Julie
It depends on who you ask. There is a greek presence and as a D1 school, there are a lot of athletes at Richmond. However, we have 250 clubs/organizations, so they have a very broad spectrum and most are very active and popular.
Joey
I met most of my closest friends through our fantastic Orientation program. During New Student Orientation, students are paired off into groups based on their halls and paired with a hall of the opposite gender. That's where I met my first friends!
Nabila
Greek Life is most definitely the most popular activity. 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of men and women participate and are members of a Greek organization, but if you're not interested in that there are other activities for everyone as well.
There is always something to do on campus, and off campus as well. Great restaurants, clubs and bars.
Emily
The typical Richmond week schedule is this: from Sunday to Thursday it is extreme school mode. The library is always packed until any hours of the morning, as well as the science center. Kids spend most of the time working hard on getting assignments and things outof the way. Then Thursday night until Sunday is pretty much considered the weekend! (unless you have a lot of Friday classes, which many don't, then your weekend will probably start on Friday night). People here pretty much abide by working really hard, and then playing really hard. It really is a good system!
People that live on the same dorm floor or close to each other lots of time end up becoming really good friends. That is how I met my best friends (actually one of them was my roommate).
Greek life is pretty big on campus, consuming about 35{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the males and 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the females. HOWEVER, I think it's really really important to note that Greek life at UR is notably different than it is at different schools. For one, none of the sororities or frats live together in housing just for them, so right there there is a much decreased level or exclusiveness. In fact, in all the events and activities that the greek organizations organize, EVERYONE from the campus is always encouraged to participate. And there is no real rivalty among sororities. I myself am a member of Pi Beta Phi, and my best friends are in Delta Gamma and Tri Delta. I often am thankful at the system at UR, and cringe when I see shows on TV like "Greek" that give sororities (especially at my school) such a bad reputation. Just believe me that it really is different here, and that the people in Greek life are all hardworking studious people.
On weekends, I must admit that there ARE many activities that involve drinking. There are frat lodges, appartment parties, and small gettogethers in dorms, and yes there is often drinking at these places. HOWEVER, although the alcohol is there, the point of these events and why most people go to them is NOT necessarily connected with alcohol. People simply go to hang out with others and have a good time or dance. And many people do not drink, and that is perfectly acceptable and they are never pressured. once again, the people here are really laid back and there is not textbook situations arising where people feel pressured to drink. A good alternative is to go to the Commons building (in the middle of campus) every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, where they are big showings of new movies that come out. These usually start around 9 pm, and are really popular with everyone. I personally have had so many fun nights just snacking and watching the movies with my group of friends.
Off campus there are also a lot of fun things to do. Since we are so close to Richmond, there are always TONS of restaurants, cafes, malls, and places to go during free time or weekends. And if your'e out on a weekend at night, there are nice nightclubs (18 and over) to go to near VCU (10 minutes away).