<p>I was just accepted to UVA and I hope to apply to McIntire later, and obviously I'm happy, but I keep on thinking about the students at UVA and I feel as though I would not fit in.</p>
<p>I'm mixed race from a very liberal family in Los Angeles and I'm not sure if I would be happy with conservative polo wearing students. Of course these are my crude assumptions so feel free to correct me.</p>
<p>Could some one give me a more in-depth review of the student life because I am extremely attracted to UVA regarding academics, but not so much the student life. </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Also, is it very tough to get accepted to McIntire?</p>
<p>why stereotype uva students in that way? If conservatives bother you that much than you will not find UVA enjoyable. In fact few will enjoy your company if you are that narrow minded. I'd hope that you are more tolerant than your post leads me to believe.</p>
<p>Anyway, it is true that we have more conservatives than liberals but that's in comparison to those liberal havens up north. This is a university after all so students tend to be liberal.The culture here will definitely feel a bit different than in California but everyone finds a niche that suits them. </p>
<p>McIntire is an excellent program and many students apply. Acceptance numbers have been posted on these forums so be sure to search for that. The new building on the lawn is impressive and if you haven't visited already I suggest you do, it will give you a better idea of the program.</p>
<p>In no way was I suggesting that I am anti-conservative. Precisely I am very open minded, and enjoy being around people that many different points of view. </p>
<p>I may have worded my statement incorrectly, but I'm curious to know if it is true that the majority of students are so like one another that it is hard to differentiate between students. Diversity is very important to me and I hope that this assumption is coming from the few angered UVa students. </p>
<p>From the research I've done, this is what I have come up with and I plan on being corrected since I am interested in the university. </p>
<p>UVA is a diverse place with all sorts of people but it's all about perspective. UC schools are much more diverse with the large asian populations so you will definitely not see that at UVA. If you are fearful of a southern Caucasian lifestyle dominating university then you won't need to worry. We don't have too many come from california because of the strong UC system but I have no doubt they'd enjoy the experience just as much as those that are from the east.</p>
<p>Really the best way to gauge is to visit, maybe sit in on some classes, and figure out for yourself if this place is for you.</p>
<p>I feel the OP was a bit jumped on for his question, but in response I think you're worrying a bit needlessly. Sure we have our share of conservatives, but the beauty of UVA's size is that you'll find your niche somewhere with an awesome group of people, yet it's not so big you'll get lost in the crowd. To me, students are not a homogeneous bunch at all. And for diversity, we have an 11% Asian American, 9% African American, 4% Hispanic American, and about 5% international student body.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure there are more students who would call themselves liberal than conservative around here. UVA is only "conservative" in a political sense relative to other schools. </p>
<p>Of course I don't think you really meant conservative in the political sense.</p>
<p>Colleges and universities in the United States are liberal places (with exceptions for schools with very specific missions). That being said, my perception is that UVa leans a little bit closer to center than some schools, though it's still to the left.</p>
<p>I see Charlottesville itself is a liberal bastion in Central Virginia, evident in how residents in the city and surrounding county vote. One of the local arts weeklies (we have two), points</a> to cultural signs in this article.</p>
<p>I'm liberal and from Kansas, I visited UVa and did not get a sense that it was over-conservative (then again I live in Kansas) or preppy at all. I come from a public school so I have seen the ranges from emo to preppy and I could not really pinpoint a consistent style throughout campus. My tour leader was an excited math major in a t-shirt.</p>
<p>I see people from all over the map here. You can always find your own niche. Also, who says you can't be friends with people outside a few of your interests? You may bond with a conservative-type person just because they're fun to be around or you guys just somehow click. But like hazelorb said, it's a state school, and for some people this may be their only option, so a wide variety of people end up here from all over the social/personality/interests map. Also, the international application rate increased by something like 52% this year, and despite the rumor, minorities are plentiful here, so there's plenty of racial diversity.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the opinions! After hearing from all of you and several other people I am leaning towards UVa and I'm definitely going to try to attend the Days on the Lawn.</p>
<p>I am glad to stand corrected, oh and by the way theU.com videos are very misleading.</p>
<p>then maybe you shouldn't watch those videos. </p>
<p>the best source of information is UVa (or a representative). A lot of stereotypes surround colleges that are leftover from many years ago. I'm not personally familiar with the political atmosphere of UVa but I had known that they tend to be more moderate as a whole; everything evens out.</p>
<p>The</a> University Democrats
This is the UVa democrats webpage. Before choosing between colleges, I would e-mail them and look at their webpage to get a better understanding of how active the democrats on campus are. I recommend this only because politics seems to be very important to you.</p>
<p>Haha, my friend and former co-worker was the producer who filmed theU.com videos. Chris told me he was impressed with UVa when he came down, but I have to say that after watching his video clips, I think he played to UVA's stereotypes a bit. There's still a lot of truth in them, but some of those clips are also dated. They still mention the option of applying early decision, which is no longer an option.</p>
<p>Here are some UVA</a> Today Videos you can look at to give you an idea of what going on on Grounds.</p>
<p>There are so many different things to say about student life at UVa that no one post or even thread can really do it justice. There truly is something for everyone. In addition, I've found that my friends coming from further, or from areas where there are few to no others coming to UVa besides them, have had the most memorable, most enjoyable experience here. </p>
<p>It is easy to notice what appears to be a conservative group of students when you come if you are from a more liberal area, I did when I came. However I quickly realized my failure to distinguish regional or geographical association and political or ideological association. Some of my more southern and what I thought to be conservative friends actually turned out to be some of my more liberal and activist friends. </p>
<p>Just like any other school, the majority of the undergrad population is noticeably liberal, it's the nature of academia, always questioning, always wondering if there is a better way to do things. </p>
<p>That being said, not everyone in and around the UVa community is going to be just like you. There will be the occasional person who is less open minded, or less tolerant of certain things, but this is the nature of the real world(Notice: key word is occasional. It's no question that when people perceive something different than the norm or what they are used to, that they think or believe it is something that happens frequently or is more "normal" than it actually is.). I have appreciated my exposure to the vastly different backgrounds I've experienced at UVa as it has prepared me immensely for handling myself in the working and real world after school.</p>
<p>ok after watching all the videos from the tour section and some of the "most popular" videos I rate this website D/D-
the narrators are pulling from a script written by uninformed people and several of the interviews show significantly skewed perspectives. two examples coming back to mind, the style, and the social scene. yes you will see polo around as probably the favorite brand, but it's not stifling. you will see people in all sorts of threads. as for the social scene, there is SO MUCH MORE than fraternities and sororities. if you are in to greek life, it's fabulous and get involved there, however if you find out that you are not, guess what 2/3 of the student population is like you, so you'll find even MORE outlets that are not greek related.</p>
<p>(administrator won't let me edit my posts to just add to previous posts!!)</p>