Quinn
I'm pretty sure all of my professors know my name. I see some of the professors I had last semester outside of class and they recognize me. It's really great. My favorite class was CS150. It was a decently easy class; I learned something I never studied before that I just happened to be good at; I stumbled upon my major; and I got a sweet job as a lab assistant. My LEAST favorite was definitely CORE. There are just no good teachers for CORE. The kids here study pretty much all the time. There were a good 50-some people in the library on a FRIDAY AFTERNOON once. It's very competitive here. I feel like most of the education here is geared toward making a career. Most of the kids here are trying their best to get ahead and lay a good foundation for whatever they choose to do in the future.
Mary
Yes, professors know their students, class size is small enough that you learn a lot. Some students study more than others. In the arts and sciences school the atmosphere is not too competitive.
The music department has a good unity. Everyone knows each other and says hi to each other in the halls. It is not cutthroat as everybody is too busy trying to get through their classes. Plus you can feel confident that you have a community in which you can make stupid music jokes like A C and E walk into a bar and the bartender says "sorry, we don't serve minors here"
The education at Richmond is geared toward learning for its own sake, but I feel like a lot of students feel pressured that they are never going to get a job, so there are a lot of art students who double major in premed or business. A lot of people double major on campus. If you are not double majoring, prepare to tell people that you feel confident your degree will show your qualifications without five billion majors on it.
Dylan
Professors definatley know my name and will know it for the next four years... it's not just me. It's amazing.
Favorite class: Organic Chemistry because I find it fun and nobody else does because they can't do it.
Leave favorite: CORE!
Study habits: People are good about keeping up with their work. We are a top 25 school in the nation. We wouldn'tbe there if we didn't work.
Class participation: In most classes, yes. BUT in CORE probably not.
You can find people to have intellectual conversations with BUT the sterotypical richmonder probably won't. They are too busy getting fucked while they're drunk at the apartment or the Lodges.
Competitive: YES
Most unique class: American Lit, Radical perspectives... basically a class that is trying to stop capitalism from turning into fascism which at Richmond is big.
My major is actually Biochemistry and Molecular biology. I love the department a lot. They are an amazing group of dedicated scientists.
Time outside of class with Profs: For me it doesn't really happen but I know pleanty to people who hang out with profs other times.
Academic Requirements: They're the usual... no complaints.
Getting a job, or learning... Hmmmm probably getting a job. Actually yes, getting a job. I will not say that they sacrifice learning for its own sake but getting a job is very high on the list.
Becky
Yes, it's sad - ask many students here and they'll haughtily reply that they should have gone to Harvard or another such institution. Indeed, UR's often been called the safety school of the Ivy Leaguers, and admittedly it was a safety school for me and several of my friends. But okay, we're here now, and I know very few who are dissatisfied with the rigor of academic life at the school.
In keeping with its liberal arts curriculum, Richmond has an extensive set of general education requirements - some students like this built-in opportunity to explore other disciplines but I believe most see them as at least somewhat of a nuisance. These include Social Analysis, Math, Science, Foreign Language, Composition, Arts, and History, I believe, although students can apply AP credit to these or test out of select classes. I didn't have to take a lot of Gen Ed classes myself, but was definitely annoyed to be stuck in Bio 100 last fall looking at algae under a microscope and writing a 6 page paper about a tree instead of taking Art History or a news writing class. My advice: definitely definitely take your AP or IB tests! They serve you well here. In addition to the Gen Eds, all freshmen students are subjected to the common bonding experience of Core class (it's currently a year long, but this may change). The reading for this class is your basic Nietzsche, Freud, Darwin, with a spattering of novels, but depending on your professor, experiences will vary widely.
I'm an English and French major, and really love the classes within my departments. I know the lecture classes in the math and science departments are generally much larger, but for me the liberal arts classes have ranged between 8 to 25 students. I really appreciate the relationship I have with professors here - they genuinely care about their students and some that I haven't had for class since first semester will still greet me by name when I see them around campus. I haven't had a professor yet who wasn't accessible to his students - I was particularly impressed when a French teacher last fall came in on a Sunday to help the students in our class with technical difficulties on a project. I know that in the upper levels, this student-teacher relationship only continues to grow, and I know seniors this year who have lunch with their profs and who have travel plans with them after graduation!
There are certainly many students here who are in school for a set career path - we have a Business School and a Leadership School, both of which have very good programs. Students within the Liberal Arts programs might not necessarily have a certain career in mind, but have several resources available to them in the career services center and the experience and support of their professors. Students in the Arts departments generally let their interests first determine their major, and then try to go from there in determining a career path. I feel there's a good balance here between learning for learning's sake and preparing for life in the real world. The involvement of students in academic and cultural events outside of classes attests to this.