How do you like UVA?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
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<p>I am an applicant for UVA for the class of 2015 and I would like to hear some of the things those of you attending UVA like/dislike about the schools, the people, Charlottesville, etc. I visited there last year and I was VERY impressed by the professionalism of the admissions counselors and the student tour guides. I also loved the atmosphere of the campus. I'm not sure about going to school in a small town, but I think that the quality of the education will trump the downsides of the location. What are your experiences?</p>

<p>Academics, the drinking/partying scene, the town, the people (overall) are all good topics. I appreciate all the help!</p>

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<p>There are a gazillion threads titled “likes/dislikes” or “pros/cons” if you search… If you can’t find what you’re looking for via that then reply back but it should answer all of your questions imho.</p>

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<p>1.) Academics are top notch. I’m a 4th year student now and have had a most wonderful academic experience, that exceeded my expectations. I am very happy with courses, Professors, etc.
2.) The motto is: work hard, party hard. Being just a party person is frowned upon by fellow students>>big time. Pretty much everyone takes their academic load very seriously, but look forward to the weekends too :slight_smile:
3.) From my perspective, CVL is not a small town, but hey, I’m from a small OOS place. CVL is a moderately sized southern city with a downtown which is separate from the main Grounds of UVA. There are people in this town from all walks of life here, good and bad and in between, just like any city in the USA.
4.) The students are pretty much very bright, eager to learn. Somewhat preppy, good looking (I think so at least), happy, lots are into the Greek life (I am). There is a bit of the southern mystique, lots of manners, “girls in pearls, guys in ties”, but I’m from NC and I have to say that it seems downright northern to me at times!! That’s a joke…no, not really…??? But that’s ok, I’m happy :)</p>

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<p>I love it here.</p>

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<p>I don’t love it here, but I don’t dislike it here, either.</p>

<p>The food are okay if I were lenient on the grading, and terrible if I were to be more stringent. Generally they have too much oil and too salty for my taste. That said, the fruits here taste really good. Since I only eat cereal at O’Hill every morning (on weekdays at last, but it gets tiring to eat the same thing), I look forward to the cantaloupe portion every day.</p>

<p>So far I have only officially participated in two clubs (Chess Club and Historical Simulation Society, which is more like a board-game club). I’m not a party person, so club is my source of fun outside of class. I guess I’m just somewhat disappointed that some clubs require substantial fee (I’m quite cheap, too), or some of them have time conflict. That said, there is a whole variety of them out there, and I’m thinking of joining more.</p>

<p>The academic portion went outside my expectation. I’m actually enjoying classes more than I expected. Japanese class is really fun–it requires a good amount of preparation, but if you don’t prepare, then class would suck. Honors Calculus III is really interesting (though Ordinary Differential Equations is somewhat boring). Since I checked ratemyprofessors before deciding classes, I didn’t expect myself to enjoy the Calc III class, the instructor of which receives low rating there, more than the DiffEq class, whose instructor receives high rating. I would say that generally the academic faculties are nice, but I guess there are good and bad ones in every college.</p>

<p>I’m not sure if it’s just me, but one thing I love here is the scenery…and the squirrels–okay, make that two. The scenery is really nice, and the squirrels just make it nicer. The squirrels run really fast and climb tree really fast, too–they are like ninja.</p>

<p>Yea…I’m not sure if I’m even posting anything you are looking for since I feel like I’m just talking about myself, lol.</p>

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<p>We definitely have some of the friendliest squirrels around. :)</p>

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<p>Oh, and there are giant butterflies, if you like that kind of thing. Personally, I hate them, but…</p>

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<p>I like UVA and I’ve only visited. It’s got such a great great campus.</p>

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<p>UVa is a great school–the majority of my closest friends from high school go/went to UVa as I attended high school in Virginia–I think that it provides one of the best (if not the best) undergraduate experiences, academically and socially, of any public school in the nation. It’s only draw backs include an overly strong greek system which dominates the social lives of too many students, a significant element of social elitism (secret societies, etc.) , misogyny (as evidence by recent events), racism, and homophobia that is not seen to the same degree at most of its academic peer schools (except maybe Notre Dame), and a significant dichotomoy in the overall academic quality of the in-state and out-of-state students. It has a traditional, beautiful campus (grounds), and the undergraduate academic opportunities are great. The town of Charlottesville is, for the most part, neutral (it is a nice enough college town, especially close to campus, but otherwise doesn’t offer much), but the school is close enough to DC (two hour drive or so) to go up once or twice a semester.</p>

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<p>The “ninja squirrels” here are truly amazingly cute. In fact, Disney-like, as opposed to the notorious U of Michigan black squirrels that are known to growl at passing students, Yikes!!</p>

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<p>It is surprising that a Hopkins medical student has time to post wild conclusions about a school never attended on a message board primarily for high school students and their parents.</p>

<p>One has to wonder about this interest in talking to teenagers on the Internet. It is not normal.</p>

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<p>Wowww I missed the entire middle of the comment the first time I saw it because I clearly just scan the first and last lines of most paragraphs…</p>

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<p>How do you characterize these observations as “wild conclusions” when they have been articulated by many of the UVa faculty, administrators, and students? Your suggestion that I have some untoward interest by posting on this site is disturbing–why resort to name calling? This site is designed for people interested in education from various backgrounds and points of view–why do you find the need to name call when you experience an opinion, observation, or conclusion that you don’t like–you would have thought a student or alum of “The University” would be more adept at presenting an argument as oppose to throwing meaningless insults (or perhaps punches in other situations…).</p>

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<p>Well no one here on these boards who actually attends UVA has made mass allegations of misogyny or racism or homophobia. So I’m not sure where you’re getting those statements from. There is a historical precident of some misinformed first year boys who are racist, because there was an incident a few years ago, but I’ve never heard of any incidents of the other two (even the spring’s murder had nothing to do with misogyny), though again there is an overall ALL-COLLEGES rate of sexual assault of 1 in 4 women.</p>

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<p>Wow, this thread got really creepy pretty fast. Thanks for speaking up TheUniversity, and I like your name too :)</p>

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<p>I have to agree…I was expecting to read comments about student self governance, clubs & orgs, and maybe a little discussion of the Honor Code. </p>

<p>I personally think that the fact that so many current students opt to spend hours each week on this board sharing their experiences in a candid and open way is a nice statement about UVa. </p>

<p>By the way, there’s a reason Charlottesville is called The Hook. It’s a boomerang town. Once you spend time here, it’s hard to leave. If you do leave, you’ll be back. The quality of life here is outstanding. :)</p>

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<p>Dean J, could you comment on UVa adminstration’s analysis of the recent unfortunate events and how to improve UVa’s environment and change/address the campus culture that has contributed to these events?</p>

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<p>Amen, Dean J!</p>

<p>But to get back on track with OP’s request about The University
Things I like:
-the Grounds are drop-dead gorgeous
-the Colonnades are hypnotizing
-the Corner is a lot of fun
-tail gating before football games is a Hoot :slight_smile:
-I love living at the Grand Marc right behind the Corner (I’m a 4th year)
-I love my major and really feel mentored by the faculty. As Dean J says, the education truly has been a “hook” for me. Now that I’m in my last year here, I’ll have to relish everyday at Mr. Jefferson’s University.
-the Greek life added very much to my undergraduate experience. It’s not for everyone, but I love meeting people and having structured non-academic things to do.
-great mix of weather scenarios>>gorgeous fall, mild winter with some light snow, spectacular springs. Hot summers, but there’s a pool at my apartment!!</p>

<p>Things I don’t like:
-I’ve gotten a few university parking tickets that I thought were unfair, but I paid them
-student health is sort of ok at best IMHO, but I’ve learned that if you need to see a doctor, non-urgently, then make an appointment within the med. school, if it’s urgent then go to the ER. That’s just my experience.
-SIS is a little odd (that’s how one picks their classes and such), but I’m getting used to it.</p>

<p>Hope this helps in your decision making OP. I’m frankly drawing a blank on the negatives, but could go on and on with the positives :slight_smile: that’s a good sign.</p>

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<p>So all of those things are discussed in the previously referenced “Things I love About UVA!!!” threads. But I will touch on them quickly

-self governance: it actually exists here, to the point that it irks the faculty sometimes haha.
-clubs: there are 500+ clubs, UVA is a great state school
-honor: oh boy do not get me started. i will refrain and tell you to search for threads…</p>

<p>And re powder, (1) ughhhh parking and (2) actually I love student health!! I get my allergy shots there all of the time, and when I ended up with some stomach problems this summer they were GREAT.</p>

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<p>Oh Hazel, I hope you didn’t feel obligated to address those things. I just wasn’t expecting a non-student chiming in in such a strange way! :)</p>