University of Rhode Island Top Questions

I enjoy the Providence campus because the students are more motivated and want to be at class.

I could go on for a long, long time on this subject, so I will try to only talk about things I think are worth knowing as a prospective student. There are a lot of niches and cliques to be found at URI, but that is not to say that everyone is a part of one. Walking around campus, especially early in the year, you may find yourself encountering a lot of stereotypes that I've mentioned already. There will be a lot of people in fraternity/sorority sweatshirts, no shortage of "bros," and at least one "that guy" on the quad with a guitar surrounded by people throwing Frisbee®s around. There's also a general coldness towards strangers that I think may be characteristic of the Northeast in general. Some people just want to be left alone except by people they already know, and sometimes people will react as though you have invaded their personal space after just eye contact. But people are weird in their everyday states, so don't let any of that dissuade you. URI has very strange attitudes about diversity. They encourage it to the point of having a "Diversity Week" every fall, and as a result there are many people from many backgrounds who are very open about these backgrounds and embrace people's differences. But as a result people who strongly identify with these diverse backgrounds often suffer from a kind of de facto segregation. The more difference/diversity is stressed on campus, the more I notice this. Personally, I think this is something that should make more people more upset, but URI is also notorious for an apathetic student population. It's hard to say what place a very politically active person may have at URI. Such a person may find themselves happy about how lively and dedicated other people in their niche are, and then disappointed at the lack of support from the general student population. (Faculty support, by contrast, especially on issues of race and gender, is overwhelming and one may find a large number of good starting connections for a career in such a field.)

There are a lot of "clicks" at U.R.I. However, that being said, the school itself is very accepting of view points, sexual orientation, or any other platform you associate yourself with. The idea is to find the right people. In addition, because the school is still growing, it is mostly local kids attending the university. This leads to a great diversity of financial background as you have kids from very low income to very high income areas. One thing the students all seem to have in common is weed. I will never forget the year I was living on campus and when I was walking back to my dorm approximately 40 feet from any point on the building smelled like weed. This is probably what leads to the overall "laid-back" personality of U.R.I.

There are big communities with religious and LGBT and other groups on campus, all positive experience. I don't think there is a student that doesn't find a group or program where they wouldn't fit. There is something for everyone. Students wear casual clothing. Students interact outside of groups. The students really mix, background, location, financial status, or interests don't really matter.

I have many friends from a multitude of varying religions, races, socio-economic statuses and personalities. The only experiences I had with LGBT were pleasant but not personal. They came and spoke at the Psychology Club meeting about their issues and asked for help. They were all very nice and thankfully their demands were met shortly. There is not a high percentage of African Americans and other ethnicities because it is a mainly caucasian campus. It is not discriminatory by any means and everyone is accepted everywhere. Most students in my friend group are of middle class (some come from really wealthy families) and we all like to travel and talk and meet new people. A new student who was a homosexual may have felt uneasy a couple years ago when hate crimes were on the rise against them but now they would feel safe and accepted. I feel like URI does a good job at accepting many different people and no one would really feel out of place. Most people wear jeans or sweats to class and t-shirt. In the winter, many girls wear UGGs, jeans, and a north face while boys wear Timberlands, sweats, and a hooded sweatshirt. URI is not too big on fashion. Different types of students interact all of the time due to classes, organizations, and clubs. I see many different types of people in one group. People from the sports team interact with people who study all the time who also interact with people who party a lot. Just because they have different interest doesn't mean they don't interact. There are no table or group distinctions in the dining hall. It is one big mess of color, interests, and personality. The only table that I have seen together multiple times would be the track team and I presume they come after practice so they all want to sit and eat together. THey use a big table in the back of the main dining hall. Most of the students are from the New England area. About 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students come from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or Rhode Island. Most students come from a wealthy financial background and with the rising rate of tuitions, I would say you have to at this point. Rhode Island rose a couple thousand over my four years of being here. Many students are not politically aware or active but if I had to chose I would base it off of my freshman year when a herd of students were chanting "Obama!" over and over again when he won the election. Students do talk about how much they aspire to earn one day but I don't think anyone boasts or brags at this point with the economy in its current state.

For the most part, my experience with racial, religious, and GLBT groups on campus has been pretty positive. There is a great deal of diversity throughout most of campus and almost any type of student would enjoy it. Depending on the season, boy usually wear jean pants or sweatpants with either a t-shirt or sweatshirt. For the most part, this school has a stereotype for girl clothing, which usually is a pair of UGG boots, leggings, and a North Face jacket. Regardless of peoples' style, clothing race, or ethnicity, student blend in pretty well together. Financially, you will come across a entire variety of students, some of those who are driving a Mercedes-Benz or Lexus vehicle to school and others biking because they cannot afford the cost of car insurance. I'm not too sure about the student body's political awareness or stance. Most students inspire to attain a good job that is well paying.

I haven't found any social group on campus that I personally feel comfortable with, but I do know many people that have. There is a lot of Greek life on campus, and its a really great was to socialize. I'm personally am not involved with Greek life, but I have friends that are, and even through that I socialize via the Greek life on campus. There is every type of person you could ever think of at URI, and there is no possible way that you won't be able to find some group of people to fit into. URI has students with a wide range of financial backgrounds. People wear everything from sweatpants and a sweatshirt, to jeans and a tee, to dresses and blouses and you'll even see some people walking around in suits who are attending a career event that day. I feel like there is a place for everyone at URI, it is a very diverse campus.

Very laid back, there are a lot of pot smoking hippies and some snobby groups. Others are genuinely nice and fun

The classmates at my school are highly intelligent but grounded, friendly people as well.