Arts.
Today, the University of Rochester offers more than 160 undergraduate academic programs across the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and engineering.
Notable University of Rochester alumni include actor Lance Reddick, Nobel-prize winning physicist Steven Chu, young adult fiction author Jennifer Donnelly, aerospace engineer Robert Zubrin, and Broadway composer Charles Strouse.
Traditions:
- University of Rochester students engage with the local community each year on Wilson & Eastman Day. The day is dedicated to projects that give back—including painting, gardening, and delivering meals.
- During Yellowjacket Weekend, students kick off the academic year full of school spirit. Festivities start at the Activities Fair and continue into a weekend full of giveaways, competitions, carnival games, a luau dinner, and live music.
- Boar’s Head Dinner is an annual Medieval-style dinner which starts with a procession of royalty featuring student leaders and select administrators clad in themed regalia. The community enjoys performances from student organizations, a feast, a unique reading of the “Tale of the Boar,” and a sing-along.
Noteworthy Features:
- The Take Five Scholars Program allows students to spend an additional semester or year—tuition-free—exploring interests outside their major or a topic they wish to study in greater depth. The Experiential-Five (e5) Program extends the same offer but with an entrepreneurial focus. e5 students pursue internships, undertake special projects, develop entrepreneurial plans, or launch a start-up. Both programs involve a competitive application process where students propose a course schedule, an action plan, and a faculty advisor.
- 77% of Rochester students get involved in the Undergraduate Research Programs. Opportunities include Research and Innovation Grants and publication in the Journal of Undergraduate Research.
- Students selected for the Senior Scholars Program undertake a capstone project that can range from a piece of scholarly research to a work of artistic creativity.
Admissions Profile
Average GPA: 3.76
Test Scores (mid-50% range): 1410-1520 SAT / 31-34 ACT
Admit Rate: 38.9%
Test-optional? Yes
Offers Early Admissions? Yes—Early Decision I and II
Supplemental Essays
University of Rochester’s required essay prompts:
The University of Rochester motto of Meliora – or “ever better” – deeply integrates critical core values into all that we do. These core values of equity, leadership, integrity, openness, respect and accountability define not only who we are, but also who we hope to become. Please use the space below to highlight a time, creative idea or research experience when you put into action one or more of these characteristics in order to make yourself, your community or the world ever better.
You may answer one of three ways:
Essay Response: Write an analytical or creative response of 250 words or less.
Creative Response: Upload up to three works of your own art (e.g. pictures, video, performances, literary) and use the space below to provide a brief explanation as to how the art is tied to making the world, your community and those around you “ever better.”
Research Response: Upload an abstract describing your own related research and use the space below to provide a brief explanation as to how the research is tied to making the world, your community and those around you “ever better.”
The University of Rochester asks you to talk about an experience or activity in which you made an impact on the world around you. If you choose the creative or research route, make sure that your submission is clearly connected to the questions that Rochester asks in their prompt. If you’re writing about your involvement in creating change, don’t just describe what you did–your essay should primarily focus on the impact you’ve made. Consider your interests and goals, as well as experiences that have been the most meaningful. Who were you before this experience—and who are you now because of it?
Please select one of the following prompts to respond to in 200 words or less.
American social reformer, abolitionist, writer and statesman Frederick Douglass said, “Some know the value of education by having it. I knew its value by not having it.” Explain ways in which your background, educational experience, and opportunities have directly influenced you and your ability to do good in the world. What specific moments of growth, lessons learned and resilience in your life have prepared you to promote positive change for your community and the world?
Dr. Donna Strickland, University of Rochester alum and 2018 Nobel Prize winner in Physics said, “There’s no point in me being anything other than me.” The University of Rochester encourages each student to embrace the intersectionality of their identity and create their own individual curricular path and experience. What qualities and experiences make you the best version of yourself? What unique elements of your background, perspectives, and experiences will you bring to our community?
Susan B. Anthony, champion of abolition and women’s rights, once said “Organize, agitate, educate must be our war cry.” As you look to join our community of doers and disruptors, in what ways do you envision using both the curricular flexibility and co-curricular opportunities to invoke change for marginalized groups? How has your unique lived experience shaped you and prepared you to be a changemaker here?
The University of Rochester benefactor, entrepreneur, photography pioneer and philanthropist George Eastman said, “What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are.” How have the ways you’ve spent your time enabled you to grow as a person? What challenges have helped define you and your role within your many communities?
Through these prompts, Rochester asks you to either write an essay about your identity and background or respond to a prompt about a community that has been important to you.
If there are aspects of your identity (such as race, religion, or sexual orientation) that have shaped you and who you are in meaningful ways, options one, two or three are a good choice. Consider what you want colleges to know about you. Then, choose the quote that is most tailored to your experience and resonates the most. No matter what you write about your background, your response should help University of Rochester admissions officers understand where you come from, what experiences have been meaningful to you, and how you’ll contribute to the diversity of the campus community. Don’t just mention what your background is—talk about how it has shaped you and your perspective.
If you’d rather write about a community that has been formative to your experience via the fourth option, find ways to focus on your place within the community. How long have you been involved? What is your role in this group? Why does this community matter to you? What kind of problems have you solved? Have you learned any skills that you’ve applied in other aspects of your life? You could elaborate on one narrative that showcases the difference you make, or you could include a number of events that demonstrate the progression of your growth. In either case, focus on the impact that you’ve made on the place or the people. The University of Rochester uses this type of supplemental essay to gauge what kind of community member you are and how you’d contribute to the campus environment.
For more tips on common supplemental essay prompts, see our blog post here.
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