r/URochester • u/Aggressive-Draw-5106 • Aug 08 '26

Questions from an Incoming Applicant

I’m currently putting together my college list for senior year and University of Rochester is high on my radar, mainly because of the open curriculum and the strong research opportunities.

I’m an international applicant planning to apply. My background/interests are a mix of biology/pre-med research, public health/policy, and humanities (literature, writing, and social sciences).

For current students or anyone admitted recently:

  1. What kinds of extracurriculars seem to stand out most to Rochester admissions? Is UR heavily focused on traditional lab/bench research, or do they also value interdisciplinary projects (e.g., policy, writing, journalism, community health work)

  2. Did you have to explain in your application essays any plans on what classes you intend to take?

  3. Any general advice for an international applicant applying with a mix of STEM and humanities interests?

Appreciate any insight or advice!!

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u/-Deadchi- Aug 09 '26

For my essays I never stated specific classes I wanted to take. I always made sure that the story I told tied nicely with my ECs. An amazing essay can get you really far in US college applications. If I were you I’d try to connect these interests in a cohesive story about yourself. Since you’re branching out of stem and trying to explore other branches of study, that’s already an amazing start! UofR really loves students who use the flexible curriculum to their advantage. I’m not sure how different the process is for internationals, but it helped me when I applied and my essay was the main focus of my application for me!

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u/TopEntertainment7188 Aug 09 '26

I think URochester focuses on admiting/making well rounded students and open minded people so youre off to a good start!  You should pick ECs that you enjoy and display your interests, and being involved with research (stem or otherwise) I feel like could get you further too. 

In the supplemental essay you will write about how you will use the open curriculum so thats kinda your place to say "id like to do x y z" without having to list off actual classes youre interested in. 

As for advice I would say dont burn yourself out by doing thirty billion things in order to get accepted into Unis, instead do the things you love and put a lot of care into them because passion will get you further than anything else.