Some racism does occur and it is offensive as hell. Although the student body has responded very much against such acts which is encouraging. As I've said there are tons of preppies. However, there is still a great community of non-preppy cool kids. Even some preppies are cool and open to different types of kids but they seem to be few and far between.
Students that are not upper-middle class white people will feel out of place initially. If you give it time, you can discover people like you though. Students dress well for class. Girls wear sundresses to football games, and guys wear khakis and ties. The campus is predominately wealthy. Students are not politically active.
Richmond kids are social people, who love to make new friends and hang out. They work hard and play hard, maybe even playing harder than they work. They like to be physically active, which contributes to our reputation as a "pretty school," but also adds to the upbeat nature of the campus.
There is diversity on campus despite the rumors. I feel that Richmond has a place for everyone. Many students wear "preppy" clothes to class. Many students are wealthy and from the northeast although this is changing. The students are politically aware and lean slightly to the right.
There isn't a way to describe all students at Richmond. They care about school and are very much involved in the community that is UR. It may be on a sports team, greek life, theater, dance, community service, art, or any number of the clubs, but everyone contributes.
Most Richmond students seem like fairly well-off white kids. Expect to see a good deal of Abercrombie and J. Crew. Most girls own pearls, sundresses, and those horrible leggings. Guys wear polos--in this regard, I'm as guilty as the next guy.
Although the majority of students hail from New Jersey, Philadelphia, and New England, surprisingly the University of Richmond boasts a substantial degree of diversity; you just have to know where to look.
Many of my classmates are hard-working, focused, and driven people, but the majority of the students are stereotypical rich New England kids that are disrepectful and expect things handed to them.
While we have an exponentially growing international and ethnic student population, the majority of students are white and from the northeast and come from wealthy families.
Extremely diverse and academically driven student body. Work hard play hard is a definite way to summarize the student body.