University of Virginia-Main Campus Top Questions

Like many other big schools, the social scene in the fall revolves around the football games. The game itself isn't even that important, but the pre-gaming is the real event. In general, people tend to go out on the weekends, and upper-classmen usually take advantage of the drink specials on the corner during the week as well. Fraternity parties also play a large role in the social scene, especially for first-years who are new to the school and are not 21 or have an I.D. that says they are 21. As you get older, the bar scene becomes more popular. Many of my friends come from my two basic groups on campus, the rugby team and Sigma Nu fraternity. I also spend time with people I knew from home and friends I've met in class, and I've remained close with many of the people I lived with my first year in dorms. Generally, people have an open-door policy and are open to getting to know people, and the social scene is not entirely dependent on drinking. I had many friends my first year that would not go out, but there are other activities to do around grounds and in Charlottesville.

Plenty of things to do, there's probably a club for anything that interests you (Buddhist tea ritual enthusiast? There's a club for that). The Honor Code is a big deal, so most students are comfortable leaving their dorm rooms open (everyone in my first year dorm did). Athletic events are usually always attended to full capacity; guest speakers and theater events usually sell out but are easy enough to attend if you sign up about a week in advance. Dating scene is good (better for guys if you're a third year, like most campuses). Most close friends are made through your first year dorm (especially if you get suite style). Frats and sororities are more active than most colleges, there's one for pretty much any type of person. Party frats, social frats, dry frats, service organizations, and ethnic frats. At 2 am, we were usually just talking about random stuff in someone's dorm room. You can find usually several parties Friday and Saturday, and there's usually a party on Thursday and the occasional Wednesday.

Sports are big, and most people seem to be somewhat physically fit. OAS is a fun group to join. The campus is generally safe. People usually hook up, dating can be frequent but relationships are scarce around grounds. Lastly, work hard and PARTY HARD!

Greek life is very prevalent here but definitely not everybody is involved with that. The Corner and Downtown c-ville are places that have a lot of fun restaurants and stores.

UVA kids are incredibly friendly. There were generally no closed doors on my hall in my dorm, regardless of what time it was. Within the first month of school, there is a huge activities fair when all of the 100+ clubs have a table set up where you can get information about them. Most kids are involved with 1 or 2 extracurriculars. Volunteering is big, and there are tons of opportunties to volunteer. Athletics are big--intramural sports are fun, and I'd say about 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students compete in IM leagues. Of course, football and basketball games are a big deal. As far as partying is concerned, you can find a crowd that suits your style. Some people go out 8 nights a week while others never go out. Frats and sororities are big, and approximately 1 out of 3 students goes Greek. the bar scene is also pretty big; a lot of students have fake id's. but again, you'll stay busy and have fun regardless of how much you like to party.

Everyone here participates in Greek life. If you are not intending to join greek life at UVA then be prepared to be ostracized and not make as many friends. The greek system here is huge and can be a lot of fun as long as you get with the right group of people. Athletic events are huge here and people go to not just football and basketball, but all sports, including soccer, baseball, lacrosse, and others. Frat parties are huge but if you are an upperclassman you mostly go to Bars and such. People here party a lot.

I would definitely say that, being a big school, the most popular and common event to do outside of the classroom is attending a sporting event--especially football and basketball. UVA, all around, has great athletic teams and many students support them. Because football and basketball are so popular and the arenas so large, most students attend these games...but soccer, baseball, lacrosse, etc. are also extremely popular as well. You can always find people willing to attend games with you...and they're really fun.

There are so many clubs here at UVA that everyone finds at least one club that they can get really involved in. There are a lot of service clubs because giving back to the community is very important. It is not just clubs that have service projects, but the fraternities and the sororities as well. Fraternities and sororities are popular and a large number of students belong to them. I myself am not a sorority girl, but I know people who are. On the weekends people do like to have a good time after a long week of being buried under books, studying and class. So there is a good amount of drinking that goes on. One popular place to go are the frat houses and the bars(once your 21). However if you aren't a drinker, and there are people that aren't, then there are plenty of other things to do. Also I have learned that people that don't drink tend to be friends with other people who don't drink either. Lastly a popular place is The Corner which has all these wonderful places to eat( Bodo's, Qdoba, Mellow Mushroom, Christian's Pizza, Little Johns and so much more). Also the student bookstore is down there and their textbooks are cheaper than the UVA bookstore (Although just a hint, order your books online, you will save a ton).

Social life at UVA is hopping. What I think is really fantastic about UVA social life is that although the drinking scene is pretty big and a huge amount of fun, there are SO many things to do on a weekend night without involving alcohol. There's ALWAYS some sort of interesting event/function/dinner happening and what makes the whole thing better is that as I was pleasently surprised to find, there is no pressure whatsoever in relation to drinking etc. - one is in no way excluded from groups of people, organisations or friendships if they have different social habits (i.e. drinking/not drinking etc.) Football is huge here, coming from the UK I really had no affection for, or even understanding of American Football, but I have now become a major Cavaliers fan. Activities range from political groups, to advocacy organisations, to common hobbies. There's something for everyone and more here.

I guess I don't think UVA is that big of a party school because I'm from SEC territory, but students here definitely like to drink and like to party. That's not to say you have to drink, but most other people will. For the Greek crowd, that's a lot of fraternity parties and bars. If you're not Greek, the Greek scene probably won't impact you much. In the fall, football weekends are big for tailgating and watching the game. Activities wise, there's a mix of big, well-established groups like Honor (which is a huge presence), and smaller groups that people start. It's really easy to get a group off the ground.