<p>My daughter is interested in Richmond. She had an interview with a lovely young woman who said the campus has a lot of cliques -- internationals, sports, sororities, etc. This is, of course, of concern to my daughter. I know people tend to hang around with the people they are in proximity to, but if you have any info on this it would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Also, what kinds of activities are there on weekend nights? I understand there is fair amount of partying at frats and sororities, but that is not what my daughter is interested in. Does the university program activities for the students?</p>
<p>Let me preface my feedback by stating that I am NOT a student, but a parent of an upper class Spider. This be said, I’ve had numerous discussions with my son over the years about the Richmond social dynamic. While it’s true that Richmond does have a strong Greek culture that probably sucks a lot of first year students into weekend revelry, it’s an inclusive environment and typical of what goes on at every college campus. Your concerns echo the same mindset we had when our son was in the college search process. Rest assured, not every student is an affluent party animal that frequents the Frat lodges at every possible opportunity. Yes, there are pervasive cliques at UR and I’m sure that Greek life contributes to this. Sororities definitely take a high percentage of the female coeds on campus. Their focus however is less dependent on the weekend party scene and more centered on social bonding, service and building leadership skills.</p>
<p>As to whether UR is a “friendly” school that will serve a shy, less social, academically focused student, the answer truly rests with what happens during very first week on campus. To help the transition, UR has a fabulous program called “Roadmap to Success.” It’s an optional pre-orientation program that brings first year students to campus early and puts participants through a variety of fun activities with the intent of building camaraderie, friendships and easing the student into a new environment. My son absolutely loved it and today some of his best friends are people that he met through this event. Should your daughter consider UR, I would strongly encourage it. Also, with typical class size at UR of 15-30, with a lot of collaboration & discussion, it’s far easier to meet people and make friends than what might come from sitting in a large lecture hall.</p>
<p>I can’t comment specifically on your question of non-alcoholic weekend activities. It’s my understanding that the school does have a variety of alternative functions, (movies, concerts, etc.), but they are not well attended. Per feedback from my son, the non-party people typically hang out in the dorm, attend varsity sports and frequently go off-campus to the mall, dinner, etc.</p>
<p>The key for your daughter at UR, or at any school, is to step out of her comfort zone on occasion, be involved in perhaps one extracurricular activity that she’s passionate about and build a core group of friends at the outset. If she’s friendly…and does her part, she’ll find UR a friendly and welcoming place. It’s also a great school and has top notch academics. Good luck to you wherever you end up.</p>
<p>Hi Burry. I have asked my daughter ('14) to help me respond. In the meantime, I agree with much of what the good doc says. My daughter has never been pressured to join a sorority. She has some friends that are members but most of her friends are not. During the “Roadmap to Success”, she discovered groups for ballroom dancing and rock climbing - two activities that she had no to little exposure to pre-UR. She is now an avid dancer and attends many off campus events. She has a small group of people that she met freshman year that she rock climbs with at a local indoor rock climbing place (which offers UR students discounts). She does not drink and has never been pressured to drink. Though she admits that she is looking forward to being able to buy a bottle of wine next year. She is a Religious Studies major and is on the Student Multifaith Council (or something like that). That group has provided opportunity to meet and interact with a wide variety of students. I think “clique” has negative connotations. UR is a small school so students naturally gravitate towards those with similar interests.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the great response. We are driving through Richmond on a Sunday in February. Do you think your daughter might be willing to give us a quick tour? I understand completely if she is busy but thought I would check. </p>
<p>By the way, the term clique was the interviewer’s not mine. I wondered, though, how she would differentiate between a clique and hanging with the same group of friends – which is basically what happens everywhere.</p>
<p>Yes, I wish my daughter would have questioned her more on that because hearing about cliques made both of us uncomfortable. I really think she meant groups of students hang together. Do you sense any cliquishness in your experience with the school?</p>
<p>Wikipedia, (everyones favorite reference guide,) refers to a clique as a group of persons who interact with each other more regularly and intensely than others in the same setting." </p>
<p>I asked my son about the prevalence of cliques on the UR campus. In his opinion, they are a complete non-issue and far less pronounced than what he experienced in high school. Theres little pressure to conform to a specific culture. Generally absent at UR, (and at most colleges), is the hierarchy of pronounced social classes and concerns about popularity. As to who generally hangs together, eats together at UR, it would be the minority students, international students, varsity athletes & frat bros, (as he calls them). He also reports some typical clustering of students by participation in extracurricular activities and by coursework (major). He said, however, that these groups are not at all exclusionary. Youll find no gangs of militant music majors about campus armed with cello bows. As a point of information, my son is not athletic in the least, but has a decent relationship with a few varsity football players. </p>
<p>Theres no doubt that students everywhere benefit from diversity within the ranks of a student population, especially in classroom discussions. At UR, as in life, people will still gravitate to those that they perceive to be in their own image, or who share a similar background or priorities.</p>