University of Richmond Top Questions

Richmond's student body is definitely preppy, but very motivated and passionate. We have a very activist student body who hold very different opinions. I wouldn't say the campus leans one way politically, it is pretty 50/50.

There is little diversity here. People aren't very nice either, especially if your on fraternity territory. They swarm, so watch out, don't start any fights. Black students tend to hang with blacks, whites with whites, outside of the athletic teams. While unfortunate, I can't imagine its much different than most schools. Students seem overly concerned with money and what job they will get, especially in the business school, but that's not too surprising. There seems to be a lot of sleep lost over grades so kids will get the best internships and whatnot.

The following information is a generatlization for the majority of the student body, it does not describe EVERYONE by any means. However, it is an accurate representation of the majority of "typical" Richmond students. I'll be honest here. Richmond is not diverse at all. The dominent steryptypes - white, preppy, rich - consume the student body. If you don't fit in this group, you will likely feel like an outcast, to varying degrees. You'll be "weird." Most students wear sundresses, PEARLS, polo brand polo shirts, J. Crew, vineyard vines, etc clothing to class every day. They dress as if they're going on a job interview, or to a preppy new england yacht club or something. Most people are from the North. They're rich and they know it. A lot of them want you to know it, too. Most girls are thin, blonde, and beautiful (no joke). They all look the same, and dress the same. The boys are not ashamed to wear pastels, tightish pants, or the likes. "Preppy" is an understatement. Most people are not aware of money/the real world. They use their parent's credit card for everything. It is NOT by any means a lifestyle or population representative of the real world.

I still feel like there's a big racial divide on campus. The campus is undoubtedly overwhelming Catholic/Christian, which I consider kind of a bummer. Most don't seem to be practicing, however (something important to note). I still have many friends who are Hindu. Don't know too many atheists on campus... (at least they're not out-spoken enough to be known). Most students get too dressed up for class (in my opinion). I think students who are more of the "outsider" type would feel out of place at Richmond, but I think that they should not be scared away from Richmond- there are others like them here! A lot of Richmond students come from PA, MD, CT, NY, VA, NJ, etc... aka, the north east. I'm from CA, and I've definitely met more Cali/west coaster students here than I expected to meet. Lots of internationals, which I love. There are definitely students here paying full price, but I also know a lot of students who are on practically full financial aid (though you would never know unless they told you). There are also a lot of scholarship recipients (50 full-tuition scholars out of every class). Students are as politically aware as I would like, though I think the election is changing that attitude a little bit at least on campus. I wish however, that students were more passionate about [especially] international issues, and the US's effect on the rest of the world, good and bad. Most students seem to be center-ish. There are too many crazy liberals on campus putting on protests (I would like to see that). I think everyone hopes they'll make a lot of money one day, but I've met students here who know they won't because of what they want to go into (teaching, social change, etc.).

the school is ont racially diverse. but there are many differnt types of personalities here. Most people are able to find a great group of friends here than seems to be continusouly expanding. Most students are intelligent and friendly however there are the exceptions.

The Student body at Richmond is highly homogeneous, consisting of mainly white, upper-middle class students. There is a sense of diversity, though, on campus, given the high number of foreign exchange students. It is common to hear more than one language on your way to class. Almost everyone studies extremely hard for their classes, knowing if they do well enough, they are almost always offered a job after graduating, whether it is through one of the many

I was talking to a friend one day as we were eating lunch and we started talking about the students here at Richmond. I asked him: "Do you think that Richmond is a very diverse campus?" She answered: "Well, everyone in my hall is actually from a different state. Not a single repeat. So yeah, I would say Richmond is a very diverse place" This is very true at Richmond. Because of it is a private school students come a variety of different states. However, There is an inherent problem in this way of thinking. Location alone does not determine diversity. While Richmond may have students from many different states, every student comes from almost identical socio-economic backgrounds. Whether they be from New York or New Jersey or Ohio, most of them come from well to do families, whom share similar upbringings and values. These similarities create a strong sense of conformity on the campus. I can tell you that after the first week at Richmond I stopped wearing solid color T-Shirts and sweatpants and went out and bought myself a few polos. If you are a minority it is even worse. You find yourself in a milky sea which everyone is painfully aware of. You may share the same socio-economic background as the majority of the students but your minority status will set you apart regardless.

LGBTs are generally not well-received on campus, there is no outward hatred but many do not feel comfortable coming out here. Furthermore, there are few minority students here and many of them clump together. Religious diversity is also nearly non-existent. Most students dress up for class, rarely wearing sweatpants. Most students come from a lot of money and they show it - items such as Ugg boots, North Face jackets, Vera Bradley and other 'fashionable' items are frequently seen. Few students have ever held a job, whether out of necessity or just to get experience. Most students are from New Jersey. The student body is generally apathetic - nobody really knows much or cares about politics and current events.

I like the kids for the most part.

The student body at the University of Richmond is comprised of white, affluent youth. They tend to be rather arrogant and ignorant. Their lack of awareness of issues outside their limited scope of life is truly staggering. These are also kids who love to drink to excess, foregoing any sort of school spirit or off-campus social or cultural activity in favor of attending essentially the exact same party they attended last week. Also, due to the tuition hike of a few years past, the office of admissions has been forced to delve deeper and deeper into their waiting list, resulting in (generally) retrograding of academic standards and general intellectual level. This is not a callous judgement on the part of this one writer but a statistic. For instance, in the two years following this hike test scores of incoming students dropped substantially from that of previous years and was even well below that of the graduating class. The mark of a growing university is that the incoming class' test scores are better than those of the graduating seniors.