The University of Rochester

“I screwed up my last year of high schoolOct 23 2007Math
I screwed up my last year of high school. Pretty much all of high school actually. Went to a community college and screwed up there too, but got it together after a semester.

If you are transferring from another college, like I did:
get a high GPA, retake anything you did poorly on. Get involved in some clubs. Develop a sense of what you think work-ethic and education is all about and write about this in your personal statement. Write about how you've grown from high-school to the point where you are ready to transfer showing that you have matured.

Generally, I feel that transfer students have to prove that they are mature and not just smart, as you are expected to be mature after a few years of college compared to the high-school senior. Show that you are passionate, hard-working, know yourself, and have strong beliefs.

Oh, and take liberal arts/engineering/math classes only. If you are taking trade classes and/or secretarial classes they won't transfer and it doesn't show that you are ready/interested in heavy academics. I transferred with a 3.92 gpa in mostly humanities classes, but I imagine a gpa of 3.7 or higher has a very good chance of transferring in.
Male

“I had a pretty easy time getting inMar 29 2007English
I had a pretty easy time getting in. No comment.

“Apparently it got harder to get inOct 09 2006Engineering Department
Apparently it got harder to get in...it was absentmindedly easy for me.
SAT: 1420 Female

“I imagine this University will be very difficult toSep 07 2006Language - French/Spanish/etc.
I imagine this University will be very difficult to get in to in Fall 2007 since the current Freshman class is too big by about 200 students. Supposedly, they admitted the same amount as usual, but more people accepted the admission. Since there isn't enough room at the school for two over-sized classes, I wouldn't be surprised if the Class of 2011 were smaller than the average class.
SAT: 1400 Male

“It all depends where you're fromMay 06 2006Psychology
It all depends where you're from. They like diversity (be from a small town, be a minority, be an orphan, just find a way to be diverse). Kids from Rochester are pretty much automatically accepted (unless your parent is an employee cuz then you'd get free tuition). The university cares about its statistics so you need a high SAT/ACT score so you don't bring down the mean (they love to brag how each new class scores higher than the last). Also, the true hint that will increase your chances of getting in..say you're applying real IVY league colleges. UR tries to pretend we're just as selective, so if they think you've got a chance at a better school, they'll want you. Cornell is a good choice (its a better school than UR and its close enough that they think you'll actually go). Good luck!