Looking for an honest answer

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Richmond
1

Our son likes a lot of things that he reads about Richmond. He likes the size and the focus on undergrads and he likes the location with a contained campus close to a city. I’ve mentioned the school to two different friends, both of whom know their stuff when it comes to schools. One lives near us and one across the country from us. They both say the same thing - that Richmond is a party school.

Our S19 has visited schools like Carleton and Grinnell and pretty much liked everything about them. Would he find Richmond to be way different? Honestly, the two big reasons for our looking at Richmond are the warmer location near a city and the possibility of merit aid. If the fit isn’t right, we won’t consider it though.

Anyone have any first hand knowledge of the social scene there?

2

I grew up in the Richmond area, and attended Washington and Lee in the late 80s/early 90s, so MY perspective isn’t current, but I know a young person who currently attends. From what I hear, I think Richmond is no different from many colleges that have a Greek scene–that the parties are there if you want them, but that there are plenty of opportunities if you don’t.

My D18 and I visited Carleton, and she is very studious and high-achieving, and enjoys cultural events. She was put off by Carleton, even though she knows that between it and St. Olaf, it is where “parties” probably are in Northfield, because she thought it seemed “boring” to her. She knows St. Olaf is a dry campus, and has no interest in a dry campus per se, but loved St. Olaf and thought she would have plenty to do there.

She has visited Richmond several times when we visit family in the area, and she likes it. She has been there on Friday and Saturday evenings with a friend and hasn’t felt like there was pressure to “party.”

Growing up, LOL, Richmond was in no way a party school. I listened pretty closely at both official visits we took, and I don’t get the “work hard/play hard” vibe that is common to many schools. But I’m an old fart, what do I know? :slight_smile:

3

@katespeare thank you. That’s actually pretty helpful. S19 is more likely to enjoy smaller gatherings than frat parties. He doesn’t go to the big high school parties around here since there’s so much drinking and pot smoking. He and his friends hang out at each other’s houses for the most part when they have free time. He gets that there will be drinking in college and he’s not a prude about it but, if Richmond’s social scene revolves around the Greek scene, then that’s probably not best.

We are planning on visiting this spring break. I’m guessing that he won’t be able to parse out how big Greek life is on a daytime visit but he will try to ask some questions about it while we are there.

4

I’m a current student here at UR. I will say, that I do go out to parties a lot on campus and off campus, but I’m also a STEM major and take my academics very seriously. It’s definitely a work hard play hard school. That being said, I know several people (including my suitemates) who do not go out at all. They hang out with a lot of their friends who do not party either and go to Carytown, play board games, go to SpiderNights, etc. Greek life is about 35% of campus, or so I think? Also, I know several friends of mine who are not in fraternities or sororities, and they go to parties as well. I think everyone on campus is very accepting. Going back to the term “work hard, play hard,” from Sunday until Thursday/Friday students are in lock-down mode and study a lot. Usually, people head to downtowns on Thursday, on-campus parties Friday, and off campus on Saturday. The library (as well as many academic buildings) can be accessed 24/7. I’ve gone to a party before then headed to the library right after. That is not uncommon here. I think your son would like UR and I encourage you guys to visit still! If you have any more specific questions, feel free to message me!

5

I think the difference might be how many other social options the university sponsors. At LACs without Greek life, it seems that the schools have long and varied lists of things to do on the weekends- ways to “go out” without going to a frat party. If Richmond has these options on a regular basis, that would be good. My guess, though, is that they won’t have the same amount of these types of events as a school without Greek life because many of the kids there enjoy their frat parties and they are happy with that. That’s understandable and fine since it fits the student body. It’s just a matter of us figuring out if that’s the case and if S19 still likes it there.

Ideally, I don’t want him living on the fringes of the school’s social life.

6

@homerdog Well, from a student’s perspective I think the university provides several options for people not interested in Greek life or the party scene. UR has SpiderNights which are different events such as Carnivals, Murder Mysteries, etc. Transportation is great around campus and a lot of people will go to the movies, downtown, etc. I definitely think they provide options to satisfy both types of people. There are also various random events throughout the year as well.

7

How do students access downtown if they don’t have a car? Are there shuttles or public transportation options? We are also looking at Richmond for D.

8

@Dancingmom518 Yes! There are several transportation options. We have a campus loop shuttle that runs late at night for transportation around campus. There are also shuttles that take students downtown, to the mall, etc. The GRTC which is the RVA public transportation system also makes stops on campus. We have zip cars that students can rent to drive anywhere they need to go. Quite a few students also use Uber/Lyft. Around campus, we also have a yellow bike program that students can use!

9

I guess I don’t understand what people mean by “work hard, play hard”. I hear that term used a lot. Does it mean bright kids who still find time to drink at big parties? Does it mean that type of school has a larger percentage of super social/outgoing kids?

10

I’m a senior at UR (math/CS double major, music/dance double minor) and I’ve never even been to the fraternity lodges (I also don’t drink); up until this past semester, I didn’t even really know exactly where they were. I haven’t found I’m missing anything socially. Greek life is an option, but there’s really no pressure to get involved with it or party.

I’m part of the theater group on campus, University Players, and go to social events with them; this past semester, we had, among other things, a bowling night, and the annual holiday party (at a former faculty member’s house with lots of professors; no alcohol involved, as well as cast parties for productions (these I guess are more similar to greek parties in that there is alcohol and loud music; they typically take place in an upperclassmen’s on-campus apartment).

Most of my friends are from music, though, and we often (well not so much this past semester due to renovation issues) take over the music tech lab on Friday nights to watch movies together. We’ve also gone to movies in theaters occasionally if there was something we really wanted to see. I also go to the Spidernights events, which typically happen almost every weekend; they often co-sponsor events with various clubs. My favorite event that happens multiple times a semester is the Coffee House Open Mic Night; it’s usually really well attended. For Halloween, they had a double feature event, where we watched Rocky Horror Picture Show and Edward Scissorhands back to back. Other events have included Carnival Night, Murder Mystery, pumpkin carving, Drag Night, art classes, indoor rock climbing (that may have been a different group, not sure), board games, international night, etc.

11

@homerdog I think what is meant by that is a lot of times people have the impression of students who go to “party schools” as individuals who slack off, who are failing their classes, party all the time, etc. Like others and myself have stated, not everyone at UR is a big partier. There are tons and tons of people who aren’t. However, the ones who do go to lodges or other parties are still incredibly smart, and you will see them in the library, across campus studying, etc. They are always very involved with their school. Academics and your education here comes first over anything else such as the social scene, Greek Life, etc. So you can still party on the weekends and enjoy the social view, while also having your act together inside of the classroom.

12

Thank you for sharing your first-hand experiences, @rvalover7 . :)>-

13

All colleges have alcohol issue in my opinion. My son is a freshman there and he is a study hard party hard type. He said he can get drink start ing from Wednesday night through Sunday night. Typically he goes to party on campus at Friday night for beer or alcohol, goes to downtown on Saturday for no_drinking, relax on Saturday and study at Sunday. He said so far he manages to go back dorm by himself every time. He didn’t intend to go Greek but still can get drinks. He said he would party more if he attended Cornell since the classes are more stressed. At the end of first semester, he manages an A plus, an A minus, and three As, with overall GPA 3.94.

14

Of course there is drinking on all campuses. I guess I’m just thinking of the overall feeling of the school. Sounds like some of the kids there were looking for a college where “partying” is an option. We have yet to visit a school where I think that was a consideration for most students. You don’t hear kids at Grinnell saying they want access to alcohol and partying opportunities starting each Wednesday. S19 won’t love being at a school where a decent percentage of the kids used the campuses party scene as a way to choose a college.

And really? Drinking is not a healthy way to deal with stress. S19 wouldn’t never be friends with a kid who thinks it is.

15

Partying is a big theme but you have choice not attending. I heard some colleges having party Monday thru Sunday.

16

What I’m trying to get at is that I don’t think being a good student erases the partying part. We are looking for an LAC with good students and a majority of kids who don’t call drinking their favorite downtime activity. Word hard play hard is just some cool way to say “smart kids who can manage to party and still do well”. That is not a match for us.

Anyone out there who looked at places like Kenyon, Carleton, Davidson, etc and also considered Richmond? Maybe Richmond is indeed a very different feeling.

17

Davidson is too small in my opinion. Overall Richmond has a lot of upper class kids from northeastern regions such as new York, new Jersey, which contribute a big portion for partying. Overall there’s approximately 10 percent student s who are super smart and be over achiever. Majority of kids are normal with sat 1300s and not different from other colleges.

18

@homerdog, I understand your concern about drinking, but I think you’re going to end up with a very short list if you throw out all schools where a decent number of kids care about the party scene. It sounds like that will be the right list for your child, but I don’t think that list includes Grinnell, for example.

I just checked one of the student review sites, and it sounds like there’s a fair amount of drinking going on at Grinnell, and probably a good amount of pot smoking too.

Carleton, too. Here are a few reviews of the party scene at Carleton. Note the phrase “work hard, pay hard” in the second review.

If your son really doesn’t want to be around drinking, I would look at religious schools and schools with dry campuses. Carleton does not sound dry at all.

“Since everyone lives on campus, it fosters a sense of community through partying unlike many state schools with frats. Parties are always fast to get to, and people party hop all the time. You can walk into parties and not know people but still feel welcome. There is always plenty of alcohol and the RA’s are so relaxed you don’t have to worry about getting in trouble for drinking or partying.”

“Nightlife, HA! Partying is limited to weekends and once during the middle of the week. Our motto is work hard, play hard. When we do get together, we make up for lost time. However, often the party is dead by 1 or 2. That’s what you get in a small town. One bar only. Most gathering are 5-10 close friends drinking and playing some games.”

“While there aren’t many (read: any) places to go in Northfield, there are always plenty of parties on Wednesday and weekend nights (especially Saturdays). It’s easy to find alcohol if you’re underage, but if you’re not into that kind of thing nobody will judge you. You can really go to a “wet” party and not drink or stay in.”

“not much of a bar or club scene (only three bars in northfield) but there are a decent amount of parties on the weekends. the school is also very chill about underage drinking.”

“Trivia Night at the Cow! You should not come to Carleton for a ragin party scene; still, there are a fair number of nighttime social options, many of which reflect the Carleton academic humor. There are a few pubs in Northfield, including Froggy’s and The Contented Cow, the latter of which features trivia competition every sunday. Nightlife is commonly friendly to those looking to drink and those who are not, regardless of age.”

19

Okay I’m sorry if I’m not clear. Drinking is ok. And I know there’s pot. Ok with that too. I’m saying the partying mentality is not. Everyone knows that type. I know kids at Carleton and Grinnell. They would never say those schools are “party” schools. In contrast, I have friends who consider Richmond a party school. Thanks for everyone’s opinions. It’s been really helpful.

20

@homerdog Do those friends who “know their stuff” about colleges have first hand experience with the environment at UR? Are they echoing second hand rumors? Is their info recent? If they truly have first hand knowledge, what is the sample size?

I have a current UR student and a '16 UR graduate, neither of them involved in greek life (about 1/3 of students participate, greek houses are not residential), or into hard core partying. Favorite activities while at UR have included game nights and watching movies with friends, visits to Careytown for ice cream and thai food, potluck dinners when they moved into the very nice on campus apartments, and visiting swimming holes along the James river during warmer weather.

They have both attended greek parties occasionally, but both are reporting to me that they did not feel pressured to do so, and have had plenty of other fun things to do with friends not involving binge drinking or getting high. Their UR social circles had/have some friends involved in greek life, but most have not. There are definitely many UR students who take their studies seriously and enjoy non partying social activities.

There are also many great opportunities to participate in clubs and service projects and meet people who have common interests. My kids met many of their friends that way.