ロチェスター大学（University of Rochester）

アメリカの大学のアドミッション担当者にインタビューを行い、各大学の特色や学生生活、出願などに関するお話を伺います。
今回は、ニューヨーク州の研究大学である ロチェスター大学 を取り上げました。すべて英語で掲載していますので、最後まで頑張って読んでいきましょう！

Fast Facts

Name	Location	US News Rank
University of Rochester	Rochester, New York, USA	#44

Number of Students	Percentage of International Students	Student-to-faculty Ratio
12,160	26% (131 countries represented)	9:1

Average SAT® Score	Recommended TOEFL iBT® Score	Average H.S. GPA
1410 – 1510	100+	3.77

Message from Mr. Leif Johansen

I’d like to start by giving readers a brief overview of the University of Rochester. Our university is a tier-one research institution in upstate New York. For those of you who haven’t spent much time in the USA, you may hear “New York” and think of New York City, but we’re closer to Toronto, Canada than NYC!

As a tier-one research school, we get billions of dollars in federal funding for every area of study on campus. This means that all our faculty are required to do research that contributes to furthering their field. So, there are a lot of research opportunities for students! In fact, around 80% of our students are actively pursuing and involved in research during their four years as undergraduate students. It’s very easy for students in every academic area to get involved in research on campus.

It’s also easy for students to get involved in research because we have a flexible curriculum structure at the University of Rochester. Most research institutions in the US have a core curriculum structure, which requires general education classes like history and English, in addition to classes within the major. But the University of Rochester has completely done away with that. A student can dive deeply into their major and take most of their classes in that area. Alternatively, if the student has many interests, they can take classes in a variety of areas.

I graduated from the University of Rochester. When I began my studies here, we were inspired by some smaller, more flexible liberal arts colleges. We don’t require students to declare a major until the end of their second year. So, you can be super flexible and try many classes to learn what you enjoy!

For example, if a student tells me, “I want to major in biomedical engineering!” I will ask them how many biomedical engineering classes they’ve taken in high school so far. Unless they went to a very specialized high school, their answer is usually none. In that case, I say, “Come to the University of Rochester and try out a few biomedical engineering classes. If they’re everything you were excited about, fantastic! Go ahead and declare your major. But you may also find your passion in a neuroscience class or a linguistics class.” We don’t lock you into a major. You’re applying to the university, not a specific major.

I also want to point out that we are a small-to-medium-sized undergraduate school. Anytime I walk around campus, I see a dozen different people I know and we high-five as we pass each other! But it’s also a large enough community that there are 131 different countries represented at the institution and about 27% of our students are international! Students are going to meet people from places they’ve never heard of who have completely different ways of tackling problems and looking at the world. It’s the special thing about going to a diverse institution like the University of Rochester.

Interview

I. Academics

1. What are your most popular majors or areas of study?

One of our most popular majors right now is business. Our Simon School of Business is one of the top 25 business schools in the United States.
Our computer science major has been on the rise recently as well. The university recently built a building for our Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences called the Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. There’s a lot of research happening there.
The biological sciences are also very popular at the University of Rochester. We have about twelve biology-related majors on campus. This is in part because we have one of the top twenty medical schools in the USA right across the street from our undergraduate campus, the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry! Our undergraduate students go across the street all the time to do research and get hands-on experience.
I also want to add that we have many different majors at the university and all of them are well-funded and well-invested in on campus. We have top faculty in their respective fields and state-of-the-art equipment and programming.
We have superb opportunities outside of business and STEM fields too! I was a double major in economics and political science. I adored the faculty and had excellent programs and other opportunities in my major. Our campus community excels in many areas.

1. Do you emphasize theoretical or practical learning? Are classes mostly lectures, discussions, or labs?

It depends on your classes and, eventually, your major. I often attended small seminar classes that met once a week. Five of us, including the professor, would sit around a table and have high-level, academic discussions for three hours. I also enrolled in classes that were 120-student lectures that included workshops led by upperclassmen working for the professor. I also took a class that met only once a week for an hour, but most of my work was hands-on through an internship in downtown Rochester. Basically, we have all kinds of classes!

II. Admission

1. What does your ideal Japanese applicant look like?

We don’t look for anything specific from specific nationalities who are applying to our school. Anything I expect from a Japanese student, I will look for in other international applicants or US citizens!
We take our holistic admissions process at the University of Rochester very seriously. It is a very thorough process that I am really proud of. Each application gets over an hour of “read time” individually from an admissions staff member in aggregate. I spend 20–25 minutes as the first reader of an application, really working through students’ recommendation letters, essays, and supplemental responses. Then, the application is sent to a second reader who can’t see what I’ve recommended regarding the student’s admission. They go through the application and come to their own conclusions. If our recommendations align, that decision is sent to the student. If our recommendations don’t match, the application goes to a committee to discuss the merits of the application.
Our admissions decisions don’t rely on a particular GPA or test score. We want to see what students have done with the opportunities and resources available to them in their life. When a student simply reports their GPA or SAT^_® score to me and asks, “So, will I get in?” it’s an impossible question to answer! Those are only two data points in their application, but we consult 200–300 data points on any given application.
Of course, a student’s GPA and test scores matter. Those are points that they have direct control over, as well as their essays, supplemental materials, and creative samples they send. We also consider things that are outside of a student’s control, like where they are from, the financial resources of their family, the high school curriculum available, and so on. It is truly an aggregate of all these elements.
I look for students who challenge themselves in high school and take hard classes. If their school doesn’t offer AP or IB classes, don’t panic! I don’t expect all students to have taken them. But whatever curriculum their school offers, I hope that they are trying to challenge themselves and have interesting experiences within those opportunities.
I spent a lot of time reading applicants’ essays at home today (my wife can attest to this) and I get the biggest smile when I’m reading a great one. It really means a lot to me. I write glowing notes on students’ applications when the students clearly put a lot of thought and time into their work. At the end of the day, students shouldn’t spend their lives trying to get 1600 on the SAT^_® . Instead, they should be doing interesting things that they care about. Show us how you will contribute to the campus community!

1. Do you hold interviews for applicants?

Yes, we do offer optional interviews! I always tell international students that if a university in the US has optional interviews, do the interview! It’s a big part of demonstrated interest. When the admissions committee meets to determine which students we will admit, we look for students who participated in an interview or virtual engagement opportunity. While reading applications, we try to figure out what the odds are that a particular student will enroll in our school if we admit them, instead of another institution on their college list. Students who interview are 15% more likely to attend our school than those who don’t. By demonstrating interest, students can increase their odds of being accepted.

1. Do you use the Common Application? Do you require supplemental essays?

We use the Common Application and the Coalition Application. Our applications also have a supplemental section where students can submit an essay, research, or creative product. If a student has something visual, like a video, painting, or performance, I encourage them to submit it! It stands apart from students who submit the essay supplement. Students can also submit an abstract of any research they’ve done.

III. Financial Aid

1. Do you offer scholarships and other financial aid to international students?

We meet 100% of the demonstrated need for all students, whether they are US citizens, permanent residents, citizens of other countries, refugees, or undocumented. In addition to meeting full demonstrated need, we have a range of merit scholarships that are unrelated to your financial need or your family’s financial situation. Around 50% of admitted students, both domestic and international, receive some level of merit scholarship. That’s something that you will automatically be considered for as part of your application.
I’ll say plainly that, in the University of Rochester’s case, we are need-aware. We receive thousands of applications from students who need financial aid, and we have to distribute our institutional resources as equitably as possible. We do fully fund some high-need international students every year, but it does get competitive. We just don’t have the resources to admit everyone, though we would love to in a perfect world. Demonstrating interest is really important to students who need financial aid because you are in a more competitive pool of applicants.

1. Are international students eligible for on or off-campus jobs and internships?

Yes, absolutely. During the school year, international students can work up to 20 hours per week, on or off campus. During the summer break, they can work 40 hours per week anywhere in the US. As long as students communicate with their department and the International Services Office, they can even do internships that are paid or count towards academic credit.

IV. Student Life

1. What kinds of on-campus support are available to international students? Do you have an ESL program?

The University of Rochester does have an English for Academic Purposes Program (EAPP). It’s for admitted students who may have low English scores and need some extra support during their first two semesters at the university. This is determined largely by Admissions, it’s not something students can apply for.
We also have on-campus health services and all international students have health insurance. Students are assigned a doctor upon arrival and keep them all four years. There’s also a Counseling Center with access to mental health services as well. There are also peer tutoring opportunities which are very helpful. I used peer tutoring when I took Calculus 3, it helped clear many things up!
There is also, of course, the Greene Center for Career Education and Connections, a one-stop shop for help with writing your cover letters and resumes, practicing interviews, and pursuing internships.

1. Are first-year international students required to live on campus? How do international students spend their holidays?

We require all students to live on campus for their first two years. We are a very residential campus; most students live on campus for all four years. Students can live in a co-ed hall or single-gender hall. If they want to live with a friend, they can request to be roommates, otherwise they’ll be assigned to someone with similar preferences. I really enjoyed living on campus because I was closer to the center of everything happening! The upperclassmen dorms were very nice. I lived in a suite with two suitemates; we had our own bedrooms and bathrooms and shared a kitchen and living room.
Students can stay on campus during winter break. That said, it’s pretty quiet! Only 100–150 students stay during break, so we temporarily move them into one residence hall. That way students aren’t alone and still have a sense of community.

1. What are your most popular student clubs and organizations?

I was involved in our student government; I was the speaker of our Students Association Senate. I loved being involved in that because the student government was really empowered to do impactful things on campus. We lobbied top administrators at the institution to pay attention to student needs and create policies that benefited the students.
This is a very musically inclined community. Something that I haven’t mentioned yet is our Eastman School of Music, which was just ranked the number three music conservatory in the US and the number eight music conservatory in the world. So, the university will have amazing concerts and performances. There are many student choirs and instrumental groups.
Many popular cultural groups host events where students can go to learn more about other cultures or showcase their own!

V. After Graduation

1. How many of your students graduate with a four-year degree? How many secure a job after graduation? What about graduate, law, or medical school?

Our four-year graduation rate is 76% and our six-year graduation rate is 90%! About 45% of those students are attending graduate programs, law school, or medical school. Around 54% have already entered the workforce. Between 2–3% are still figuring out their next steps. A statistic I’m very proud to report that the average salary for international students was $114,000 just one year after graduation!

1. What careers do your alumni pursue after graduation? Who are some notable alumni?

Our alumni (and faculty) have won Nobel Prizes and Pulitzer Prizes and been Guggenheim Fellows and MacArthur Fellows. I am always excited to tell people about Dr. Richard Flor, one of the co-founders of behavioral economics. Also, about 30% of the engineering team for the James Webb Space Telescope were from the University of Rochester. There have also been government officials who graduated from the University of Rochester, like the current governor of Pennsylvania.

VI. Other Questions

1. How should students in middle school or the early years of high school prepare for applying to university?

My advice is to do cool stuff and to do well in school! I don’t want to sound cliché, but the most important thing an eighth or ninth-grade student can do to become a competitive applicant is think hard about what you love and then go nuts! Do them seriously. Maybe that’s spending a year designing a new type of musical instrument or starting a podcast about a very niche movie genre. Do whatever sparks your joy and engagement. This way you’ll have something cool to talk about on your applications and you will have grown into an energized, motivated young adult.

1. Do you have any academic programs for high school students currently living in Japan?

Yes, we have many in-person and online programs for high school students! Not only do you get to learn from fantastic professors, but you also get to experience part of college life by visiting the city and living in a dorm. You can find all our David T. Kerns Center Pre-College Programs here and our 2025 summer programs here.

1. Why are you passionate about the University of Rochester?

The University of Rochester wasn’t initially on my radar as a high school student. Most of my classmates were going to attend the local community college or the four-year school that was in our town. My mentor, who knew that I was interested in music and the social sciences, advised that I check this school out. I didn’t know this at the time, but the University of Rochester was his alma mater! When I visited the campus, I spent my first night chatting with a current student with an amazing story and incredible motivation. In fact, every person I met was genuinely interesting and driven. I realized that, if I was surrounded by this community, I would be eager to jump out of bed every morning. And that’s still true today.
Schools may brag about their beautiful campuses, good food, and so on and so forth, but, at the end of the day, that is just the icing on the cake. The cake itself is the people at the university. Being in a place with the coolest, most interesting people is very meaningful. Students are absolutely getting their money’s worth at the University of Rochester.

YGC invites you to visit our campus in Yoyogi to meet with our advisers and instructors to learn more about studying abroad. We offer a variety of programs to support students who aspire to attend top boarding schools and universities all over the world!

※TOEFL^_®はETSの登録商標です。このコンテンツはETSの検討を受けまたはその承認を得たものではありません。