What makes Rochester different
- No core. No general education requirements, so students choose their own path from day one.
- Music and medicine next door. Lessons at the Eastman School of Music and a path to the adjacent medical school through REMS.
- Combine programs. More than 160 programs from music to optics, and many students combine more than one.
What Rochester students study
The most common bachelor's degrees (class of 2024): biology (212), management sciences and quantitative methods (169), nursing (152), computer science (109), music performance (109) and psychology (106). Source: IPEDS Completions, first majors only.
You may thrive at Rochester if…
- You want freedom to design your own education.
- You're drawn to the sciences, optics, music or pre-med.
- You'd like four seasons and a mid-sized city.
Worth asking about
- How does the Rochester Curriculum work without a core?
- What does Early Decision II offer that Regular Decision doesn't?
How Rochester compares with similar universities
Rochester admitted 40.1% of applicants for fall 2024, one of the higher rates in this group. See early decision, early action and test policies at all 19 universities.
FAQ
What is the University of Rochester's acceptance rate? 40.1% for fall 2024: 8,570 of 21,384 applicants were admitted.
What is the University of Rochester's early decision acceptance rate? 38.1% for fall 2024: 527 of 1,385 early decision applicants were admitted, compared with 40.1% of all applicants. These figures are for Arts, Sciences & Engineering, not the Eastman School of Music. Early decision is binding, and the early applicant pool differs from the regular one, so neither rate predicts any one student's chances. Source
Does Rochester require the SAT or ACT? No. Rochester is test-optional in every phase, and not sending scores doesn't hurt admission or scholarship review. This applies to students applying in 2026–27 for fall 2027. Source
Does Rochester charge out-of-state tuition? No. Rochester is private, so published tuition and fees are the same for students from any state: $67,080 a year before aid. About 45% of first-year students came from outside New York.
How much is Rochester tuition per semester? About $33,540 a semester, half the published $67,080 a year, before aid.
Is Rochester an R1 university? Yes. In the 2025 Carnegie Classifications, the University of Rochester is an R1 university, the group with the highest research spending and doctoral degrees. What R1 means →
How many students go to Rochester? About 6,300 undergraduates (fall 2024).
What is Rochester known for? Its open curriculum, optics, the Eastman School of Music and medicine.
How much does Rochester cost? Published tuition and fees are $67,080 a year before aid, and the total cost of attendance is $85,962. Students who received aid paid $30,902 a year on average.
Wondering if an open curriculum fits you?
Lens's assessments show whether you lean toward structure or flexibility, and which kinds of colleges fit. Start with Lens →