Admissions Blog

Undergraduate Admissions Uncensored

  • admissions.blog

University of Rochester Application Deadlines Extended

Posted on December 5, 2020 by admissions.blog 1 Comment

University of Rochester Library.

The University of Rochester has announced a major shift it its Regular Decision and Early Decision II application deadlines for the current admissions cycle.

Dr. Robert J. Alexander, Rochester’s Dean of Admissions, Financial Aid, and Enrollment Management, informed high school counselors on December 4, 2020 that applications for both admission plans, which are typically due in the first days of January are now due January 20 – a full two weeks later than normal.

“In recognition of these turbulent and unprecedented times, the University of Rochester is offering an extension to both our Regular Decision and Early Decision II application deadlines.” wrote Alexander. Students applying by the new deadlines will still be considered for both admission and merit scholarships. He added, “We hope this extension allows students, families, and counselors more time to navigate the challenges associated with COVID-19 and virtual interactions, and to take care of themselves and their families.”

While those are lovely sentiments, as we mentioned previously when discussing Tuft’s decision to move its Early Decision deadline into late November, such dramatic shifts are not taken out of altruism alone. While we don’t have access to internal data from Rochester, what’s becoming clearer is the decision to go test-optional this admissions cycle by many selective and hyper-selective colleges has boomeranged back particularly hard on many typically selective colleges like Rochester that don’t have the name recognition of the Dukes, Penns, or Browns of the world. This is because many students who would have never considered hyper-selective colleges are applying to them instead of colleges that are typically slightly less selective; even the Ivies are test-optional this cycle.

For instance, let’s say you are an average straight A student in the high school Class of 2021 with a 1030 on the SAT; in a typical year you would never apply to anything other than your state university and a few others with relatively low test score averages. This year, you say to yourself, “I might as well put in an app or two to Duke, Harvard, and Vanderbilt since they won’t look at my scores.” And he or she has heard of them in pop culture.

Meanwhile, the typical Rochester applicant, one with, let’s say, a 1350 on the SAT, is now also looking to trade up the rankings lists to Carnegie Mellon, Wash U., or even Yale this year. Rochester likely finds itself in what we’ve call previously a doughnut hole of a situation; Rochester is getting overlooked by both its typical applicants and those academically weaker than its typical applicants all because both groups of applicants are applying to higher ranked schools OR opting for options with retail prices lower than private Rochester (in-state universities, community colleges, etc.) considering the economic disaster brought on by governors and mayors shutting down so much commerce. What a shame for a great school like Rochester! Yet, what a great year for a strong student looking for a great college and a scholarship to consider Rochester. And now such a student has even more time to apply (though we always say, “the early bird gets the worm”). Stay strategic.

 

 

Subscribe to our mailing list

Trending Posts

Most and Least Popular Common App Essay Prompts

Building Your Best College List

How to get into the Ivy League – Ethically

The top 23 songs to listen to while completing your college applications in 2023 are…

Dear 12th Grader: Don’t Blow Your Ivy Chances Now

8 Ways to Reduce the Cost of College

How to Deal with Anxiety During College Admissions (Especially Now)

The Best and Worst 2025-2026 Common App Essay Prompts

Is AP Environmental Science a Joke or Justifiable?

Dear 10th Grader: Don’t Become An Ivy League Reject!

First Impressions of Digital SAT

The 5 Most Ridiculously Underrated Colleges in America

Now Open: Application for New UC Berkeley 4-Year Haas Business Program

Dear 9th Grader: Don’t get rejected from the Ivy League so soon!

Wake Forest Introduces Exclusive Early Action (EEA)

Comparing Undergraduate Life at University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University

5 American Colleges with the Most Grueling Standardized Testing Requirements for First-Year Applicants

Caltech to require SAT or ACT scores again

ACT Mastery Begins with a Schedule: The Importance of Structured Studying

Rice University adds new 500-word required essay to its application

You CAN apply Restrictive Early Action and Early Action under the right conditions

12 Reasons Scattergrams Lull Students Into a False Sense of Security

UNC and a tale of one – make that four – acceptance rates

Rolling Admission vs. Regular Decision

Oh, Canada! The Definitive List of Canadian University Application Deadlines

Making the most of the summer before senior year

Top 5 Ways Applying to US Colleges is Different than Applying to UK Universities

Northwestern Releases Regular Decisions, Class of 2027 Statistics

The Perfect Gifts to Celebrate Getting Into College

Search Posts By Topic

  • 3 Year Degree (3)
  • Accommodations (2)
  • Admissions Policies (131)
  • Admissions Statistics (88)
  • Advice & Analysis (462)
  • Alabama (2)
  • Amherst (2)
  • AP (6)
  • Applications (93)
  • Applying from India (1)
  • Arizona (4)
  • Arts (1)
  • ASU (1)
  • Austin College (1)
  • Babson (1)
  • Baylor (1)
  • Berry College (1)
  • Boston College (2)
  • Boston University (6)
  • Bowdoin (1)
  • Brown (6)
  • Bryn Mawr (1)
  • Business (2)
  • BYU (1)
  • Caltech (6)
  • Canada (2)
  • Career and Technical Education (33)
  • Case Western (4)
  • China (1)
  • CMC (1)
  • Coalition (13)
  • Colby (3)
  • College Costs (1)
  • College Counselor (18)
  • College Fairs (5)
  • College Life (37)
  • College List (39)
  • College List Deathmatch (5)
  • College Visit (25)
  • Colorado College (1)
  • Colorado School of Mines (1)
  • Columbia (7)
  • Common App (42)
  • Community Colleges (4)
  • Cornell (5)
  • Counseling (3)
  • COVID-19 (8)
  • CSS PROFILE (3)
  • CSU (1)
  • CSULB (1)
  • CU Boulder (2)
  • Cybersecurity (1)
  • Dartmouth (7)
  • Davidson (1)
  • Demonstrated Interest (17)
  • DePaul (1)
  • Dickinson (1)
  • Direct Admissions (1)
  • Duke (3)
  • Early Action (44)
  • Early Childhood Education (1)
  • Early Decision (45)
  • Education (6)
  • Educational Consulting (1)
  • Elon (2)
  • Emergency Management (1)
  • Emory (1)
  • Engineering (3)
  • Enrichment (18)
  • Entrepreneurship (2)
  • Environmental Science (2)
  • Essays (58)
  • Europe (7)
  • Exercise Science (1)
  • Exeter (1)
  • Experiential Learning (1)
  • Extracurricular Activities (37)
  • FAFSA (6)
  • Feature (2)
  • Financial Aid (30)
  • First Person (12)
  • Fly-In (1)
  • France (1)
  • FSU (1)
  • Gap Programs (2)
  • GED (1)
  • Georgetown (5)
  • Germany (2)
  • Gifts (3)
  • Gonzaga (1)
  • GPA (7)
  • Graduate School (11)
  • Hamilton (1)
  • Harvard (7)
  • Healthcare (3)
  • High School (25)
  • Higher National Diplomas (1)
  • HiSET (1)
  • IB (4)
  • IEC (1)
  • IELTS (1)
  • Indiana (3)
  • Industrial Hygiene (1)
  • International (9)
  • Internships (8)
  • Interviews (10)
  • Iowa (2)
  • Italy (2)
  • Ivy League (20)
  • JHU (3)
  • Journalism (2)
  • Kettering University (1)
  • Lafayette (1)
  • Law (4)
  • LD (1)
  • Lists & Rankings (8)
  • Loans (1)
  • Majors (17)
  • Marketing (1)
  • Math (1)
  • Medicine (1)
  • Mental Health (3)
  • Middlebury (1)
  • MIT (7)
  • Montana State University (1)
  • Moving (1)
  • Naviance (2)
  • NCAA (3)
  • New Mexico State University (1)
  • News (124)
  • Northwestern (5)
  • Notification News (4)
  • Notre Dame (3)
  • Nursing (13)
  • NYU (3)
  • Of Note (15)
  • Ohio State (2)
  • Oklahoma (1)
  • Online Learning (14)
  • Open Admission (2)
  • Parents (7)
  • Penn (8)
  • Pharmacy (1)
  • Pitt (2)
  • Popular Posts (10)
  • Princeton (5)
  • Priority (2)
  • Professor of the Month (1)
  • PSU (3)
  • Psychology (3)
  • Public Universities (8)
  • Purdue (3)
  • Rankings (11)
  • Reader Questions (11)
  • Recommendations (10)
  • Regular (26)
  • Research (4)
  • Resume (20)
  • Rice (4)
  • Robotics (1)
  • Rochester (1)
  • ROI (4)
  • Rolling (5)
  • Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (1)
  • Santa Clara University (2)
  • Scholarships (2)
  • SEL (1)
  • Sewanee (1)
  • Skiing & Snowboarding (1)
  • SMU (1)
  • Social Work (7)
  • Soft Skills (1)
  • South America (2)
  • Southwestern (TX) (1)
  • Spotlight Series (1)
  • SRAR/SSAR (1)
  • St. Edward's University (1)
  • St. John's College (1)
  • Standardized Tests (43)
  • Stanford (4)
  • STEM (2)
  • Stevens Institute of Technology (1)
  • Student Trips (1)
  • Summer (24)
  • Swarthmore (1)
  • Syracuse (1)
  • TASC (1)
  • Teacher Recommendations (8)
  • Temple (1)
  • Texas (4)
  • Texas A&M (1)
  • Ticker (26)
  • Trending Posts (45)
  • Trinity University (TX) (1)
  • Tufts (4)
  • Tuition (3)
  • Tulane (8)
  • UBC (1)
  • UC Berkeley (8)
  • UC Davis (2)
  • UC Santa Barbara (2)
  • UCAS (5)
  • UCF (1)
  • UCI (1)
  • UCLA (8)
  • UCSD (1)
  • UDub (1)
  • UF (4)
  • UGA (3)
  • UIUC (3)
  • UMass (3)
  • UMD (5)
  • UNC (2)
  • United Kingdom (8)
  • Universal College Application (1)
  • University of Chicago (3)
  • University of Dallas (1)
  • University of New Mexico (1)
  • University of Rochester (1)
  • University of Vermont (1)
  • USC (4)
  • USNA (1)
  • UT Austin (4)
  • Utah (2)
  • UVA (7)
  • Vanderbilt (2)
  • Video Game Design (1)
  • Villanova (3)
  • Virtual Information Session (1)
  • Virtual Visit (2)
  • Wake Forest (1)
  • Wash U (7)
  • Wesleyan (2)
  • Williams (3)
  • Wisconsin (3)
  • Work Study (1)
  • Yale (14)
  • ZeeMee (1)

News Tips | Write for Us | Sponsored Posts
All content © 2025 | Admissions.Blog
Terms of Service | +1 410-526-2558

Copyright © 2025 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in