Hey! I am interested in the pre-health track and the theatre program at UR I have some questions about all sorts of stuff… Questions 5 and 6 I could not find the answers to online. Thanks for helping!!!
Is it common for students to be on the health track and be in theatre (specifically minor).
Is it hard to be involved in theatre without being a major/ minor? Are the majors/minors given priority in casting for productions?
Is it common for students to switch their major? Is it easy to switch majors?
Academically speaking, is the school well-rounded?
Is taking a language mandatory?
Is there a cap on class size?
And lastly, I am an IB Diploma Candidate. Will this give me an advantage in the application process?
Yes, it's relatively common for theater students to be pre-health.
No, not hard at all! I was involved in theater without being a major/minor, and was inducted into the theater honor society, Alpha Psi Omega (AYO). Auditions for productions are open to everyone, and no preference is given in casting to majors/minors. We also have the student theater group, University Players, on campus, and AYO and them sponsor student productions, including things like Haunted House and New Faces (our annual show showcasing people who have not been in a department production yet). Over the course of my time at UR, I was involved in about 9 productions (only one was a department mainstage production), and while I only acted in a few, I was able to help on the leadership team, with roles such as music director, choreographer, costume & makeup designer, producer, etc.
It's common for students to switch their major and very easy to do so. You just need to fill out the major/minor declaration form, which involves getting the department chair to sign the form. The only ones that are harder is if you want to declare a business major, you have to meet minimum requirements to be admitted to the b-school, and the leadership major is competitive and you must apply in order to declare that major.
Yes, the school is well-rounded academically.
Yes, one must take a language as part of the general education curriculum- the relevant one is COM2 and lots can be found on the website about that. To summarize, though, you must fulfill fourth semester equivalent of one language in order to graduate- this can be done through testing out (AP or IB test, SAT subject test, placement test), or taking the courses (starting at whatever your placement level is; if you start at the beginning, it'll take 4 units). International students who come from a country where English is not the main language are usually exempt from COM2, however.
Class sizes are kept small. Most classes will be under 20-25. Very few classes have above 30 students.
Being an IB diploma candidate is definitely a plus, as it means you have a rigorous courseload!
Hi! Our S is going to be a freshman, still undecided major though chose Richmond because he loved the PPEL class he sat in on and the Leadership program discussion. He decided to do the new Endeavor living learning community (in biology) to ensure he really knows what he wants (he’d been thinking of medicine) and because he wants a close faculty mentor. I’m wondering if you know if they are getting many kids applying to the Endeavors (they all will live together). We’re hoping the community won’t be sparse. Thanks!
@havenoidea I’m not sure what the numbers are this year, but Endeavors is just a repackaging/re-vamping of the previous living learning community program, and they’re typically competitive. They take around 16 people per community but typically have more than that apply.
I am strongly considering accepting my spot in the Endeavor program.
Just wondering if it is considered “cool” and fun in general on campus.
Also. how is the housing?
I have heard that Wood is really old and the least desirable freshman housing-but the source was several years old.
@SaSmith The Richmond Endeavor program is brand new (Fall 2018), so there is no developed opinion about it yet. If it’s any help, LLCs do have a good reputation and I know a bunch of people that really enjoyed their experiences with one.
Freshman housing is generally what you make of it; I’m not particularly familiar with Wood and its renovation status, but I do know that it was generally not the one I heard complaints about wink. They will be doing some renovations this Summer, but it should only be minor structural changes. Trust me, though, when I say that the livability of your dorm will be almost entirely dictated by the individual state of your room based upon your living habits.
@SaSmith On Richmond’s website, I found info saying Wood Hall’s basement is being renovated this summer to include a lounge and study spaces, if that helps.
Here’s an important question. Which cell carrier has the best service around campus? We have Sprint which isn’t very good, especially inside buildings. How is T-Mobile?
Our family uses Verizon Wireless and our D at UR has never had any issues with cell connectivity on campus or in her dorms. The dorm room WiFi hot spots are incredibly fast, so there shouldn’t be any issue with cellular data usage.
@havenoidea My daughter is also a Freshman coming in this year, as part of the Endeavor program in Biology. We’re hoping it’s going to be a very positive experience coming in!
Apologies for the delay in responding everyone! I moved to a new apartment last weekend and didn’t have internet set up until today.
@SaSmith I second everything @MON824 said on this. The previous living learning community system was pretty popular, so I would expect the Endeavor program to also be popular.
@Suburbia I like @ARTCC have Verizon and I never had a problem with it on campus. Not sure what the best on campus is however.
@Suburbia I have T-Mobile and it’s been pretty great in Richmond (as opposed to where I actually live). Just about the entire campus is connected with Wi-Fi as far as I know, though, so it really doesn’t matter anyways.
I honestly don’t think you’ll find a major discrepancy, though; major city like Richmond will generally have high speeds from most major carriers, so I don’t think it should be too much of a concern.
Thanks for the answers. I asked several people at the campus about cell phone coverage. Consensus seems to be that Verizon has the best coverage, followed by T-Mobile. Sprint is only fair and AT&T is poor (one person said they had to switch out of AT&T because calls kept dropping).
Hi! Thanks so much for starting this thread and for the dedication in helping people!
We recently returned from a visit to UR and it has soared to the top of my daughter’s list. I’m just a little curious about why the library wasn’t a stop on the tour…it’s the first college tour for us that hasn’t included the library. Now that I’ve been home and thinking about it, I’d like to know how important of a building it is on campus. Do students use it for research and studying, and is it a gathering place?
@bettzke1 That’s interesting that the library wasn’t a stop on the tour. I thought it was, or at least it used to be.
The library is a pretty popular meeting place for group projects, as well as clubs on campus. You’ll also usually find a lot of people studying or working on hw there. The starbucks (its called 8:15) is also inside the library, and people will hang out there as well sometimes.
Our D is a rising senior at UR and the library was a stop when we did the campus tour when she was still in high school. Even if it’s no longer a stop on the guided tour, you can still go inside and look around on our own when it’s open to see what it’s like.