Can anyone shed light on the move in activities for freshman? It looks as though there are activities for parents both on the 17th and 18th. Do most parents stay both days? Will our son even have time to spend with us if we stay the second day? We are coming from a far and have another student to get off to college that same week. We want to be there for our son if most families stay both days. Also, is there storage for shipping things ahead of time? Thanks so much!
Our experience was that we were involved on Move-in day and then some parent activities while our D was off on orientation activities on both days. However, we saw her less than we had hoped. I’m guessing you’d be fine to go one just one day - especially with a son. 
There is no storage for shipping that I am aware of. We had some books delivered before we got there through my D’s mail box, but it was just a small box. Luckily, we had some friends in the area and had the rest shipped to their house. I’m not sure what arrangements other people made who were coming from far away.
@phoenixmomof2 thank you for your insight. That’s very helpful.
Our daughter participated in the Roadmap to Success orientation program for new students last year, which resulted in an earlier orientation with a smaller group for both students and parents. Highly recommended, especially if it will make your schedule easier for your other student. Also, much less hectic as fewer students are moving in at one time. We stayed for the regular orientation, too since we couldn’t change our plane tickets, but much of it is similar. We didn’t get to see our D much at all after she moved into her dorm and the Roadmap orientation program started. We had to fly to bring our D to UR, so we each brought two checked bags with us on our flight. We didn’t need to store anything before our arrival, but if you do, suggest you call your hotel where you’ll be staying. As long as it isn’t too much, they may accept a pre-arrival FedEx or UPS shipment to you c/o the hotel.
You can ship things ahead of time to your UR post office address. It’s essentially a PO box, but you can pick up packages from the post office on campus. I’m not sure how you find out your UR PO box-- you used to find out with housing but they changed the housing system last year.
Hi @guineagirl96. Did you visit UR before applying? How did you let UR know you were interested?
Our D was notified of her UR PO box address several weeks before we arrived, so we did mail a few things there in advance. Some of the bulkiest things she needed to buy we ordered online from Bed, Bath, and Beyond for pick-up at their store closest to UR. Do you keep the same PO Box for your entire time at UR or do you get reissued a new PO box number each year? She had to turn-in her mailbox key before she departed campus for the Summer.
@2muchquan I visited once or twice before I applied. I also attended the presentation when they visited my school. I also used to “why Richmond” essay on my application to show how much I loved the school.
@ARTCC you keep the same PO box! They make you turn in the key because they don’t want people losing them over the summer.
I don’t know if incoming freshmen have access to bannerweb yet, but you can find out your PO box on there (did some digging). Once you have access, go to the personal info tab and then click on view addresses and you’ll find the box number there.
How much does student interest play in admission and even scholarships? Also, what do you think is more important in the admissions process? GPA or ACT? And finally, does UR look at what your school offers and if you took the highest classes available?
Thank you!!! 
I really hope I can get a scholarship there
Also, when applying for the scholarships, can you also do an interview and will that be included in the scholarship/admissions process??
Thanks!
@shana1 interest is important at UR particularly for high stat individuals and is also really important for scholarships. Your GPA is more important than your tests scores in terms of admissions, but they are the two most important factors in your application. And yes, UR, like most university considers what courses you took in regards to what is available at your school.
Unfortunately, interviews are not considered for admissions purposes. The Richmond Scholar program requires all finalists to interview. As far as I’m aware, other merit scholarships will not consider interviews (with the exception of department awards such as music that require audition).
Do you know how common it is for transfers to get on campus housing?? I was told its not a certain but based on availability
@Urich2019 unfortunately, I don’t know the answer to that, but I believe most of the transfer I know lived on campus.
Maybe someone else who has more experience with transfers could give you a more definite answer.
@guineagirl96
Hello,
If you are still answering questions, I have two to ask.
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What courses are ideal to take in highschool for this college (Calculus, Stats,etc)?
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What were your stats (like rank and SAT/ACT scores, etc.) and classes?
Thank you! If you already answered this, I would greatly appreciate if you link to that/those comments or give the number.
@TheYellowBiscuit I went to a highly competitive STEM magnet school that does not rank. My stats and classes can be found here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/admissions-hindsight-lessons-learned/1651564-my-results-and-what-it-tells-you-about-the-college-admission-process.html#latest Note that many people applying to UR have objective stats much higher than mine (especially GPA). I, however, had really meaningful and extensive extracurriculars, particularly related to music, where I had won competitions and received other honors (all-state orchestra and band, soloing with local youth orchestra multiple times,etc).
In terms of coursework for UR, take as rigorous a course load as you can handle and do well in. The minimum admissions requirements can be found here:http://admissions.richmond.edu/process/requirements.html?fall09=p. In terms of math, the majority of freshmen take calc 1 at UR (some take other courses like symbolic logic to fulfill the gen ed), but take calculus in high school if you think you can do well. Stats is a great alternative if you math is not your strong suit or you plan on going into a humanities major.
Thanks for the reply! I do want to be a humanities major, so I will switch into stats. I know I will be floored by calc. Other than that, I will just work on my ACT/SAT scores. If I can get those up I will match other people.
Thanks again.
Wondering if you can comment on the overall vibe of the students. We live in the Midwest in wealthy neighborhood and our kids go to a nationally ranked public high school. We’ve only had a handful of kids apply and enroll at Richmond. Those families are very showy when it comes to their social status and money. A friend of mine, who is a college counselor in our town, told me she would never send her kids to Richmond as the overall feeling is one of entitlement.
Everything I read about Richmond seems like a great fit for our son until I heard which of our local families sent their kids there. What is your take on this? My gut says to have him apply and then visit to make our own assessment, but my college counselor friend is very well respected (BC undergrad, UVA MBA) and I believe her when she says she wouldn’t think her kids would fit there. If her kids wouldn’t fit there, then our son would certainly not find a place there either.
Overall, in my experience, most students do not feel entitled here. UR has very generous financial aid (both merit and need based), so it attracts a lot of students that can’t afford full-sticker price (or anywhere close to it). I wouldn’t be able to afford Richmond without the full-tuition scholarship I have, and I know a lot of my friends would not be here without their merit scholarships or need based aid either. It’s very hard to tell who comes from an affluent/rich family here in my opinion, because nobody really cares about how much money you have or shows off how much they have. The vast majority of people I know here also went to public high schools- I personally went to a nationally ranked public magnet school.
@guineagirl96 thanks so much for your quick response. Very happy to hear your take!
I have a recent UR graduate and a current UR Junior in my household, and I second all the info from @guineagirl96 . There is a lot of financial diversity at UR, with an average financial aid package of close to $45k, with 40% of students demonstrating financial need. Many students work part time jobs to help pay expenses, mine included. There are plenty of students without cars, too. Attending UR has been a wonderful experience for my daughters, which our family could never afford without big scholarships. The majority of UR students come from public schools.