I was wondering if anyone would care to shed some light on the differences between the University of Richmond and Washington and Lee. Both are Virginian liberal arts schools. What is the difference in the vibe. Are they similar? From what I have heard, W and L is pretty conservative, is U of R similar? Thank you for commenting!
My sister-in-law literally lives next door to UofR. My student is a junior and is interested in both schools. My family says that W&L is more “southern” and UofR has a lot of northern east coast students, so it doesn’t have quite the southern feel as W&L. I’m not sure if that is accurate though. I’d be interested to hear a perspective on that.
I can’t comment on W and L, but I’m a current student at UR (from Northern Virginia). The above is correct- there are a lot of students from the northeast. It definitely does not have a southern vibe. The administration and campus itself are pretty liberal, but there are still some conservative students, who are welcomed (I’m quite liberal and I have a couple friends who are quite conservative).
W&L may be considered to be conservative and traditional, and the faculty and students are pretty nice. That being said, having visited campus, it is a party school (80% greek) and there is hard drinking and sex.
We visited UR twice; D attended classes, had lunch with a current student, and saw a performance in addition to the usual tour/info session/interview. H and I thought it was a fine choice, but D somehow never “felt it” the way she did at W&L. Good thing in retrospect, because while she was accepted at UR with no $, she received a Johnson (full ride) at W&L.
Our experience was that W&L’s reputation for being conservative is somewhat dated, and W&L continues to prioritize attracting a more geographically, economically, and racially diverse student body. D had friends from across the political spectrum. The new president (takes office in January 2017) comes from Williams College, so clearly the presidential search committee placed a high priority on filling the office with someone who is committed to rigorous liberal arts education.
I agree with @guineagirl96 that UR does not have a particularly southern vibe. Walking through the UR parking lot (an admittedly unscientific sample method), we saw many more cars with license plates from the NE than from the south.
Can you possibly visit both while they are in session?