Ask a First Year!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
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<p>Hey guys!
I've been lurking around this site for years now, but I thought it was finally time to make a post of my own, because I'm so excited for all the new first years!! I thought this would be a great place for you guys to ask questions of a current first year student at UVa.</p>

<p>So, I'll start by telling you a bit about myself, and then hopefully you guys will have some awesome questions. I'm originally from Arlington, VA where I graduated with an IB diploma. Here at UVa I live in Brown Residential College, but I have friends who live in all the different housing options, so feel free to ask about them as well. I'm a prospective American Studies Major, but I'm also really interested in architecture, art and theatre. I'm involved in a bunch of theatre groups around grounds.</p>

<p>Please don't limit your questions to just my interests though. I will do my best to answer anything and if I can't, I'm sure someone else here will be able to! So, without further ado, I bid you ask away!!</p>

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<p>I’m alum father of a student.</p>

<p>Can you please tell us some of the pros and cons of the first year housing choices? Do 1st years get to choose the type of housing? How about the residential colleges?</p>

<p>I realize some of the most modern residence halls are far from classes. while the closest dorms are the oldest.</p>

<p>When I was a student, everybody wanted the “new dorms” on Alderman" because they had lounges and air conditioning. I lived in old dorms on McCormick. I heard some people say they regretted they didn’t live n old dorms, because you developed a core group of 20 people (plus the other 20 people who shared your bathroom) vs. in the new dorms you mainly got to know only 10 people in your suite. </p>

<p>I noticed that there is little price differences between the housing choices.</p>

<p>Thoughts???</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

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<p>Mother of a 1st year here so I’ll jump in on what I know about housing - AnneD thanks too for offering, your insights will trump mine :)</p>

<p>You cannot choose between housing and all housing for 1st years is the same price so no one is at a disadvantage. You can however specifiy if you want to try for one of the residential colleges (these require applications) or if you want a double or single. By specifying double or single you can somewhat determine where you end up and my D chose a single and ended up in Gooch in a suite of 6 singles - she LOVES it. She’s in the e-school so it is close to her classes and it is right by the stadium which is fun for football season. She also loves that it is close to 2 dining halls and near one of the best gyms on campus. She has friends in both old and new and everyone loves where they are for different reasons. We had heard a few reservations about the Gooch/Dillard dorms that the suite style makes it harder to get to know people but my daughter has a great group of 6 girls in her suite and has made great friends from nearby suites as well.</p>

<p>I think everyone really does make the most of where they end up and ends up close to their hall/suite mates. I know though they are doing a lot of construction this summer which will change which dorms are available in the fall for incoming 1st years but I don’t know what changes that will have on housing.</p>

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<p>can you comment on the “friendliness” of the campus? I guess i am worried about how open people are and if everyone is social and friendly?</p>

<p>EDIT: and also can you comment on greek life? how “easy” is it to get into a frat? are frats open or do they become very exclusive?</p>

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<p>Charlieschm: shillyshally covered almost all of it! The only thing I would add is that first years also have the option of living in 3 different residential colleges: Brown, Hereford or the International Residence College (IRC). Each have their own application, which are due, if I recall correctly, by the end of May. Hereford has a lot of singles and does a lot of environmentally-geared things. The IRC houses a lot of international students (but Americans are also welcome). There is tons of information about Brown if you do a little searching through old threads. The biggest con that is cited over and over is the lack of “first year experience” which I would say is definitely something to consider. It just depends how independent you are in searching out other first years or people with your interests instead of having an entire hall of people right next to you.</p>

<p>Eagles: I haven’t been around too many other campuses, so I can’t offer you any comparison, but I would absolutely say UVa’s grounds are very friendly! Even though it may seem like a large school, I rarely get through a day without seeing at least one person I know, and usually it’s many more. I can’t recall any interaction with a student that has left a really rude/negative impression on me. I’ve even had a bus driver who personally greeted each person when they got on and asked everyone to “Have a good night!” as they got off. I am personally always really excited to see passing tour groups and secretly hope someone will ask me for directions so I can help them, and I have a lot of friends who are the same. On the whole, I’d say friendliness is not something you should worry about here!</p>

<p>I am not very active in the greek life here, so I’m not positive I can give you a complete answer to this one, but I’ll do my best to share what I do know. Rush for sororities and fraternities is around the first week of the Spring semester. You can read about the process on the IFC website: [Inter-Fraternity</a> Council at UVA](<a href=“http://www.student.virginia.edu/~ifcouncl/]Inter-Fraternity”>http://www.student.virginia.edu/~ifcouncl/) There are almost 30 chapters in the IFC, as well as several non-IFC co-ed academic frats. I would assume that as long as you show interest in the fraternities and the rush process, and you’re not like an axe murderer or something, you probably stand a chance at getting a bid. As far as frat parties go, that is a scene I’m not really part of, but I think they are notoriously hard to get into if you’re not an attractive girl or friends with one of the brothers. There is tons going on beyond frat parties though, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that.</p>

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<p>What dorms do you think are the most convenient? And what are the overall “feels” for each dorm? I know some typically have a reputation for being more social than others, not saying in UVA, but in all colleges in general. Can you guys summarize each dorm as best you can? Thanks =]</p>

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<p>wofbharatj: First of all, you guys WILL NOT be choosing the dorm you live in, unless you choose to apply to a res college, and even then you have to apply for a spot. On the housing application, I don’t think you even get to rank if you’d rather live in McCormick or Alderman, it is completely randomly assigned. But, I’ll go ahead and give some descriptions anyway:</p>

<p>-Alderman (old): These dorms are suite style. There are some surrounding OHill dining hall that are mostly reserved for Echols students and/or being torn down this summer. There are also a few lining the street across from the stadium. These dorms are not incredibly convenient to classes, unless you’re in the E-School. They mostly consist of four floors of 4 suites. Each suite has 5 doubles, a bathroom and a large common space with couches. I’ve heard that people don’t really socialize with their entire dorm as much as just the people in their suite, but that probably just depends on the people.</p>

<p>-Alderman (new): These dorms are very recently built and often described as hotels because they are so big and nice (at least in comparison to the old dorms). They are traditional hall style. In the same general location as the old Alderman dorms. The dorms they are tearing down are being replaced with these types of buildings.
-McCormick: These dorms are traditional hall style. They are arranged around a quad. They are more convenient to classes, though still a 10 or so minute walk to the lawn. Usually, these are said to be the most social of the first year dorms because of the hall style setup.</p>

<p>-Gooch/Dillard: These dorms are further down Alderman Rd across from the stadium. They are two-level apartment style dorms with 6 singles and a common area. I don’t know a lot about them, but everyone I know who lives in Gooch/Dillard likes it a lot except for the fact that they are very far away from central grounds. They are close to Runk, arguably the best of the three dining halls.</p>

<p>-Hereford: This residential college is way up on the hill behind Gooch/Dillard. It is SUCH a beautiful area, marred only by the fact that it is so far away from everything. Also close to Runk though, which is a plus. It is primarily singles. Hereford has a garden and some hammocks and they seem to do a lot of environmental stuff.</p>

<p>-IRC: I actually don’t know a whole lot about the IRC except that they have a lot of international students or students interested in international issues. I think they have things like tea every monday or something. A guy I know who lives in the IRC also took an IRC course that travelled to Barcelona during Spring Break. They have a pretty good location right behind Mem Gym and a hop, skip and a jump away from Newcomb Dining Hall.</p>

<p>-Brown College: Brown is by far the most convenient living option, but also the most competitive. It is right in the middle of central grounds; I rarely need more than 5 minutes to get to any of my classes. It is also literally 2 seconds away from Newcomb dining, for better or for worse (Newcomb is arguably the worst of all three dining halls). Brown’s reputation is for housing “artsy” “weird” people. You can read all kind of debate about that in some of the many old threads relating to Brown.</p>

<p>–What I think is cool about residential colleges in general is that they give you access to a wealth of things you wouldn’t know about if you live in regular first year housing. For example Brown has a number of faculty fellows who will host chats or educational events, etc. for example, a professor is giving a tutorial on how to bake bread this weekend. We also have a budget with which we frequently hold events such as semiformals, IM sports teams, I got to see Hair for free at the Kennedy Center. The only downside is that you have a very different first year experience. This basically means, you aren’t surrounded by an entire hall of first years; you have to be very independent in seeking out friends, but this is absolutely do-able.</p>

<p>Hope this helps! Definitely look into residential colleges, and remember that unless you turn in an application and are accepted into one of them, your housing will basically be chosen for you.</p>

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<p>Are we allowed to apply to multiple dorms? And choose which one we get into? Kind of like college applications all over again? =D</p>

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<p>Do you have any experience with the Echols Program? How tangible are its benefits, etc? I would just like some more information on how being an Echols Scholar would affect a UVa student.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

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<p>wofbharatj: as far as I know, you may apply to all the res colleges, but in the end housing assigns you a place somewhere. i don’t really know what happens if you are accepted into all three res colleges…it could get complicated though. If you want a more detailed answer, I would suggest emailing/calling the housing office. As far as the regular first year dorms however (Alderman, McCormick, Gooch/Dillard), you cannot choose between the three.</p>

<p>FallenAngel: Echols scholars are exempt from the college distribution requirements, which is an enormous benefit. UVa has pretty big requirements for foreign language and math/science (4 semesters of each or the equivalent with high school credits) and by not having to worry about these, Echols students have room in their schedules to take a lot more of the classes they really want to. They also have priority registration times, which especially as a first year is such a big advantage for getting into smaller seminars that can fill up quickly. In addition, Echols scholars are all housed together, along with the Rodman scholars. I can’t say from experience whether or not this is a good thing, but it seems to me it would offer a chance to be surrounded by like-minded people who all have a similar work ethic as you, which I imagine is nice.</p>

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<p>Hey Anne!</p>

<p>Thanks for putting the time and effort into creating and facilitating this thread!</p>

<p>Earlier you said we would NOT be able to choose our own houses (unless we apply for the three college thingies), so I was wondering if there were any way we could possible request a roommate…or increase our odds of obtaining the dorm of our choice?</p>

<p>Thank You :)</p>

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<p>Hey Anne! i’ve been admitted for freshman next fall. what about the students atmosphere in studying and the competitiveness between the students? and what about the social life? i am actually avoiding the frat/sorority scene, so what about them? thanks in advance!</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for these posts. Your post on housing was just fantastic!</p>

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<p>You can request a roommate as long as both of you put one another on the housing application. As far as this helping to secure your dorm choice – no; it won’t have any bearing whatsoever. If you have medical problems that necessitate an elevator (assuming you’re a female because all males are put on the first two floors in McCormick/“old” dorms) or if you have respiratory issues that might necessitate air conditioning (old dorms and most of new dorms don’t have A/C; the only A/C dorms are Kellogg, Woody, Cauthen, and Hereford) you can include a medical waiver in your application. Your physician must fill out and sign this form, and the school will do its best to accommodate you.</p>

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<p>Gooch/Dillard also have AC but have a lot of stairs if you aren’t on the ground floor :)</p>

<p>There is a lot to do on campus if you are not into the party scene or the Greek scene. There really is a lot for everyone and you will find people with similar interests. Get involved when you get here as a way to meet people beyond your dorm as well, there is a student activities fair within days of arrival with more than you could fill your time with :)</p>

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<p>Thanks jc40 and shillyshally for helping answer questions! They’re right; you ARE able to request roommates, but this does not put you at any advantage for certain types of housing because almost everywhere has doubles. Honestly, it’s not something I would worry about too much, guys. Housing is probably not something that will make or break your first year here. Each dorm has its own pros and cons and you’ll be able to make it work regardless of where you live.</p>

<p>On competitiveness: I haven’t really noticed any at all. Everyone always seems pretty willing to help each other out. A lot of people (including myself) will work in groups in the library, either as a study group or just for the company, and I can cite multiple occasions where I’ve just looked around the table and said “Do any of you know how to do this calculus?” and they’ve all been willing to help me out. This could just be my friends, but I feel like that’s not an incredibly rare attitude. Granted, I’m just a first year, so I haven’t taken many really small seminars yet, but I honestly doubt those are much different.</p>

<p>As shillyshally said, there is definitely tons to do if you’re not into Greek life. I am part of a few theatre organizations which hold a lot of social events like smaller parties, movie nights, we even went hiking. Absolutely go to the activities fair. You will meet your best friends in the groups that you get involved in. I think I signed up for like 20 email listserves that day and even though I’m only active in a few of the groups, it’s nice to still be in the loop of the groups that interest you. There is literally a group (sometimes multiple!) for any interest. I’m sure there is a list of the major ones somewhere on the interwebs. Even though it may not seem like it at first, not everything revolves around Greek life. If you find a couple friends who also aren’t interested there’s plenty to see/do on grounds in in Charlottesville. Besides, smaller parties filled with people you actually know are way more fun than frat parties!</p>

<p>BTW, is anyone else here interested in theatre/tech theatre? I would be so happy to talk to you about it, but I will save everyone else from witnessing that if no one really cares :)</p>

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<p>Thanks, AnneD, for your very detailed responses to these potential first years. Your kindness is representative of the UVa students/community at large. Dean J is another example of someone going that extra mile. Is there another school whose admission officer takes time pretty much every day to respond to questions posted by CC applicants, students, parents, and alum? If there is, I don’t know about them. Lastly, my D’s teammates (2nd-4th years) put her up during camp over the summer, have offered to take/pick her up from the Richmond or Dulles airport if she ever needs it, come pick her up at the dorms 3-5 times per week for practice/games so she doesn’t have to walk, etc. All of these examples simply serve to illustrate how supportive and friendly everyone really is. </p>

<p>One other thing to add to the topic of social opportunities/Greek life – only 1/3 of UVA students elect to pledge, so if you decide it’s not for you, it’s no big deal. My D did join a sorority and loves it, but several girls on her hall chose not to rush. They all still hangout and meet at O’Hill or Wilsdorf all the time; no one really cares if you’re Greek or not. Also, there are lots of club sports that provide you with social opportunities as well. Another thing to consider is Madison House – a great facilitator of TONS of volunteer opportunities. UVa kids are having lots of fun while helping out people all over the nation and world. As AnneD said, go to the activities fair the first week of school, and you’re likely to find a smorgesboard of organizations that appeal to you.</p>

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<p>I would think being away from 95% of the other first year students would be a major detriment of some of the residential colleges. </p>

<p>Thanks for everyone’s insights. It is good to know that there is no choice in the type of first year dorm (so there is no value in taking my son to check them out in advance so he can pick one).</p>

<p>In regards to the friendliness question: when I was at UVa (many years ago) people made many of their friends in the first month. Put a real emphasis into meeting people during that time. After that, people fell into groups, and it was harder to break into them. Some transfers had problems with that - many people had developed their core group in their first year dorm.</p>

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<p>jc40: Does your D often feel that Greek life is a big commitment? I’m interested in joining but I want to have time to do other things. And to any other college students out there, do you feel that you have enough free time to do the extracurriculars you want?</p>

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<p>I’m a rising freshman and have no clue what I want to major in. Do you have any advice as to what classes I should take? Thanks</p>