[quote]
Virginia has long had a reputation as a preppy haven, a reputation students tell us is well deserved. "UVA is quite a preppy, well-to-do school," writes one undergrad. "It's the perfect school for frat boys who like to wear Gucci shoes and sorority girls who dig Versace." Not everyone fits the mold; explains one student, "Upon closer inspection, you'll realize that the student population includes people of all walks of life." The student body has its share of "gun-toting, abortion-hating, Confederacy-loving students; insane-worker, dedicated-to-a-fault, anal-about-cleanliness students; and 'eccentric to a point that begs the question not of whether, but of when they'll be committed' students." Although fairly diverse, "UVA is very segregated. Different ethnic groups do not mix very much, and the Greek population is an entity unto [itself]." Political activism "is not big at the university at all. The student body is largely more conservative-leaning, and the flaming liberals don't have too much of an impact of student life."
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I know that there are going to be students who say "oh it's not true at all, this is a wonderful place, come here", but is UVa really preppy and segregated? It almost seems like a preppy private school from what i've been reading.</p>
<p>Yes, it's mostly true. -***** shotgun- Now that I finished my homework and cleaning my room, it's time to kill some of those living wage and confederacy supporters while I have some time before Naruto starts.</p>
<p>The student body is only more conservative leaning in the sense that it's more balanced (60% liberal, 40% conservative about). Also, while it's segregated, it at least has diversity, unlike many other top schools. That's not necessarily worth that much to me but it is for some people.</p>
<p>haha I was just about to make the same exact post after reading that in the Princeton book... the line about the Gun-toting, abortion-hating, confederacy-loving, specifically. </p>
<p>I'm planning to head down to Virginia next week but not sure if, while it sounds like a great school, I (a pretty liberal New Yorker) would fit in there. </p>
<p>I have nothing against people being conservative in their beliefs, but it's hard to be completely surrounded by people who have a different outlook on a lot of major things than yourself, something that being from a pretty liberal state, I don't have to deal with. I'd like to be in a school with people of all sorts of different ideals... I just want to make sure it doesn't lean too much towards the end that I don't agree with. =P</p>
<p>miss independent, we are very diverse if you noticed from the previous posts. We all have different views from the apathetic frat boy to the passionate pro-life protester. We are all understanding people. Some people just don't care about others' political beliefs. My former roomate is conservative while I am a moderate liberal, and we still lived well together except for the fact he was trying to sleep with women while in a relationship with a girl back home.</p>
<p>haha, thanks UVAMalex for the very.....detailed...post! ;) Anyway, he's right. Theres people with all kinds of views at UVA, the left, the right, the center, everything in between, and plenty of people who just really don't care. I still stand by the fact that if you aren't willing to challenge your beliefs than they probably aren't YOUR beliefs at all, and UVA is a pretty good place to challenge your beliefs. Not that the place is crawling with political debates and all that...blah blah blah whatever, just that you will find people of all persuasions there. </p>
<p>That piece of article or whatever that was originally posted is pretty funny. :)</p>
<p>I definitely think it's good to challenge your beliefs, only way you're going to find out what you really strongly believe in. I'm not an incredibly politically inclined (though I try) person, or too stuck in my ways, but I do have certain things that I feel strongly about and if things such as that description were true... I don't know if I'd mix well there. Though I took it with a grain of salt to begin with (as I know there's going to be a mix anywhere), makes me feel better to hear it straight from people who've been there, so thanks for the help. :)</p>
<p>D is from California and a rising second year at UVa. She has enjoyed much of her time there, but has had serious reservations at times about the environment. She wanted to take advantage of her college years by experiencing something different.....and she is still trying to decide if it was worth it.</p>
<p>UVa is a wonderful experience in many of the ways it is typically described. However, coming from a typical "liberal" west coast upbringing, she has had some ongoing negative feelings about how to adapt to the UVa culture. Small examples that come to mind: 1) WAY MORE country music than she ever wanted to hear! She has laughingly told me that she would "walk a mile" for some good thug music and a guy dressed in anything but a polo shirt--just to be different- 2) Dressing up for a night out....in her Ca. environment, that meant new flip flops. At UVa, it often means (the infamous) pearls. And she grimaces when she sees bow ties--so often. Please understand--this is not to make judgements about right and wrong, and it is not about the clothes! She just thinks it says something about the culture of the students--a formality and conformity that she has never experienced in this way. Political and ethnic diversity aside, she feels that the individual as a distinct and different person is more highly accepted and valued in her old environment--i.e. the west coast. She struggles with what she perceives as an adherance to tradition (NOT talking TJ here!) and "southern" culture that is VERY different, and more pervasive, than what she thought it would be. She went thru Rush and found that a number of girls didn't really care about finding a good "fit" in a sorority--their minds were already made up. They wanted the sorority that their Mom, Aunt and sister were in. D truly had a tough time understanding/sympathizing with this attitude(though Mom, aunt and sister were in the greek system). It was good example to her of how differently she looked at things from the way (some of) her new acquaintances did.
I AM NOT bashing UVa. I am simply giving an opinion from an OOS/west coast gal that has definitely experienced culture shock and is still trying to find happiness in her new home.</p>
<p>Haha, Jags. There might be some truth to that too!</p>
<p>I'll admit--I was visiting D back at UVa and saw two guys walking down the street dressed in black, chains, and with purple mohawks. It was all I could do not to run up, hug them and ask if they were from California. It felt just like home (near Berkeley)!</p>
<p>I can see how UVa can be somewhat of a culture shock for someone coming from California, but I don't think it's necessarily a UVa thing. It's more of an East Coast/Southern thing. California is a lot more laid back. Even here in NY, when we go out at night, we get more dressed up - not of the bowtie variety mind you, but you have to represent if you're going to be hitting a club or bar. </p>
<p>Yeah, UVa can be quite Southern and aristocratic with its pearls and polos, but I think it comes down to what crowd your daughter associates with. If she's trying to hang w/ the more elite sororities, pearls and polos come with the territory, but with 13,000 undergrads, there's bound to be non-preppy social circles that she can join. Also, there are less snotty sororities too.</p>
<p>Yeah, the culture you describe doesn't really consist of a majority of UVA, maybe 20-30%? If it was anymore than the 'Sea of Orange' would have failed miserably quite awhile ago.</p>
<p>"...saw two guys walking down the street dressed in black, chains, and with purple mohawks. I was all I could do not to run up, hug them and ask if they were from cal."</p>
<p>^ i repeat. people from california are weird. is your daughter an all black wearer, with purple hair, and lots of black makeup. does she go around spitting out "non conformist" conformist stuff. please say yes, as at least it will provide me with some amusement for the day.</p>
<p>interesting thing to note, I'm friends with 1 person at UVa from laguna beach, and 1 person from newport beach. They seem to fit right in with the UVa mold you describe.</p>
<p>Globalist-you are right. The culture is definitely a east coast/southern thing--not one that UVa promotes exclusively. We have just been surprised at how much more conservative/conformist many of the students appear to be -- especially in contrast to the relaxed, more liberal environment of the west coast. D is hopeful that as her world at UVa grows, she will find more friends with similar leanings.
She DID find that the sororities were very different and thinks she found a house with a group of girls that will be a great group to get to know. Diverse, well-rounded, and fun. She is confident that she will find her way, but now realizes how naive she was when she began this experience.</p>
<p>sv3a--not sure what you mean about the sea of orange? Could you elaborate? That would be interesting to hear.</p>
<p>Jags--I find your comment offensive. Attitudes like that give UVa's avid supporters a bad name and a reputation as being closed-minded. I have seen too much of it on these boards already. My answer was an honest OPINION in response to an OOS inquiry about what we have observed of the culture of UVa.<br>
By the way, I find it interesting that you say that Californians are weird, then say that you actually know 2 (?) and that they fit the UVa mold. Hmm--so what makes you say they are weird? Doesn't personal experience say differently? And no, Jags. D is a blonde. 4 years of cheerleadering--wears a minimum of polo-thanks anyway. Just so you know.</p>
<p>I think jags' perhaps overly harsh label of "weird" was in response to your repeated labeling of UVa students as "conformists." Really you just want people who conform to the way people are in CA. and the "sea of orange" describes the UVA student body at football games, Al Groh has been on a push to get students to wear the same shirts to the games and create a "sea of orange." Just another example of UVA conformists. ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification of Sea of Orange.... I am familiar with it and think it is a great part of UVa. However, my question to sv3A was for explanation as to why having any more than 20-30% of the Uva culture that I speak of (I am assuming that means conformist/preppy--for lack of better words) would have made the Sea of Orange "fail miserably."</p>
<p>I think what sv3A means is that the polo/pearls crowd that you're talking about, generally still holds to the ties and sun dresses tradition at football games. If there was a larger population of them, then there wouldn't be enough people wearing the orange shirts to make a sea.</p>
<p>We had the same concerns about the "culture" at UVA. We are native New Yorkers but spent our early career years in Virginia. We did not have much contact with the "preppy" side of southern coulture, if you will. What we noticed the most was a lack of tolerance for an assortment of things ranging from food choices, how others spend their money, lifestyle etc. It appeared that anything but the "southern way" was a bit suspect. In today's times and in respect to UVA in particular, I would have more concern about the "preppiness." I like Caseyatbat's idea of new flip flops for dressing up!</p>