<p>ok, I did ED to Cornell and i got deferred. UVA is among my schools that i applied to already and that i want to know much more about. My schools are predominantly more..."liberal", "diverse", and "northeastern elitist" haha. UVA is the exception. How conservative is UVA? Are the students an intelligent bunch? Are they more into studying, drinking, or both? Do they care about their education? Are they ambitious, motivated, active members of the school? Are extracurriculars popular? Thanks a lot everyone.</p>
<p>anyone? just give me some insight</p>
<p>not particularly. i am a student there now. perhaps more moderate than say oberlin, but not particularly conservative. the kids are smart, type A personality. study hard party hard.</p>
<p>Not especially. It's college, most seem to be in a fairly liberal mood. Maybe that's just the crowd I'm with though.</p>
<p>I wouldn't say that UVA is particularly conservative or liberal; students have a variety of political opinions. One thing I've come to appreciate about UVA is that there is no predominant opinion and there's never any pressure to conform to views that are more common, as would be the case at a school like Brown or Liberty.</p>
<p>I don't know what you mean about saying that UVA isn't diverse...to the contrary, it's a very diverse school. Like nearly every university in the nation, it has areas in which it needs to improve, but, since I've been here, I've met people from an incredible variety of backgrounds. Don't think for a minute that coming here would mean being surrounded by a homogeneous student body for four years.</p>
<p>The students here are fairly intelligent and hard-working. During the week, expect to see a good portion of the student body studying in libraries and in dorms. BUT - on weekends, UVA students know how to have fun. Whether you're into parties, theater, or other activities, you'll be able to find more than enough to do. Among top 25 universities, I'd wager that UVA has the best social life. </p>
<p>Students here tend to be fairly ambitious and into ECs, as neurotic said. You'll run into a decent number of type-A people who are in 5+ clubs and are taking 19 credits and still try to party three nights a week, but you'll also run into people like me, who are content to spend time with their friends and devote a good amount of time to studies.</p>
<p>If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>We were potentially concerned about this issue at the time of my S's application for fear that his hard core, far left, liberal upbringing at home would potentially be undermined and/or cause him to not be a good fit at UVA. I was afraid if he joined a frat and adopted conservative values he would become a person we couldn't relate to anymore and found this possibility positively frightening. However, after some research (which unfortunately I have not saved), I determined that our fears were not substantiated. There appear to be (a) plenty of liberals at UVA, and (b) excellent acceptance of a variety of schools of thought by those with differing value systems. He applied ED, was accepted and we are delighted with his choice. So, if you do go to UVA there will be at least one student who is pro gay marriage, anti death penalty (even for the Virginia sniper), anti war (under any provocation), pro abortion, pro assisted suicide, pro welfare programs, etc., etc. and who plans to join a frat! (Although this thought still causes me to cringe, I am working on letting go and practicing acceptance.)</p>
<p>hey, we liberals are accepting arent we? haha ;) Well thank you all. Very informative words. So it seems UVa ppl care about their education. Are they mostly going to medical school? Law school? business? Wat does the campaign push forth in terms of this? Is there a strong promotion of certain programs in certain areas? How is Charlottesville? Are sports popular? Like will everyone will the stadium like in Maryland?</p>
<p>They just spent major $$$ on the stadium and basketball arena so it better stay popular. bball is down and football is OK.</p>
<p>I actually want a quite subdued sports environment. I want a more..."intellectual" atmosphere. Like at Cornell basically. Work Hard, Play Hard. Ambitious, studious, yet know how to have fun in the right way (like not binge drinking rampant like at Lehigh or something)</p>
<p>if this helps:</p>
<ol>
<li>i am from brooklyn, too</li>
<li>i was accepted at cornell</li>
<li>i chose uva ($$)</li>
<li>i am happy</li>
<li>i don't drink at all :)</li>
</ol>
<p>Maryland games, in my experience, can't hold a candle to Wahoo football.</p>
<p>Maryland's stadium is far, far uglier than Scott, doesn't hold as many people, and doesn't have as good sight lines.</p>
<p>neurotic, u like it there?</p>
<p>Bklyn2Cornell,
I'm also a Brooklynite and current UVA 1st year. I understand your concerns about the intellectualism here, and the socio-political scene. I went through the same thing last year, so maybe this will help:</p>
<p>1) Yes, the intellectual atmosphere may seem less rigorous at UVA if you come from one of NYC's top high schools. However, it may be the same way at Cornell (depending on which college you apply to); my friend from HS, now at Cornell, also told me that he missed substantive conversations with people. You'll find superficiality anywhere you go. But, you'll find that there are great, brilliant people at UVA. It may take a while, but you'll find your niche if you make an effort to meet new people. Yes, the party scene is big at UVA, and many tend to check it out in the beginning of the year; on the other hand, the party scene at Cornell is also very big. The difference is at Cornell, you may feel less pressured to go out, because there will be more people staying in.</p>
<p>2) Politics at UVA is moderate. There are vocal right-wingers, and equally vocal left-wingers. However, definitely more "conservative" than the stereotypical New-England Liberal/Elite school. Politically speaking, it's an eye opener for a New Yorker to go to UVA; its both refreshing, (and sometimes frustrating). Keep an open mind, and you'll be fine. (Just remember that as a NYer/Brooklynite, you'll always better anyway ;)</p>
<p>Personally, I think Cornell is a great match for you, given your criteria, NY residency, interest in science research. But, before you throw away the UVA app, here's some advice/shameless plugging to read as you apply here:</p>
<p>1) Look into the residential colleges at UVA; they're really fun and may probably suit your social needs better than random placement in 1st year housing.</p>
<p>2) The weather here is great. *<strong><em>haca, NY has terrible weather which makes you depressed, which makes you want to jump off a gorge (jk). There is also a lot more to do here than in *</em></strong>haca, it's true...</p>
<p>3) UVA is quite diverse, unlike what you may have heard. I was very surprised. Get to know international students; they're cool. Again, it's really all about finding the people you're comfortable with, and not really dealing with the rest. Thus is life in a school with 12+ thousand undergrads (same with Cornell).</p>
<p>4) When you get here, or there, sign up for a lot of clubs/organizations, and actually attend the first few meetings so you get to know a lot of people quickly. Don't be passive.</p>
<p>So, that's some of the advice I wish I'd more closely listened to during 1st semester, good luck.</p>
<p>Wow, that was amazing. Thank you very much. First, im very active, definitely not passive. It will be easy for me to meet people. And im very proactive and active in clubs, etc. Plus, i already submitted my UVA app on Saturday!</p>
<p>Bklyn --</p>
<p>Sent you a PM but you need to clear some space...</p>
<p>Yes, I like it. Here's more for you to chew on:</p>
<p>Political thought tends to run in streams at UVA, each banked by the walls of the major it flows through.</p>
<p>English/Art/Lit/Anthropology/Philosophy, etc. majors: By and large liberal</p>
<p>History/Polisci: Moderate, some libertarians, DLC democrats, Conservatives</p>
<p>Econ/Business-related: Conservative</p>
<p>this is probably what you would find at any institution, but leaning slightly more conservative here. Also, conservatism here is not so much the 'pickup truck good-ol' boy' conservatism or the 'Rah Bush' conservatism, but rather the ideological political conservatism.</p>
<p>BTW: Cornell and Ithaca are about as liberal as you can get. Very granola.</p>
<hr>
<p>Here's a list of things that I will give advantage to either UVA or Cornell:</p>
<p>Sciences: Cornell, slight edge. Both have excellent research opportunities.
History, Politics: UVA hands down.
Engineering: Cornell.
Campus' sheer beauty: Cornell, slight edge.
Prestige: Pretty close. Probably edge to Cornell.
Academic rigor: I'd say a tie.
Women: UVA hands down.
Men: UVA hands down
Athletics: UVA
Weather: UVA
Surrounding city: UVA
Professor approachability: UVA
Affordability: UVA</p>
<p>Now that I am writing this list, I am thinking it might help if I knew what you were planning to major in.</p>
<p>I made the same choice between the same schools, so I've got a fair amount of info, but rather than make general sweeping statements, I'd rather try to hone in on what you are specifically looking for.</p>
<p>Why can't a liberal person accept a conservative for their point of views and vice versa? So much for being "accepting."</p>
<p>UVA is about 50/50. Really, not very many people are going to be sparring you on political arguments at all. Everyone's too busy looking for a future potential career, while having fun, so it goes along with the 'work hard, play hard' kind of deal. However, UVA is definitely more outgoing and 'have fun' type than Cornell. </p>
<p>Many people go to the football games, especially in their first year. First year dorms will be dead on Saturdays during the games, but that's normally only once every couple of weeks on average in the fall. After that things quiet down quite a bit, especially with a terrible basketball team and lack of interest in watching spring sports compared to football.</p>
<p>Heh. The only political views that I know remain in occlusion at UVa are those of conservatives. I know several who are very careful to keep their opinions and thoughts to themselves. </p>
<p>Liberals, don't break your arm patting yourself on your back for your "tolerance" and "diversity". Recent surveys show that 90% of the faculty--just about anywhere--is liberal. Conservatives learn to keep their mouths shut and tread softly when it comes to political issues. I know of one story where two roommates did not discover that they were both conservative Republicans until they were moving out at the end of the academic year.</p>
<p>Sorry, its cleaned up now.</p>
<p>Im majoring in a "Biology and Society" type major. Basically interdisciplinary study of combining health sciences and social sciences like history, politics, psychology, philosophy, ethics. </p>
<p>So you say Charlottesville is better than Ithaca?</p>
<p>Im probably going to law school. Better at UVA? I want a prestigious law school.</p>
<p>Much more attractive people at UVA i see?</p>