University of Richmond Top Questions

The school is a big bubble - most people live in their own worlds and are entirely indifferent to current events or even what is going on outside of their friendship circles. The social life is dominated by Greek life and sororities and fraternities are a huge presence on campus. Students here have a lot of money and spend a lot of money. For example, at a recent event in which students were auctioned off to raise money for a cause, one student bid $3000 on another student, and most (if not all) of that money probably came from his/her father's pocket. Diversity is nearly non-existent - there are few students of other races and the black students and the international students stick together. President Ayers is amazing - he really does care about the school and the student body and is making changes to ensure that the school is making progress everyday.

the best thing about richmond is that the teachers are helpful and good people. The worst will probably be when the credit system is instituted.

To be brief, the student's best interests are not neccessarily at heart, rather an insane quest for inter-university esteem dominates.

too small. people don't know what UR is. Campus is tiny. Richmond is an ok city. Richmond admins are fine. Nothing happens here. I don't really care about this schools pride. Nothing extraordinary ever happens here, good or bad. I don't really have memorable experiences... things just happen. Students... I dunno students everywhere complain.

Most students are entirely too apathetic about world issues and life in general. The "Richmond Bubble" as the campus is called feels like a country club with it's very own Police. The University of Richmond Police are possibly one of the most ridiculous gross miss-use of students tuition in the United States. There are 18 full time police officers at UR. There are 4 marked police vehicles which are 2 brand new Dodge Rams, 1 brand new Dodge Charger, and a Crown Vic. There are also 3 unmarked cars. All of this would be nice if this were a large campus however there are only roughly 3000 students on this campus, which is not that large. The police spend there day outside smoking cigarettes and trying to bust kids for smoking pot and at night they roam around trying to catch underage drinkers. While they aren't oppressive, they are bored and bored police cause problems.

The best thing about Richmond is the amount of opportunity available despite the size. Although it's a small school, the location is wonderful for connections, and the attention from the professors really helps a student's development. One thing I would change about Richmond is the sticker price...it turns off a lot of great students who could change the face of the university. People generally have never heard of U of R if they're from my hometown, or think it's UVA. In Virginia, they are usually impressed. The city and area around the campus are wonderful, but students really don't take much advantage of all it has to offer. Richmond's administration has really changed for the better with new president Ayers, who is a lot more attentive to student needs. UR really doesn't have a lot of school spirit, even though our sports teams are Div I. A lot of people traveled to see the football team play five hours ago in the NCAA playoffs, though!

How do I summarize our school so that everyone can understand it? There are so many facets to what I do here and so many different ways to participate or be involved. The school is the perfect size for me, as a senior, I can still meet new people, but I have a huge social network. Class sizes are also great because I am actually friends with my professors. They mentor me and help me out with anything I need and I am not just a number to them, or that girl in the back of the class. When I tell people that I go to Richmond a lot of people say 'Oh, the Spiders!" I guess that is a recognition thing, but I like to tell them about all the other great stuff I do. On campus I have to say I hang out a lot in the library or the coffee shop. Our school is really academically driven and so if you want to find someone, you have a pretty good chance of doing it in the library. I also frequent the dining hall, but now that I live in an on-campus apartment, my friends and I eat most of our meals at home. The administration here can be tricky, I mean, as a whole they want to present this Ive League front because that's what they aspire to make us. But to be honest, I came here because it was a great school that wasn't an Ivy, so sometimes I get frustrated with their uptight rules or regulations. The best thing to happen to the administration since I've been here is the hiring of Dr. Ayers. He is our new President and he actually wants to be involved with students and know what we think and who we are. Dr. Ayers is an amazing addition to our school.

I'd change the way that all the focus is on senior's finding jobs. I'm planning to go to graduate school and they don't really offer much help, nor are the departments very up-to-date on what's required for some programs. I spend most of my time on campus lounging in my apartment, the library's crowded and, in my opinion, a more distracting place to do work. People are proud to go to UR, but they just don't show a lot of support for Richmond athletics. Students are so overprogrammed that when they get some free time they just want to relax.

I really like our size. Its large enough to have many opportunities available to us, but its small enough to be able to take advantage of those opportunities. I do think we need to working on ways to create closer bonds of friendship between male and female students. There are not as many co-ed activities, and residence halls are not coed. I spend a lot of time in the commons and on the Westhampton Green when its nice out. Its so beautiful and I love it. I acually was very proud of our school recently. It sounds silly, but we had a chalk controversy. A student was punished for writing inspirational messages on the brick with chalk and the school rallied to defend their freedom of speech and right to expression by filling the forum's brick with chalk sayings and pictures. It makes me happy every time I see it.

Richmond is a very small, private university. This equals small classes, a tight knit community and a lot of controversy. All of which I love yet can find something wrong with. The small classes make for a much more personal and interactive learning environment where students get to know each other, especially in your particular major. But it is difficult to get away with not actually doing any work. I guess it's up to the individual as to whether or not that's good or bad. The tight knit community is great and helps with making and keeping friends. But it's a little difficult for me because I live off campus. A lot of activities are at night or on the weekends. I have no desire to drive for an hour at midnight or spend the gas money to go to school for an hour for something. But I get home cooked meals, my own bathroom and a dog so I'll take the extra time to drive for most things. Recently we had a nice big controversy over side-walk chalk. A few students were given community service hours for drawing pictures and writing in the Forum (a big open brick area). When this was published in the student-run newspaper, The Collegian, people freaked out and it was awesome. Students then went out at no o'clock in the morning and wrote an essay/statement about why we should be able to chalk in the Forum and it was washed away early the next morning. Then people freaked out even more and eventually made it so students had permission from the president to chalk on the Forum, as long as it wasn't vulgar. The following Friday there were people on the soap box and chalkers all around, showing their appreciation for free speech. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the chalking and look forward to the chalk days planned in the future. I believe this opened a door for students to be more vocal and active in what happens on campus.