<p>Sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t. What difference does it make? I see no reason that “rich kids” shouldn’t do nice things, as long as they are nice people.</p>
<p>I certainly don’t want to imply that rich does not equal nice, and that middle or working class can’t be snobby. I know that I couldn’t tell the really wealthy girlfriends I had at college, while my friends at another college had a very exclusive campus culture. Here is an article about one young man’s experience at an Ivy League school, and how he felt out of place (though it didn’t have to do with money). [INSIDE</a> magazine](<a href=“http://www.idsnews.com/news/inside/story.aspx?id=78733]INSIDE”>http://www.idsnews.com/news/inside/story.aspx?id=78733)</p>
<p>I have seen campuses with divisions between races, religions, etc. and social class is just another division and to question how a kid will be accepted is a fit question.</p>
<p>My youngest daughter attended U of R her freshman year in 2006. A couple of points - she definitely experienced the ‘rich kids’ atmosphere. But, she came from a high school where the atmosphere was very similar so it wasn’t too much of a culture adjustment. With scholarships, her education was a mere $4000/yr. She was extremely fortunate to be given the opportunity to attend U of R. She was admitted to Elon, College of Charleston, Denison and Furman. Final choice was based on tuition since she was going to work on campus to help pay costs. We visited campus twice - once before applying and once after being admitted. Asked alot of questions, talked to students, attended a couple of classes, etc. At that time, we felt great about everything except for the distance from Cincinnati. </p>
<p>Now for the negatives that she experienced - her first weekend at school (Labor Day) the area was hit with torrential rains and she and a friend were running between buildings and she slipped and fell. We received a call from the ER that she was brought in and they would keep us informed of her status. Long story short - she ended up needing surgery and crutches were going to be a hindrance in getting around to say the least. We spent a week there for the surgery and aftercare. She fell way behind in classes, the majority of her professors did not want to hear any excuses, and when she became overwhelmed because she was getting behind and letting HERSELF down, she wouldn’t return our calls. This was a girl who came from a very middle class family, had a 3.8GPA, a 34 ACT, 7 years of French with Study Abroad a goal, and had a passion for math and science. </p>
<p>When she quit contacting us and wouldn’t answer our calls or emails, we called the Dean of Women’s office numerous times to see if they could send someone over to check on her. We contacted the RA. We emailed. No response at all. Because she was 18, they wouldn’t give us any information. We made another trip to U of R and when she was dismayed because of how hard it was to get around campus on crutches, we rented her an electric scooter for mobility purposes for a couple of months. At the time, she did not let us know she had gotten behind. She stuck it out for a year enduring what turned out to be depression her terrible experience caused. As parents, we constantly worried about her and really felt helpless being so far away and having nobody with the university who was willing to discuss the situation. </p>
<p>Needless to say, she came home after her freshman year and enrolled at the University of Cincinnati. She still tells people that she was really disappointed in being a face in the crowd at Richmond and not having any support during her medical issue. She DID make lifelong friends - she is in contact with many of them and sees several a few times a year. </p>
<p>We do feel, however, that if it hadn’t been for getting off to such a rough start, she would have done very well at U of R.</p>
<p>Definitely look at Murray Scholarship at William & Mary. Has more of an intellectual, non-conformist feel, esp for the South. Known for faculty that gets involved and loves teaching.</p>