<p>I loved everything about UR, but it has a slight reputation for being preppy. Theres no way i could see myself going to school with guys and girls who are preppy, but could someone lend me some insight on how preppy the school really is.</p>
<p>Regardless of how preppy UR actually is, if “there’s no way you could see yourself going to school with guys are girls who are preppy” you definitely should not apply to UR…or realistically any college for that matter since there are “preppy” people everywhere. If you explain your expectations and desires a little better I might be able to provide more insight.</p>
<p>Ok, I mean a school where every guy wears a polo shirt, and girls always have the latest handbags, people dress really nicely for every class, every day, rumors spread like its high school. The girls are stuck up and the guys are egotistical, and most of the kids are white rich kids. This is what im trying to avoid, obviously every school has people who are like this. I’m asking if the majority of students that go to UR are like this, maybe half, little less than half?
Can you give me your honest opinion of the student population?</p>
<p>I would suggest going to visit UR if you’re able to. You can sit in on a class, talk to students, etc, to get a better feel of it. There are definitely some students like the ones you described, but I wouldn’t characterize the whole student body as being “preppy.” I would say that compared to my friend’s schools, students at UR (with the exception of some athletes) do look nice in class (coming to class in pajamas is very rare). Even if, at first glance, some students seem preppy, it’s worth getting to know them because they certainly aren’t all stuck up or egotistical. Just like on almost any college campus, there are lots of different types of students, and you can always find a certain group to hang out with.</p>
<p>I think Richmond is starting to lose the uber preppy reputation, at least on campus. Yeah, it still exists, and comes out big in some of the Greek life, I think. This year’s freshmen class was the most diverse ever, particularly economically. </p>
<p>You’ll get all kinds. Like URMary said, it’s rare to see people coming to class in PJs (although sweats do come out in mass when a lot of people start getting sick, or during finals). Most people wear jeans/tees or marginally nicer tops. Some girls dress up. Most guys are t-shirt-wearers, although there are definitely a lot of polos around. There are some people like you described everywhere, and certainly they exist at Richmond. They definitely are not everyone, and if things like that bother you, they won’t be your only friend-making options. </p>
<p>And sundresses at football games are on the way out. Administration and athletics are really pushing students to wear red, which is really great, IMO, because now with our, what 8-0 football team, there’s a sea of red at the home games. Gotta love it.</p>
<p>On a beautiful spring break day last year, I went back to campus to walk around with my daughter. It was so refreshing to me to see the lack of the preppiness I used to secretly make fun of back when I was a student there (mid 80’s). Gone were the embroidered whale pants and girls with pearls-thank God! 
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<p>After doing the college visit thing the year before with my older child (WM, South Carolina, Georgia, Clemson, Virginia Tech), to me it seemed that UR was no different in terms of the way the students presented themselves. Just regular college kids. The university has changed a great deal in the last few years- new buildings and it seems like a new (and less pretentious) image. Personally, I would have felt a lot more confortable as a student there today.</p>
<p>bump. I know this is a really old post, but it’s the topic I wanted to ask about for UR. It seems great, but D is considering dropping it from her list due to the reputation for preppiness and strong Greek (Which seem to often go together). We are going to be doing some more tours, but our travel time is limited, so we have to decide if UR will be on the visit list. Has UR continued to improve its diversity and continued to become what another poster described as “less pretentious”?</p>
<p>U of R is extremely diverse and I haven’t found it pretentious at all. Also, there are plenty of things to do if you aren’t into greek life, for example I’m about to leave right now for an open-mic night hosted by CA alternatives- they’ve hosted a game night, a carnival night, and other events the last couple weeks. These are substance free events. I’ve found that unless you go looking for it, you forget it’s there half the time.</p>
<p>My D had similar concerns but has fit in really well there despite most of her tuition coming from their excellent financial aid department. I don’t know that I would call it “extremely diverse.” It’s diverse in that there are kids from all over the world and with many different backgrounds but only like 30 percent is actually “ethnic” and that includes a lot of kids like mine who are mixed race but pretty much look white. </p>
<p>Some nice things about Richmond and Greek life… Freshmen don’t rush until second semester which gives everyone a chance to bond prior to breaking into houses. The Greeks live in the dorms and campus apartments all mixed in all four years just like the other 87 percent of students. D has made friends who have no intention of rushing as well as friends with upperclassmen who are Greek. No issues. She doesn’t feel it’s an overwhelming presence and she’s pretty anti-sorority. </p>
<p>The prep does exist. D and I had a running count of all the guys we say in Salmon colored shorts. However, D likes the clean-cut look. She likes that kids come to class presentable (not in jammies and sweats.) It was already her fashion style even though her clothes are more JC Penney than J Crew. There are kids from extreme wealth but D seems to feel the free activities on campus, the dining dollars, the free laundry facilities, the discounts on campus shows, the ease in finding campus employment all acted to equalize things a bit. </p>