I don’t think it’s ever a bad idea to get on the phone and actually talk to someone in financial aid and have a chance to explain your exact situation.
We’re visiting campus in two weeks; it will be a quick visit to Richmond, but we really need to visit now to be able to make decisions (we had originally intended to visit last summer, but couldn’t due to COVID).
What other schools is your son or daughter considering?
Thanks for asking – we have some options: Richmond, UMass Amherst, Wisconsin, Iowa and UC Irvine are at the top. My daughter dances (ballet) and is a great student, so we’re hoping to find a school with academics + dance or dance opportunities (she’ll likely double major). She’s been accepted to dance programs at UMass, Wisconsin and Iowa. Richmond has performance opportunities and (obviously) great academic programs.
Thanks! I’m planning to visit campus soon, but all the tours are booked already so we have to do a walking or driving tour. Has anyone done a self-guided tour at Richmond – anything important to know?
I’m in the same boat – the weekend tours were booked so we’ll be touring largely on our own (I hope someone answers your question for the both of us).
If this is true, you need to argue.
On the other hand, I believe 99.99% of time, the EFC is afforded for a family when utilizing all sources.
I only WANT to pay up to 10k, but my EFC is about 25K. I calculated and know that if we do not save any retirement, do not take vacations or other big shopping plans, we can pay 25k.
“I do not want to pay 25K” does not mean “I cannot pay 25K.”
wow so Richmond is her only LAC on the list. I’ll be curious what she thinks! D would dance there too with University Dancers if she attends. She danced at a pre-professional ballet studio but doesn’t want to major in dance.
Good luck to your D!
Just saw this web page, talking about EFC too high.
Regarding receiving merit or increased money at this point in the process, it is doubtful, We toured campus today, and I broached this subject with the energetic VP of Admissions who was greeting families. Once we engaged him in conversation, I realized he was not friendly, and his high energy should not be misconstrued for warmth. His attitude seemed to be. “You’re lucky to be here. Don’t ask or expect more on any level.” My child’s profile is competitive; based on their advertised middle 50, she did not squeak in.
The school is beautiful. The students giving tours were very informative and eager to help. Sadly, many of the other students on campus whom we saw were haughty, not making eye contact or acknowledging guests. Three different times, we were standing next to a table of girls who gave our group of 3 the condescending once over and shot us dirty looks. My child was oblivious, but the tour guide was visibly uncomfortable. I don’t know what provoked the mean girl attitude, but it turned me off.
My takeaway was URich is overpriced for what it offers to my student. The clout for being ranked in the top 25 cannot overcome the fact that it is a rather isolated, suburban campus with an underdeveloped internship placement office. Additionally, the admissions representatives bragging about stats is tired. Perhaps, their focus indicates URich is eager to break into the top 20. Maybe the massage therapy and salt room, free to students by appointment, will help URich achieve its goals. Personally, I want my child to land at a college better prepared to develop her intellect and help her pursue pre-professional opportunities. I can take her to a spa for the massage.
My S is waitlisted which is surprising given other higher ranked acceptances, but I know it’s a v small class size. We never had the chance to tour but he has 2 other schools in the region and we are planing on going there in April as part of his other accepted students visits just to get a sense of it.
Interesting review, and sorry to hear. So much for southern hospitality!!! Ugh. Hoping for your sake your D may have a different first choice. Such a let down after such a long process. I wonder if the heavy emphasis on Greek life and that whole “I’m in the popular sorority” was what you experienced?
We are from New England where Greek is not a thing and my son isn’t really into that aspect of college. We are concerned if that is really how he wants to spend his social time or wants to deal w that “vibe”. He loves the idea of school in a warmer climate.
My D is at Northeastern which is not Greek heavy at all. But the schools in the south are and we are concerned for that.
I have read in a number of places about the “dinning hall separate rooms by athletes, Greek, other” and that really was a red flag for me but was trying to keep an open mind. Perhaps it’s more pervasive than the dinning hall?? It’s likely easier for such a small school to perpetuate clicks I think just based on limited size? Idk just guessing. There are concerns raised in other reviews about social scenes and racial segregation.
Thanks for sharing and very sorry for your experience. Helpful insights to be on the look out should we decide to tour while down there.
Also waiting to hear RD from Wake, Miami, BC, BU. But Glad he has other options at this point.
Good luck!!!
Thank you for your warm reply. I had read the same things about UR and asked about it on the tour. Our tour guide responded with the things UR does to combat the problem. She did not say the reviews were inaccurate. Hmmmmm
My student has other choices and is waiting for many more decisions. Unfortunately, three of those are from similar schools.
Best of luck to your son and congratulations on his other acceptances!
UR makes it clear that you can’t negotiate merit. Many many schools do not negotiate no matter the student’s stats. It seems the UR’s Presidential scholarship goes mostly to those who add diversity to the class. With a 20 percent acceptance rate, they don’t need to negotiate. Stinks but it is what it is. Places like Colgate and others schools that kids apply to who apply to UR don’t give anyone merit
As for the cliques, we’ve heard that as well. When we visited two weeks ago, it was raining and we didn’t see many kids. It’s worth investigating of course. Maybe you can find a current student on CC here to get more info on that.
We visited campus on 10/31 during the day. (Drove from Durham, NC although we knew official tours were not happening at the time.) Daughter applied EA and was accepted. Campus is beautiful. We saw many students walking around campus. It was a beautiful sunny day. Not one student smiled at us, looked at us, spoke to us.
It was disappointing.
Daughter was accepted in EA round but wasn’t as interested after our tour.
Also, without a car on campus, getting anywhere seems next to impossible.
My son is a freshman at a public school in NC. He does not have a car on campus this year and his campus is not walkable to town, but he does have many more options to feel like he can “get away” from campus…that didn’t seem to be the case at UR.
Out of curiosity, weren’t the students on campus mostly wearing masks? So it would be hard to know if they were smiling or not. Also, in a pandemic, perhaps it’s not recommended that the students engage with visitors on campus? I could be wrong. Just food for thought that maybe that had soemthing to do with it feeling somewhat “unfriendly”.
I agree. I’m not thinking there are too many campuses out there during Covid where students are actively engaging with visitors on campus or going out of their way to be friendly. Most students on campuses these days are wrapped up in their own less than spectacular college experience. I think maybe the students the poster above saw were eating so their masks were off?
I’m just not sure it makes sense to judge the friendliness of the students on campus this semester.
Very true
—to both of you
We were also masked
…but just thought it was strange that no one said hello or anything.
It was a different experience than we had when touring some other schools although many of those were bigger schools.
Why would a student who is a complete stranger say hello to someone passing by on campus? We did have a couple of students say hello to our tour guide at UR and I thought that was a sign that students are friendly to each other. I consider bowdoin kids friendly but I don’t see S or any of his friends randomly saying hello to people walking around campus. Now, if it was a family who seemed lost or needed directions, I could see them offering but they wouldn’t say hello to families already on a tour.
Parent of a current UR student here. It is a fantastic college and we could not be more impressed with the college’s pandemic response. Most classes have been in-person since last fall. The UR community has worked very hard to stay in-person and keep the number of Co-Vid cases low. (0 cases right now, actually.) There has been an on-going problem with neighbors, visitors and community members regularly using the campus to bike, hike, walk dogs, and use other campus areas - generally without masks. The campus is a friendly one - it has been a strange and challenging year so I would not judge the students too harshly. They have been told to be masked and separated by 6 feet non-stop since last August. My child has been a student for 4 years and, overall, our family is extremely pleased with the experience and education being received. And, the Career Services Office is outstanding.
When we visited UR last February (2020), we were told that students got free Uber rides to or from Richmond at any time! In addition, the university runs a number of shuttles. The Uber scheme seems to be still active (judging from the website) but only for faculty/staff, and it looks like the shuttles have been suspended. I would imagine both will be reinstated once the pandemic is behind us.
I guess it is just different based on where you llve and what you are accustomed to…
As all things, different places fit different students.
I apologize if I offended or was negative, I really was just stating our experience walking thru campus with a map as a family of 3 that was obviously touring around.
On paper it was the perfect fit for D21 (we were scheduled to tour in march of last year and did not go due to COVID & a broken leg)…in person, it was not the perfect fit for her.