Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the percentage of the student body following an engineering or premed track (and therefore needing to put in more time in class work) is likely higher at Rochester. That can be good or bad depending on the kid!

. Are you kidding me? So many kids go to Pitt for premed. There are how many UPMC hospitals and clinics within a 5 mile radius of the center of campus—Presby, Shadyside, Magee and so many others, plus that top 10 medical school right across from the basketball arena (the Petersen).

The Engineering school is steps away.

I think that there is a perception that because Pitt is an early admit, and the cost is lower, and sports are real there that it couldn’t possibly be an intellectual powerhouse. It’s solid enough, and in a great city!

That’s the other thing that I failed to mention about Pitt. It really is turning the corner hard (in a very good way), and working its way into a higher ranked offering.

pitt is a great school. But there is no question that Rochester is a "better school" Overall the student body is "better".

It would be nice if we could have a thread without bashing either school.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My impression is that Rochester has a much stronger reputation with better students. Pitt while well liked is more of a safety school.

Pitt is not a safety school, dumbass.

It was for my kid…

4 years ago Pitt's acceptance rate was over 60%. Now it's 49.xx%. So it's could be someone's safety in the past, and in reality currently is very close to a safety for a high stats kid.

I agree, anyone with a 3.9+ UW, 6-8+ APs, and a 1480+ SAT can consider Pitt a safety (not a likely) but a safety, especially if you work to show demonstrated interest.

But for a 3.8 W, 1350, no it's not a safety.

it's a safety for many. Whereas Rochester is simply NOT a safety for anyone. Rochester is a tier above Pitt...it's a better school. But if your kid likes Pitt better then that is the "better school for them". But overall, it's not really a debate which is a "better school". That's like saying Harvard and UVA are similar schools. Yes UVA is a great school, but if you compare the two, Harvard is the better school overall and 99% of people would agree

Rochester absolutely is a safety for many top kids, assuming they even are interested in applying there. If you are so big on establishing a pecking order relative to Pitt (which is more attractive to a lot of students for a host of reasons), you need to acknowledge that.

Also, your analogy is seriously wanting. Nowhere close to 99% of people would agree that Rochester is a better school than Pitt overall, if for no other reason because so many people know nothing about Rochester. The same cannot be said for Harvard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My impression is that Rochester has a much stronger reputation with better students. Pitt while well liked is more of a safety school.

Yeah, that's not my impression anymore. I'm seeing Pitt pull in more and more super high achievers. I know that a lot of high achievers do use it as a saftey, because of rolling admissions, but I'm seeing a bunch of super smart kids going there. It seems like the reputation is going up and up. It just has such positive buzz.

They may pull in more high achievers. That doesn't change that it's still a safety school for those high achievers. Pulling in more likely has to do with those "high achievers" didn't get into all the reaches they applied to and likely didn't have any true Targets either, so they had not other choices. That or they are giving them merit aid and getting them that way.

But that doesn't change the fact that Pitt is a safety school for many students. It's basically a 50% acceptance rate. Their average SAT is 1350/1360, so someone with a 1450+ and 3.9UW+ with multiple APs is using it as a safety.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My impression is that Rochester has a much stronger reputation with better students. Pitt while well liked is more of a safety school.

Pitt is not a safety school, dumbass.

It was for my kid…

4 years ago Pitt's acceptance rate was over 60%. Now it's 49.xx%. So it's could be someone's safety in the past, and in reality currently is very close to a safety for a high stats kid.

I agree, anyone with a 3.9+ UW, 6-8+ APs, and a 1480+ SAT can consider Pitt a safety (not a likely) but a safety, especially if you work to show demonstrated interest.

But for a 3.8 W, 1350, no it's not a safety.

it's a safety for many. Whereas Rochester is simply NOT a safety for anyone. Rochester is a tier above Pitt...it's a better school. But if your kid likes Pitt better then that is the "better school for them". But overall, it's not really a debate which is a "better school". That's like saying Harvard and UVA are similar schools. Yes UVA is a great school, but if you compare the two, Harvard is the better school overall and 99% of people would agree

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My impression is that Rochester has a much stronger reputation with better students. Pitt while well liked is more of a safety school.

Pitt is not a safety school, dumbass.

Their acceptance rate is 49.1%. It's pretty damn close to the official definition of "safety school" and 50%+ of the applicants are likely using it as a "safety school".

But you do you

Anonymous wrote:But why is Rochester so little known? Is it more popular with students from NJ/NY/PA?

Around here people say- huh, is that a SUNY school?

My question about Rochester has to do with the really high percentage of international students- 25%! Why do you suppose that is? I think it’s mostly kids from China and Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Rochester is a very strong STEM/engineering/Premed school. So yeah lots of the international students are China/HK/Taiwan/India exactly what you'd expect. Anyone who thinks it's a SUNY is not that bright.

Rochester is a lot like CWrU---great school but filled with kids who wanted to attend elsewhere as their top choices. And "elsewhere" is any number of T25 schools. My kid is there. of their 20+ friend group, literally ALL of them were WL or Spring admit/Fall sophomore admit at 1 or more Ivy/T25 schools. Most had that for 2-3+ schools. Roch wasn't their "first choice", but it was their Top Target school and they didn't win the Reach lottery. It's not a Safety school, like Pitt is for so many. CWRU is exactly the same---filled with T25 "rejects" and both schools joke about it. Smart kids, with drive who simply didn't get into the single digit acceptance rate schools.

It's a much better school than rankings/reputation give it. Because yeah, Rochester is NOT where most of them want to remain post graduation. Great place for 4+ years, but not to actually start a career, there are more exciting places.

Can’t go wrong with either. if financially feasible I think it just comes down to where your kid can picture himself thriving more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I won’t share the sport - what I will say is that 2 of my kid’s closest friends are high level D1 recruits, and his circle is an extremely athletic, middle class and humble group, despite the significant athletic prowess. Let’s just say humble and balanced weren’t the characteristics he experienced during the overnite. Was a huge turnoff for my kid

This leans towards Pitt. There’s no getting around UR being a $90k private school and its student pop will reflect that.

Pitt is much better known with enthusiastic alum. I am a PP who said both schools are good. They are.

If you want spirit and more to do in a walkable city, Pitt is better.

UR is not as well known. If you care about rankings---I don't---then you might care that they fell in the rankings. They are right on the water, but you have to hike or take a car to get anywhere interesting. Campus is small and there's not much nearby beyond a hospital, a small B&N, and a few other places. I DO like Rochester, the city, a lot. I am just not sure I'd want to be on that campus without a car.

It's easy to be on campus without a car. There are UR busses that take kids to shopping areas/movie theaters/etc on weekends. And most things in Rochester are a 10-12 min ride away---Uber is cheap if you have 3-4 people in a car.

That being said, my kid loves having a car for their junior and senior years, but it's definately not necessary---most of their friends do NOT have cars.