<p>Our D has been admitted to Colgate, Furman and UR. All three schools are about the same size, and have great reputations for academics/professors, etc. So, I think what may break the tie is social life. We are fairly conservative, and would like to avoid throwing our D into a school that is dominated by a Greek life/drinking culture. I know there are elements of that in every school, and your child has to be strong enough to stay away, but I hear different things about UR and Colgate in that regard. I also know that Colgate is "in the middle of nowhere" which some say makes them more prone to binge drinking (or is that only true in Alaska and certain parts of the Dakotas)? Any thoughts would be appreciated!! Since this is a UR thread, I am particularly interested in thoughts regarding UR social life for the non-party animal.</p>
<p>boatlift, I would recommend that you check out the Common Data Set for each of the schools. That will tell you what % of students are affiliated with Greek organizations. </p>
<p>There has been a steady decline in the Greek life at UR over the last 15 years or so. At UR, Greeks don’t live in separate houses, but do have space on campus to throw parties (guys do at least, the girls are getting some meeting spaces built right now, but do not host on-campus parties).</p>
<p>I drank in school, but had friends that did not. It was always available if you wanted it, but if you did not, that was respected as well. Hopefully someone who has been a part of UR’s undergrad scene more recently than I can chime in.</p>
<p>One last thought – ultimately, it comes down to your daughter. No matter where she ends up, if she wants to be a part of a scene or not will fall on her shoulders. Every campus will have different groups (some more heavily weighted one way or the other) and the last 18 years will help determine the next four for her.</p>
<p>Thanks Spider05. I agree completely about each student needing to make good choices, and that is based largely on the values/maturity they bring to school with them. Thanks for the input, and BTW as a parent I absolutely love the thought of being able to visit the city of Richmond. Great school in a great location. One more question for you. As an alumni, are you as excited about President Ayers as most seem to be? What do you think his priorities are in terms of moving UR forward?</p>
<p>I’m a freshman here and even though admissions and tours will say that the greek life is declining, it still absolutely dominates the social scene… but only if youre into partying/drinking. I have found that for the most part people are really respectful of people who don’t drink. My one friend doesn’t drink and I actually respect him more for sticking with that than some others who just drink to fit in instead of actually liking it.
There are actually many other things to do besides drink on weekends. There is CA, (Campus Alternatives) and they usually plan events for weekends for those that do not want to drink. And UR is only like 10 minutes from downtown Richmond, where there are plenty of things to do</p>
<p>Thanks Ramscx813. Since we’re talking about UR, is there anything you think my D should know as a prosepctive student at UR that perhaps you didn’t know when you decided to attend? Assume you’re enjoying your first year at UR?</p>
<p>boat, I have had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Ayers on a number of occasions and I thoroughly enjoy him as a person. He is extremely approachable and a very humble man. I am a huge fan of the school as a whole, and a big fan of our athletic programs, so it’s fantastic to see Dr. Ayers at things like the A-10 basketball tournament in Atlantic City leading cheers.</p>
<p>I believe that he is a tremendous asset to the university and is a major improvement over our last president. </p>
<p>There are a few issues that I disagree with him on but in general, I am very pleased with the way that he has run the school thus far. He has the opportunity to leave his mark on the school with his Master Plan (<a href=“https://masterplan.richmond.edu/[/url]”>https://masterplan.richmond.edu/</a>). </p>
<p>In my opinion, his legacy will largely depend on the success of raising the capital to see it through, his ability to navigate the current athletic climate (along with our AD), his ability to continue to make UR affordable to a larger percentage of the population while maintaining the academic standards and emphasizing a balance between school/life for the undergrads.</p>
<p>I will admit that at times, it can get a bit boring here for people who choose not to be a part of the party scene on weekends. The Cultural Alternatives Saturday night events can be a lot of fun, but about half the time just seem kinda lame. That being said, there is always something to do outside of the party scene and fun to be had–just sometimes, you have to search for it. First semester, my friends and I enjoyed taking the 2BNB bus down to Carytown, getting some FroYo at Sweet Frog, and catching a $2 movie at the Byrd. There are tons of fun, cheap things like this in the Richmond area. Having a car on campus really does make it a lot easier to adventure, though because both public and university buses can’t always be trusted.</p>
<p>I get the feeling that there are a lot of small groups of people who choose not to party, but they groups have a hard time finding each other because they’re off on their own adventures (or just having a movie marathon in someone’s room). It would be great if there were some way to alert the groups of the others’ existences. </p>
<p>Please, don’t let all this scare you off, though. The point of this was that it often does seem like a lot of people are out partying, but it’s more because those people are a lot more noticeable than those just chilling with friends or off campus. It’s quite possible to drink rarely or not at all and still have a good time here.</p>
<p>My daughter had to choose between Colgate and Richmond too. She chose Richmond and couldn’t be happier.
I suggest researching the course catalogs for both schools to see what each offers. Depending on the intended major one school might be stronger than the other. If she is undecided you may find one school has more LA choices than the other.<br>
As parents, we have enjoyed the JetBlue flights to Richmond both for her to come home and for us to visit. Lots of hotel options too.</p>
<p>Thanks Ratzer. My D decided on UR after going to the Accepted Studuents day and we are very comfortable with the decision. The school has been very impressive since Day 1 (although we have also been very impressed with Colgate). It came down to feel and location. Richmond is a great city and I really think their proximity to D.C. is a huge plus. Is your D finishing up freshman year? What does she has to say about social life at UR?</p>
<p>Hi boatlift. My daughter is finishing up her Soph year this week. She is not a partier and not a drinker. She is never lacking for things to do. There are many, many groups. She has discovered ballroom dancing, rock climbing and is on the Multifaith Council. Here is a list of student organizations: [Student</a> Organizations - Student Activities - University of Richmond](<a href=“Student Involvement - University of Richmond”>Student Involvement - University of Richmond)</p>
<p>I hope your daughter is as happy as ours has been. We talked last night and she is sad because she is half way done already.</p>
<p>Oh, and if your daughter would like to talk to my daughter about anything UR, I will gladly give you contact information.</p>
<p>My daughter is going to be a senior. Time flies so fast.
My D has loved the social life. She is in a sorority and plays club field hockey. She tends to participate in a lot of intramural fundraisers that have a sporting component. She is in the minority there.
The orintation groups at UR are done very well. They consist of boys and girls. The girls in the group all live next to each other in the dorm. Their roommates are in a different group. This facilitates them knowing the people around them much faster. My daughter settled in quite quickly.
The only fault I have with the school is the registration process. You register with your whole class even if you have more credits. Everyone logs on and registers at 7am on a certain day. Not everyones goes through due to the heavy traffic. My D went in with a lot of AP credits so essentially needed to register for upper level classes. The good professors and times were taken up by the upper classmen and she got the less interesting and visiting professors. She taught herself a lot of the subjects her freshman and sophomore years due to poor professors. It was a frustrating time academically. My other child is at Elon and they have a much finer breakdown in registration times that rewards those that go in with some credits. He was able to register before the majority of his class did. Education should be the first reason you go to school right? I tried to get her to transfer many times. Circling back to your question - she loved the school and social life too much to change.</p>