University of Richmond Top Questions

There is not a lot that goes on here other than academics. The party life is nothing special.

The best thing about Richmond in my opinion is football because that is the only thing that keeps me sane here other than my friends. If I could change something here it would be to make people more open minded to others instead of holding pre-perceptions of people without even knowing them as people. In comparison to other school Richmond os considered a small school, but I think it's just right. The fact that I am black people who do not know me generally ask do I play a sport which pisses me off because they feel that is the only way that I could possible be at a prestigous school. Richmond's administration reflects the student population which is majority white which comes with the same racial problems. The biggest recent controversy was the hanging of a black doll in a theatre classroom which the richmond administration tried to cover-up. They discovered it and waited three and a half weeks before they notified the students of what happened in means for the students to be passive about the event which angers me beyond measure. Hell no there is no school pride, students here are stuck up rich kids who take pride in drinking and partying. The have more spirit for alcoholic beverages than their own school and sports teams. The unusual thing about Richmond is the lack of support for athletics. I will always remember the first time I was called a nigger at the University of Richmond and how I almost destroyed the lives of a couple students with the thought to hospitalize them. The most frequent student complaints have been directed at the administration for the lack of ability to handle situations on-campus such as the hanging doll incident. Minorities especially black kids on this campus have lost trust in our head officials do to their passive approaches to all the racial incidents that have occured on this campus. No one gets punished and the president write e-mails to everyone talking about his sadness and how we as a community need to grow and learn from these events. I say that is bullshit some action needs to be taken so kids commiting these racist acts know it will not be tolerated. It does not take a genius to understand that if someone does something and gets away with it, someone will try to do the same thing. Our administration lacks the strength and will to want to create change here and that is what pisses me off being an person of color at this school. I do personally feel white people do not want black people here. I will sat that all white people here have not been snobbish; I have a numerous amount of white friends. Due to me being a ver social person with an open and fun personality, I mesh well with generally everyone, but others who do not step outside their boundaries remain sheltered from other students. I question my choice of accepting my scholarship here due to the resentment of people here, but I hold me head high everyday to let them know I will continue to strive for success no matter how hard they try to hold me back. I will achieve what I came here to do with or wothout them resentment.

The best thing about Richmond is the campus. It's the most beautiful college campus I have ever seen. No matter what season it is, I always stop and just think, "I can't believe I go here. It's gorgeous". The lake is a great central feature of campus with a bridge on one side and the Commons on the other. Richmond is a small-sized college but so far I don't think it's too small. I like walking to class and seeing familiar faces. Small class sizes (20 students or less) are conducive to learning, make class participation not seem so scary, and helps form better relationships with teachers so going to them for extra help isn't intimidating.

The best thing about Richmond is the small size. You really get to know people, and when you meet someone, you can rest assured that you will run into them again. That said, the small size can sometimes make you feel like your social options are limited, but in the end you can have fun no matter what. The campus is in the suburbs outside of Richmond city proper, which can be kind of annoying if you don't have a car, but you'll probably have friends who do and then can go and do all kinds of fun stuff in the city. The campus itself is breathtakingly beautiful, it's truly a pleasure to walk to class during the fall and spring months. There doesn't seem to be much school pride, which is one of the few things I would like to see change here. We have a fantastic dining hall with reasonable hours from 7 in the morning to 8 at night, as well as a fast food restaurant and a pub that's open every night until midnight or one o'clock.

UR is a good size; there's enough people to meet someone new every weekend. Of course, it's so small that you're guarenteed to see that person in d-hall on Monday, and more times than not, that person will pretend that you two didn't bond over a can of Beast in the back room of one of the apartments last Friday night. The social scene can be pretty weird. The city of Richmond is pretty cool, but most students only go to the city to visit the bars. UR is trying to make transportation into the city, but it's still a lot easier to do anything if you have a car. When meeting people from the city or students from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), you need to be cautious before saying you're from UR. They automatically assume that you're going to be a pompous jerk. The most recent controversy that got people really fired up was over sidewalk chalk in the Forum (a big brick circle in the middle of campus). The school could have charged some first-year guys with vandalism, but instead sentenced them to six hours of community service--and the student body couldn't believe that they were punished at all. Because of that incidence, we are now allowed to use chalk in the Forum, and those of us who spend our days being outraged about things that matter are shaking our heads in disbelief.

Richmond is generally small, if you've done something embarassing over the weekend, people are going to hear about it. On the plus side, the small campus makes for small class sizes which is really beneficial for student-teacher relations. Richmond social life is also pretty centered around the fraternities and sororities. If you choose to be in a sorority, those girls will be your only friends, and you will only hang out with frat guys. Most of my time on campus i spent either in dhall, or in the library. This is not really a college town, per say, but more of a "Richmond bubble" as it is referred to. Most of a Richmond's student life will be on campus. The school pride at Richmond is, to be frank, completely lacking. This might stem from the whole having a Spider as a mascot thing, but generally it is because we are not that great at sports and do not have a football team on campus. Richmond does have a GORGEOUS campus on the plus side, making for a great time in the fall and spring.

Richmond is a great school, it is moving up and will soon be at the level of the ivy league schools. The academics are very hard, the professors are mainly very hard but very nice, they give you the oppurtunities to suceed, you just have to take advantage of them. People always seem impressed when you tell them you go to Richmond. Most people live on campus all four years and people rarely leave campus except to go to bars or clubs. The largest problem is the administration and its disdain for partying. Hopefully the school wakes up lightens up. Another problem is a lack of school spirit and the apathy of the student body. This will probably change when the oncampus football stadium is completed in 2010.

I love the size of Richmond. It may be just me, but 3,500 is just about perfect. It's just small enough to walk around campus and know a lot of the students, and professors for that matter, but just big enough to not feel like you're seeing the same people everyday, everywhere. I feel a lack of school pride when it comes to sporting events. I come from a big high school where sports were well attended and a big part of school life. At Richmond the sporting events are secondary to pretty much everything else. I'd love for more people to attend the sports games.

I am a graduate student so the best thing at Richmond for me is the opportunity I have to teach the undergraduates. I also really enjoy having great laboratory resources available at all times. Considering I am not part of the regular population, I really do not spend much time just hang around campus. I am usually in the lab or in my office.

The students at the University of Richmond are what I would consider the "well-rounded" kids. Academics are a top priority, but we are also deeply involved in numerous extracurricular activities: Greek life, volunteering, Student governments, Class councils, Sports and athletics, etc. Most students here are very content. We are always impressed with the renovations and new building projects that are being done - the new dorm, Lakeview, is absolutely amazing. It actually looks like a hotel, not a dorm. The new gym is also fabulous, and meets the students' needs of being athletically involved and fit. Richmond is just the perfect size: on your way to class, you'll recognize and say hi to a fair amount of people walking by, but at the same time, there are always lots of people to meet. At Richmond, no one is just a number. We all have a say and the administration attentively listens to student concerns. For example, students wanted to be able to write with chalk around campus, and after some controversy, the administration allowed it. My favorite part about Richmond is its location. We are not located in downtown Richmond, so we are not a city school at all. But at the same time, we are not in the middle of no where in some cornfield. The city and all of its resources are a mere 10 minute drive, and there is always something going on around the Richmond area.