Looking for an honest answer

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Richmond
41

@homerdog I’m not sure why you think UR has a pre-professional focus vs intellectual focus. I find it very intellectual. While the business school is has a lot of students, the vast majority of students have non-business majors (about 1/3 of students are business majors; but the majority of business majors are also double majors with a non-business subject). Even so, most of UR’s business majors aren’t aiming to work on Wall Street. Bschool does not completely dominate the campus. You also mention the leadership school being a big thing on campus and something affecting the vibe. First of all, Jepson is a pretty small school (I would not call it a big thing on campus at all) and there are not that many leadership majors (there’s about 80 majors per class year; that number comes from my friend who is a senior leadership major). Second of all, leadership studies is not a pre-professional major. It’s a very interdisciplinary liberal arts major that examines what makes leaders effective, how we affect history, and the dynamics in societies. It combines subjects like anthropology, economics, history, literature, philosophy, politics, psychology, and religion; it’s considered a social science. The students that choose to apply to be a leadership major are very intellectual people and some of the Jepson classes are some of the most challenging courses in the entire university (I think in particular of the capstone class, Leadership Ethics. I’ve heard multiple people say that the final for that class is the hardest test they’ve ever taken).

@tingdad I think that’s a very unfair and incorrect characterization of the school. Research and going beyond “the book” is a big part of a lot of classes. Heck, I’m a dance minor and we have to do substantial research papers (and subsequent presentation) as part of our technique classes even! As a math major, I’ve had to give presentations on complicated proofs and historical math topics (famous theorems, mathematicians, intro summaries of extension topics), do writing assignments (math blogs, technical papers). For CS, we have lots of projects we have to do. I remember when I took computer security spending days trying to get my exploits project working (was extremely challenging), spending a lot of time in computer architecture getting programs like my cache, processor pipelines, and assembler/disassembler working, and the list goes on and on. Many, but not all, of the classes I have taken, have been discussion-based classes, even in CS. You have to read lots of material, often extremely technical material for CS, and digest it and be able to formulate ideas from it. That’s challenging no matter how smart you are.

42

I have the impression that it seems more pre-professional than the other schools on our list because (1) our guidance counselor who has done the job for 25 years told me as much and that the kids she has look at Richmond are not the same as our son and (2) because a private counselor told me exactly the same thing. Plus, a good college friend of ours who lives in Westchester County (NY) told me that in their high school, Richmond is considered a country club party school.

43

@homerdog Oops, somehow cross-posted with you. I actually am a Richmond Scholar (I’m an Artist Scholar for Music), so I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about that! One of the reasons the website is a little vague right now is the program has changed significantly starting with this year’s admissions cycle. There are fewer scholarships (25 vs 45) and no more labeled designations, but the scholarships are now all full-rides. This is to create more of a community and allow for a budget to do trips and special events for Scholars. Some of my best friends are scholars or were finalists as well (across designations; since I’m a math/CS major, music/dance minor, and also involved with theater, I am in class/rehearsals with people from varied backgrounds ).

“S19 likes to discuss, both in his classes and afterwards with his teachers.” I actually would describe many UR students as being like this. Discussion and class participation are big parts of every class (attendance has been required in the vast majority of my classes for the reason), which is facilitated well by the small class sizes. Students stay back to talk to professors relatively often (there’s usually one or two people a class period), and professors are really open to talking about just about anything during their office hours. Some professors even have open door policies; if their office door is open, that means you’re welcome to come in and chat!

44

Maths and science classes are much difficult than business classes of course. I don’t think maths class is easy in Richmond, even for top students. College selection is like buying a car, depending what you want and how much you are willing to pay. Merit scholarship is very rare these days. If you are a family that will not receive need based financial aids, then Richmond is a real good choice.

45

UR may have been considered more of a party school for wealthy country club kids decades ago, but those days are gone. UR is now so much more selective, and much more culturally, racially, socially, and economically diverse, and its board and administration are committed to continuing to increase hat diversity.

My UR kids needed to work part time jobs for their personal expenses, did not have cars, and there were many other students like them. They had diverse friends in their social circles, some who came from wealthier families and received allowances from their parents and had cars, and others like them who needed to work part time jobs to cover extra expenses.

As a parent of a UR grad and a current senior, I have spent a lot of time on campus, and I see a very diverse student body when we visit. 10% of the students are international and 26% are US students of color. The Richmond area is a great place to live, with excellent restaurants for every budget, a vibrant artsy vibe, historic sites, museums, and parks.

UR is one of those rare colleges committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need, with an average aid package of $45,780, with 42% of students receiving need based aid (that percentage has been growing each year), and 66% of students receive need based and/ or merit aid. With a large endowment for a school of its size, it can afford to offer nice merit opportunities, as well as maintain top notch faciilties, and operate well funded student programs. It is also well lnown for providing excellent research opportunities, guaranteeing every student a $4000 stipend to help fund on campus research or an internship off campus.

46

Of course no every one in Richmond has taken 10+AP in high schools but there are a few of students that are extremely smart, especially STEM students from overseas.

47

I totally agree with mamag2855. Richmond is very diverse student body. Some time a kid with 1580 sat can find out he is not a top student in linear algebra class, or have trouble to keep A in business statics. Overall, smart kids or average kids can all be successful and be happy there.

48

In my option student body of Richmond currently is similar to NYU, in terms of family incomes and standardized test scores.

49

I think Richmond is a great school. Beautiful campus…close to a nice part of the city of Richmond…strong academics and an active social scene. To the OP, yes, Richmond does have the stereotype of being a country club, preppy, work hard play hard type of school. This is obviously not true of every student, but a stereotype is usually an exaggeration of the truth. Indeed, this “country club” campus culture attracts many students to Richmond. Wake Forest and Bucknell are similar in many ways, and compete for students from the same east coast, affluent demographic. Richmond has a lot of smart, high achieving students, but it does not have the intellectual LAC vibe of Swarthmore, Wesleyan, etc.

50

@dtrain1027 : well said.

51

As a parent of a Wake Forest student who was also accepted to Richmond, I describe the vibe as very intelligent, hard working but social kids. S was also admitted to William & Mary. That has more of the feel the OP is looking for. Very intelligent and intellectual (there’s a difference) kids. Feels more like a small northeast LAC but much nicer weather!

52

@rickle1 W&M is a a terrific school but the students are not low key. They are pretty intense actually. Super overachieving. It’s known for being a bit of a pressure cooker.

Richmond is not a typical party school. VCU yes, UR no. UVA, Radford and VT have much more of the party school reputation than UR.

53

My eldest is a senior at Richmond and my current high schooler is applying. A lot of a person’s perspective is colored by where they come from. There is a lot of wealth at that school. 20 percent come from the top 1 percent financially. That was a bit of a shock… trying to discuss poverty in a class with kids in 200 dollar flip-flops and never having held a job. If you aren’t from that world, you have to work a little harder to connect. Definitely a lot of partying. Huge Greek presence. Plenty of kids who aren’t in that scene too though. Again, you just have to work a little harder to find your people.

My daughter has had her frustrations with the school socially but she is forever grateful for the education she’s gotten and the opportunities and connections she’s made.

54

My DD does not find it to be a big party school at all, she is a freshman there. She also doesn’t see a lot of Greek presence but the buildings used for those parties are at the edge of campus and youndont really walk buy them unless you’re going there, which I like. She find it diverse, most of her friends are from Korea but has met kids from many countries. It seems a liberal mindset politically, which is what she wanted. Most of her classes are discussion based & feels an academic vibe on campus. Not as much as W&i’m but certainly more academic than party.

55

Per New York Times, it is 15% from top 1 percent families, not 20%.

56

Here is a great tool to flush out the top 1% debate…

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/upshot/some-colleges-have-more-students-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=The%20Upshot&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=Multimedia

57

Our son is considering Richmond and is also a kid noted by teachers to be highly involved in class discussions, took lots of APs, etc., and I’d be surprised in this day and age if most kids at top schools aren’t like this (and I would say UR ranks as a top school). Why we thought it might be good for our son is that it seems to be a place where kids get direction and then thrive after undergrad (and even get jobs if grad school isn’t in the immediate future). Grinnell and Wes are great I’m sure, but also have a very distinct left-leaning culture. And that’s coming from a liberal! Your child has to want that environment.

58

Can a current student comment on the overall vibe of the school? We’re hearing that the studetns can be very intense. My daughter is used to working hard throughout high school and juggling a lot of different commitments, but she is looking for a balanced college experience where it’s easy to have fun. Campus seemed very quiet when we visited; there wasn’t a ton of energy. So I’m curious to hear other perspectives from current students or parents. We have no questions about the quality of the academics, but would appreciate more insight into the difficulty, intensity and general feel on campus.

59

As a student, I find it really hard to give an unbiased perspective because, like anybody, I gravitate to a specific set of friend groups and don’t really know what’s up outside of that. I’ll try my best with my experience, though.

With the general feel, there is no really good answer; it can be whatever you want it to be, as there are enough of any options for whatever you might want. If you want a party lifestyle, I hear it is very easy to get into and live the work-hard play-hard life you may expect. If you want more tame stuff (social events, excursions, movies, board games, anime, Smash, etc) there are more than enough people on campus with those interests. There are a lot of other cool things she can get into, and each one is unique with a vibe I cannot attest to in general, so she’ll have to talk to somebody who’s into it. If you are curious, most students generally enjoy themselves and socialize, partying or not and structured (clubs) or not, around Thursday nights, Fridays, and Saturdays without much academic worry (Sundays, though, usually involves studying and working). Fridays depend per person sometimes, but I feel like most people are generally more calm around that time.

I assume by difficulty and intensity, you’re referring to the academic/study vibe? In my experience, it seems to fluctuate in social settings from “Everything’s kinda under control” and “I am actually dying right now” depending on the time of the semester. This depends a lot on the classes students take, but there are usually at least one or two that are pretty rough, the wounds of which can bleed out in social settings (note that these hard courses including, surprisingly, some of the First-Year Seminars). In my case, the “study, study, study” mindset is not common, but the “assignment, assignment, assignment” mindset definitely is.

If you do happen to come back by chance or otherwise continue touring other colleges, be sure that your daughter avoids the bystander approach and tries socializing with some of the students if they don’t look too busy. Most students would be more than happy to share their personal experiences and provide a lot of insight, and she may even make some friends. If she has a serious interest, feel free to ask if the person knows anybody really into that kind of stuff who can give her a lot of cool information. She’ll get a much better feel for colleges if she does that and just kinda steps in.

Hope this helps (:

EDIT: Also, on the quietness of campus, there are times where this happens. You can expect walkways to be rather quiet around 10 - 5 on weekdays, with the cafeteria close to dead around 2-4. This is because most students lump their classes together and have 15 minute breaks (some smart ones will make gaps for meals, too), so you’ll see these huge 15-minute rushes during these times surrounded by pretty quiet times. 5-9 is generally a lot more lively.

60

@mon824 thank you for the detailed and thoughtful response. It was very helpful. If we make a return visit, I’ll encourage my daughter to try to talk to a current student. Thanks!