A private R1 research university in Rochester, NY, admitting 40.08% of applicants with the Eastman School of Music and a $5.10 billion endowment.
Rochester, New York
The University of Rochester is a private R1 research university in Rochester, New York, founded in 1850. It enrolls 6,331 undergraduates and 5,366 graduate students across the School of Arts and Sciences, the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Science, Simon Business School, the Eastman School of Music, the Warner School of Education and Human Development, and the School of Nursing. Engineering, biological sciences, social sciences, economics, and music account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees.
Rochester holds a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Rochester is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Rochester offers several distinctive academic programs, including a direct-entry medical program (REMS/Rochester Early Medical Scholars) for exceptional freshmen and the Take Five program, which provides a tuition-free fifth year of study in any academic area of the student's choosing.
Official website: rochester.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Rochester scores 74.66 overall, rated Good. Selectivity scores 92.16, reflecting a 40.08% admit rate within a highly competitive applicant pool. Outcomes (91.53) reflects an 85.43% six-year graduation rate and a 87.44% rate of graduates earning above the high school median at ten years. Value scores 49.93 and Affordability scores 14.82, the weaker pillars, driven by an average net price of $29,278 and a federal loan rate of 39.74%. All scores use verified federal data only.
Rochester admits 40.08% of applicants. Rochester is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Students who submit scores are academically competitive with peer selective institutions. Rochester uses the Common App with required supplemental essays. The Early Decision deadline is November 1 (binding); the Regular Decision deadline is January 5.
Applicants apply to either the School of Arts and Sciences or the Hajim School of Engineering; admission to the Eastman School of Music requires a separate audition. Rochester's 40.08% admit rate reflects a highly self-selected applicant pool; the school attracts students specifically interested in STEM, pre-medicine, or music.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether University of Rochester is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Rochester charges $67,080 in tuition plus room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $84,000 before aid. The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $29,278, the lowest in this peer group of selective private universities outside schools with larger endowments and no-loan policies.
For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $9,678. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $12,185. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $27,883. For families earning above $110,000, it averages $46,801. Rochester's federal loan rate of 39.74% and median debt of $21,000 are above average for this peer group, reflecting loan-inclusive aid packages.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $50 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Rochester completes the large majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 85.43% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. The four-year rate is 83.54%, and first-year retention stands at 91.63%. The federal loan rate of 39.74% and median debt of $21,000 are elevated for a school at this selectivity level, reflecting that Rochester's aid packages include loans for a significant portion of students.
Rochester graduates earn above the national median for private research universities. Median earnings are $68,333 six years after first enrolling and $79,042 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 87.44% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. The earnings reflect Rochester's strong programs in engineering, biological sciences, economics, and pre-medicine, with graduates entering medicine, engineering, finance, and technology fields.
Rochester's deep pre-medicine pipeline, which feeds into UR Medicine and the Wilmot Cancer Center, produces graduates who typically show strong ten-year earnings as physicians and researchers. Hajim School of Engineering and Eastman School of Music graduates go into technical industries and performing arts respectively; Simon Business School graduates enter finance and consulting.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Rochester enrolls 6,331 undergraduates on its River Campus in Rochester, New York, a mid-sized city of approximately 200,000 on the southern shore of Lake Ontario. White students account for 38.57% of undergraduates; Asian 18.07%, Hispanic 8.29%, and Black 5.21%. Seventeen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 18.68% are first-generation college students.
Rochester was historically an industrial city (Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch and Lomb were founded there) that has transitioned to a healthcare and technology economy; the University of Rochester Medical Center and its affiliated hospitals are the largest employer in the region. The Eastman School of Music campus is located separately in downtown Rochester.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at University of Rochester. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
University of Rochester offers an extensive catalog of programs: 158 distinct programs across 23 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Rochester operates at a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 94.88% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty, one of the higher rates among private research universities. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $40,019 per year, one of the highest in this peer group, reflecting the research infrastructure of UR Medicine and the Hajim school.
The endowment stands at $5.10 billion, large relative to Rochester's undergraduate enrollment. Rochester is a major NIH-funded research institution; the Medical Center includes Strong Memorial Hospital and Golisano Children's Hospital. The Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), affiliated with Rochester, is the largest university-based laser research program in the country.
2,768 instructional faculty across 6 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 703 | 25% | $180,682 |
| Associate Professors | 747 | 27% | $115,253 |
| Assistant Professors | 981 | 35% | $95,536 |
| Instructors | 213 | 8% | $78,498 |
| Lecturers | 29 | 1% | $64,441 |
| No Rank | 95 | 3% | $48,947 |
Rochester's defining strengths are its 74.66 Good UCD score, a $29,278 average net price (strong for its selectivity level), a $5.10 billion endowment, 94.88% full-time faculty rate, very high instructional spending ($40,019/FTE), and distinctive programs including the Eastman School of Music, the Take Five tuition-free fifth year, and Rochester Early Medical Scholars. UCD 74.66 Good.
The trade-offs: a 39.74% federal loan rate is above the peer average; Rochester is in a mid-sized post-industrial city with limited local industry outside healthcare; and ten-year earnings of $79,042 are below several peers despite strong selectivity. Best fit for students targeting pre-medicine, engineering, economics, or music performance who want a smaller research university with direct clinical and research access, and who qualify for meaningful aid that brings net price below the $29,278 average.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Rochester: what the Eastman School is, how the Take Five program works, how the pre-medicine program works, and what graduates earn.
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