<p>I first visited U of Richmond in August 2008, and fell in love with the feel of the campus. I applied this past year, and got in. I went to the recent "Experience Richmond" day and had a really good time. But I noticed that when I went to lunch just about everyone was wearing "fancy" clothes - guys were wearing designer polos, and girls were wearing sundresses. Since this was my first visit to the campus with students actually present, I became a bit worried, because I basically live in t-shirts and basketball shorts. Also, I read the many student reviews at *<strong><em>.com and saw that a lot of the students, if not all, are big time partiers and not exactly the greatest people to be around. I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I'm not even that into parties. *</em></strong> also said that the students aren't into sports games, but I feel like after the success of the football team in 2008 and the A-10 tourney run for the men's basketball team just a month or so ago, that attitude has likely changed.</p>
<p>Has anyone else gotten this same vibe from visiting the campus? Does anyone have any proof or other evidence to help me out? Is ***** that trustworthy of a source, or do students often go there just to let their (negative) feelings out? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Edit: For some reason, collegeconfidential doesn't seem to like it when I type unig0. For the record, that's what the stars are covering.</p>
<p>I was at Experience Richmond, and didn’t see anything like what you said. As I was leaving, I saw a number of students out and about hanging out, and they seemed to be in varied attire; most of them were in shorts and t-shirts. My tour guide also didn’t give the impression of the school being much of a party school, and my research has turned up significant evidence to suggest that getting alcohol before you’re 21 is not only fairly difficult to do, since the frat houses are regulated pretty well, but also a bit of a risky venture, as UR doesn’t mess around if you’re caught under age drinking, at least not out and about. I also got the feeling that sports were a fairly big deal to the students, although that may have just been the tour guide. She was a sorority member, so I wouldn’t have assumed her to be more biased than the average student, but who knows.</p>
<p>Either way, the question is one you gotta decide yourself. When you visited, did it feel right? Were you impressed by their programs and liked the feel of the university, or were you not? If not, you may want to go elsewhere. There’s a lot of talk about knowing you’re at the right university when you visit it, and I personally didn’t buy into it, but I’ve become a bit of a believer in that since I went to visit UR, so if you did not share that experience, maybe it’s just not the right place for you.</p>
<p>Just remember that no university is uniform. You should be able to find people with similar interests who you enjoy spending time with anywhere, be it at University of Richmond or one of the other fine institutions you are considering. People are people, universally, so you’ll find some people who party a lot, some who don’t, some you love to be around, and some you can’t stand.</p>
<p>Our daughter is at Richmond, and I agree with Benadorf’s post about the dress… lots of girls are dressed up, but not all. The sororities have a dress day one day each week…maybe that is what you saw? The kids there, for the most part, are very clean cut, health-conscious, and involved. The atmosphere is extremely friendly, the kids work hard and yes, play hard on weekends. And yes, there IS alcohol at the frat lodges, and at the apartments, and parties on weekends, before games, at Pig Roast, and more. I doubt that is much different at any school. In the end, you will find a crowd where you are comfortable. Agree that you have to visit and see yourself at a college. If it doesn’t feel right, it likely is not the right place for you. Best of luck.</p>
<p>I’m a current first-year here at UR, and I must admit, when I visited campus last year, I felt EXACTLY how you did, Atzuelo! But it’s interesting – I think that as a visitor, you tend to pay MORE attention (as an outsider) to how the students dress and stuff, but when you’re a student here, you see people dressed in a variety of different outfits. Most of the other students in my CORE class, for instance, dress very differently – we have people in relaxed clothes, like how you described your attire, but we also have girls who wear a lot of designer clothes. But in the end, I don’t think a lot of people pay attention to what you wear – I think it matters mostly to you.</p>
<p>The only day I really felt out of place (attire-wise) was on Bid Day (or some Greek Day), which is one day a year when all the girls wear dresses and wait for their sororities to bid on them or something. I’m not Greek, so I’m not sure. I usually wear casual/semiformal clothes (and I’m a girl), and it felt so weird to see so many girls wearing dresses. But that was just once a year, and it was only in the morning.</p>
<p>In regard to partying/alcohol, I don’t drink/smoke/party/etc, but I do manage to have fun. Yes, there is a sense that alcohol is prevalent here, but I think that’s the way it is at most colleges – and at Richmond, it’s probably less than at bigger, more “party” schools. I think if you come here, you WILL meet people who have the same values as you, and you will have people to hang out with. It’s not that hard, and you can have a good time without drinking/smoking/partying etc.</p>
<p>And I definitely agree with you about school spirit – it sure is increasing, esp. with the new stadium!</p>
<p>If you have any more Qs, feel free to PM me! :)</p>