University of Richmond Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

Emily

The students at the University of Richmond are hard-working, driven academically, and most come from wealthy families.

Lisa

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Amy

Extremely diverse and academically driven student body. Work hard play hard is a definite way to summarize the student body.

Amy

The students at Richmond can be summed up as people who work hard but play hard. There are a lot of different groups represented on campus (racial, religious, LGBT (we were ranked as one of the top accepting schools of LGBT groups), and socio-economic) and there are many clubs on campus where these groups can get together to share their experiences and form a connection over these experiences. Students mostly dress nicely to class but you will see people walking around in work out clothes or sweats/yoga pants occasionally. Most students are from Virginia and the North East but there are also greater populations of students coming from around the country and with 6{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students being international students. Richmond has a great financial aid program as well as scholarships so students come from all different kinds of financial backgrounds. Students here are very ambitious, very involved, and very hard working.

Kelsey

The students at richmond are generally very involved individuals. Generally, students are involved in at least 3 clubs or organizations on campus. As a result, students tend to be very busy! Some of the organizations present on campus are greek life, campus activities board, richmond rowdies, acapella groups, interfaith groups and etc. Greek life is present on campus; approximately 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of females participate and 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of males. However, there is no greek housing. Thus, regardless of whether or not you are greek, campus is very cohesive for both independents and greeks. The dress code on campus is generally described as pretty preppy or as something right out of a JCrew catalog. It is common to see students in north faces and patagonias while rocking rainbow sandals. However, this style is not true for everyone and that is what makes our campus so great. There are three rooms in the dining hall. Generally, those affiliated with greek life sit in the first room, athletes sit in the second room (because DUH it's closest to the food) and anyone sits in the third room.

Margaret

We have a very interesting mix of students at UR. There are the frat boys and sorority girls, who tend to band together. However, there are also tons of religious communities, clubs, sports teams, and other organizations where people find their niche. Most people are very engaged in the student body and community. The Bonner scholars have substantial service projects in the greater Richmond area and are prominent volunteers in local schools and nonprofits. The wardrobe of UR students spans a wide spectrum: from J. Crew to sweatpants and a t-shirt. Though, on average, Richmond students are pretty well-dressed, often in dresses or khakis with Oxford shirts.

Dani

Students are UR are hard workers. These are the students who have worked hard to excel in high school in academics, athletics, leadership positions and extra-cirriculars. The student body itself is extraordinarily diverse as we respresent some of the best students from across the country. Students run the spectrum of political involvement and hold a wide variety of beliefs, yet this dedication to excellence may be one of our biggest unifying traits as a school. This driven group of students has chosen to be in an environment that challenges them academically. At the same time, fun is also an important aspect of Richmond life. UR Spiders like to work hard and play hard.

Elizabeth

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.

Elizabeth

While we have an exponentially growing international and ethnic student population, the majority of students are from the northeast and come from wealthy families.

Greg

Starting answering!We have a diverse student body at the University of Richmond. I have friends from all socio-economic, religious,and racial backgrounds. We have a very large international student body so it is easy to make friends from all backgrounds. There is really no norm for what students wear to class. Some wear sweats, some wear jeans and a t-shirt, some wear designer labels, and some dress very nicely. The highest majority of students are from the North East USA, however we have students from all over the country and all over the world. The majority of students are not very politically aware but some are. Almost all students interact with each other regales of age, race, religion, socio-economic background, or sexual orientation.

Gwendolyn

There is a lot of wealth on campus, but also a LOT of people who are here because of significant financial aid, which really helps with the diversity on campus. There are a lot of different religious groups on campus, some more prominent than others. The LGBT community is there but underrepresented. The socio-economic bar is set pretty high, but its true that not everyone is rich and had Daddy paying for school. I never hear people bragging or even talking about money, though. Even though that is probably the majority. The culture here is to wear really nice clothes to class and the library, which is annoying when you want to wear sweatpants. So many people are from the North East. Its a running joke that if you guess someone's hometown as Jersey, you'll probably be right. But that makes it an interesting dynamic for those who see Richmond as a southern school, and for the southerners who see it as northern.

Ethan

The student body at UofR is diverse in every sense of the word. There is not one dominant race, religion, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, or group of students that dominate the population. Nobody would step onto campus and feel that there are no other students like them and that they are out of place. Students come from all over the country, and my group of friends alone come from a breadth of places ranging from Illinois to Kansas to New York.

Jessica

There is a club or student group that is fit for everyone. For activities that we don't already have, it is extremely easy to start. Richmond wants every type of student to fit in. There are predominantly white students; however, there are students from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds. A lot of students are from the Northeast. Students are very active and like to have a lot on their plate. They are motivated and want to succeed.

Julie

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.

Joey

Richmond is a community where everyone finds students that will become their new best friends.

Kelly

Students at the University of Richmond are stereotyped as rich, white, preppy kids from the NorthEast. On the surface this could seem accurate but Richmond and it's students pride ourselves on being diverse. You will meet a lot of people from New Jersey and Long Island but also from Washington State (like me) and Alaska. One of my closest friends is from Guatemala who went to high school in Norway. Another is from Jersey but he bikes everywhere, eats vegetarian and has traveled the world studying social justice. Sure a lot of students wear Vineyard Vines and Sperrys but others enjoy comfy old sweaters and jeans with patches. At the University of Richmond you will never feel alone or one of hundreds, tossed into a stereotype but a part of a diverse community, adding your own splash of color.

Dana

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.

Mary

Driven and hard working students. The business school is very competitive and people are friendly only if you approach them.

Kate

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.

John

Student body is diverse with students from most of the 50 states and dozens of foreign countries. There is no one prevailing financial background.

Jonathan

Students at the University of Richmond are motivated, active, and hail from affluent areas.

Jill

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.

Thomas

Great people. Always friendly and helpful.

Kimberly

rich, white kids

Cameron

Really rich kids from Long Island. These kids never drank a beer until they got into college so they think the little apartment parties are the greatest things ever. Its also really preppy so you will see people wearing some of the most absurd shit to class.

Emily

From first glance, it certainly may seem that there are a lot of "white preppy kids" going to UR. ANd sure, a lot of people do come into the school coming from places with a lot of money. However, once you get on campus, you realize that just because someone is wearing a J.Crew sweater does not tell anything about that person as an individual. It is true that UR does not boast the highest percentage of people from other ethnicities or many social groups, but there does NOT exist any type of exclusion to those people. I myself am asian, but have NEVER felt any sort of animosity or exclusion because of that. People here are very laid back and do not try to find any reason to separate themselves from others. Perhaps the only people that would feel out of place at Richmond would be kids that are not pretty confident in themselves or kids that might possibly be offended by such things as parties or what not.

Toby

The typical Richmond student is primarily white (I am Vietnamese American). There are not a lot of minorities here at the school, although we are desperately trying to bring awareness of everyone's culture to the university. Hopefully, it's working. We have a lot of ethnic-based organizations such Asian Beats, Black Student Alliance, International Club, Spanish and Latino Student Alliance, Multicultural Student Union, South Asian Student Alliance, and more. Most URichmond students are from north eastern parts of the US. Some are from North Carolina but there are several students from all over the country and world.

Kelly

Recently there have been a lot of prejudices on campus which is a result I think of the lack of diversity on campus. However, I also have found that students and the administration are doing a really good job of changing this and becoming a more unified campus. I went to several events last semester like "The Meeting" and the open forum on racism which I found very enligtening and I thought a fair number of students attended these which was good. Most students "dress up" for class unless you are an athlete, at least that is what it seems to be from my perspective. I feel slightly uncomfortable if I dress down in sweatpants and a T-shirt when going to class because everyone else usually looks nice.

Cameron

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.

Maggie

I felt out of place at Richmond. I was often looked down upon because I couldn't dress myself in expensive name brands or didnt go out to get wasted every weekend. Cliques are common, and most students are from the North--New Jersey (especially), Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts, just to name a few states. Richmond is just beginning to get the idea of what "activism" really is. Most of the clubs and organizations are all talk and no show. I think the most of what we do for a cause is raise money (surprise surprise)

Jessie

richmond students are predominantly white and from the northeast. anything else is considered a minority. minorities on campus have a bunch of groups and are open to letting anyone come to their events. i have a friend from the bahamas who is starting a club for islanders. sometimes i think it's great that we have so many groups on campus for different ethnicities to meet and get to know each other; however, sometimes that means only deepening the divide between races. the only kind of student i think would feel out of place at richmond is someone extremely punk. the kids here mostly look like they stepped out of a jcrew catalog, and someone different really stands out.

Tony

There are enough on-campus groups that everyone should feel welcome. While we've had issues regarding tolerance, most of them were isolated incidents, and the school has responded well. Generally kids here dress well and you don't see as many "artsy", emo, or other types of kids that stand out in a big way. Social interaction is cliquey and revolves around Greek life, sports, and other organizations. Students are politically active and are a mix of the whole political spectrum in my experience.

Rob

most kids are very rich, well dressed, preppy, cliquish; many, but not all, are not real open-minded about meeting new people and many, but not all, have been given everything unconditionally by their parents no, different types of students do not interact student that would feel out of place: those that are not rich, well dressed, preppy, cliquish, those that are not white (Richmond is about 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} white), and those that are not into loud and crowded parties most students from NEW JERSEY, New York, Pennsylvania, New England

Jeremiah

The school is mostly white. Anyone who isn't used to the private school atmosphere where the majority is white, probably wouldn't feel as comfortable here although there are some diverse populations here that are very close. Students wear whatever they want to class ranging from a brand new pair of jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes to what they wore at a party the night before to even pajamas because they just rolled out of bed. One day a kid wore just a robe to class all day, so it can get interesting. If I had to break the dining hall into four tables it would be....A table with the rich preppy kids, A table with the black kids, A table with the jocks and A table with the Asian/Indian/Other kids. The most prevalent backgrounds at the school are RICH kids.

Carrie

Again, homogeneous, mostly white, a good chunk fairly religious. There are several frat boys and sorority girls as well. Students are predominantly center, with I believe a few more leaning to the right. Different types of students can interact, but such interactions seem to be relatively short lasting, they tend to revert back to the status quo. Of course, people can willingly try to break down these lines, but that is there choice. Freshmans dorms are the best place to meet people, after freshman year, the sense of unity seems to fall. As for what they wear, I have no idea, mostly button down popped colors and abercrombie and fitch, i dont really pay attention.

Scott

One thing that I've learned is that people at Richmond may appear to be judgmental, but actually they aren't for the most part. I would see a lot of kids dressing up in nice clothes to go to class, where as I would be in sweats and a tshirt, and I felt out of place and inferior. But after a few years I've realized that people dress how they want to dress, and no one else cares about it. It's not common to find black students at Richmond who are not athletes. This is somewhat bothersome because it has made UR a slightly racially sensitive campus. The general student is white, from the eastern seaboard, and upper-middle class. Because I fit this mold roughly 2 out of 3 it's hard for me to say that people who don't fit into this feel out of place. I have friends who do not fit into this at all, and they seem to be doing fine and it does not bother them that they are not the average student. It may be that they have always been in situations like this, and are experienced in handling them, so it's no big deal. However, some of my old friends who no longer go to Richmond were not able to merely mold into Richmond because of these differences. I think it's a case by case situation.

Ashley

Very driven, and busy. Most of the people I know are involved in countless extracurriculars, and somehow still find time to make the grades. Clubs, honor societies, sororities and fraternities make up a huge part of UR. There are always events around campus and the students are eager to be a part of them.

Ryan

NOT DIVERSE AT ALL. 4 {4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} BLACK, 3{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} LATINO, 2{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} ASIAN IS NOT DIVERSITY. I WAS ALWAYS THE ONLY MINORITY IN CLASS. PREDOMINANTLY RIGHT POLITICALLY. WAY TOO INTO GETTING THEIR MRS. DEGREES. NOT WELCOMING OF GAYS EITHER. MOST STUDENTS ARE RICH KIDS FROM THE NORTH. STUDENTS ARE NOT TOO POLITICALLY ACTIVE EITHER. MANY BUSINESS MAJOR INTERESTED IN EARNING THE BIG BUCKS.

Chris

If people are looking for a lot of diversity, then Richmond is not the place to find it. The students are mostly white. There are a lot of people from the Northeast, but there are also a lot of people from all over. People who don't really like Richmond tend to describe the students as fake, but thats not really it. Everyone is really great, friendly and nice, but they are definitely very stylish and everyone gets pretty dressed up for class. There is definitely a bunch of different crowds though.

Rachel

Anyone other than white, upper-class, straight Christians will probably feel uncomfortable. Even so, there is a mix, so you will almost always find someone you can relate to.

Dylan

students are usually from the north. either pennsylvania new york new jersey etc...

Jenna

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.

Terry

The down side of Richmond is the student body; it is very close-minded for the most part. I come from a very diverse high school which makes it hard for me to adjust here. Even though everyone is nice to your face I feel like they are fake and two-faced. This year there were two incidents of racial discrimination, but our school is trying very hard to prevent that in the future. Since it is a private school, lots of the students here are very wealthy, but there are many who receive great amounts of financial aid as well. Lots of guys here wear their polo shirts tucked into their multi-colored shorts which personally I think looks pretty gay, and the girls go crazy with wearing sundresses pretty much every single day. Most students come from Northern states such as New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, but there are plenty of people who come from all over the country. Politically the students here are surprisingly diverse there is probably an even amount of Republicans as well as Democrats. The school is trying to head in the direction of including more diveristy on campus. They want to break the stereotype of rich, close-minded white kids, so please if you don't fit that category come here and save me!

Anne

Student body is not that diverse, but they try to be.

Charles

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.

Erin

Mainly white kids

Katy

Most Richmond students tend to be from the northeast, but the dynamics are slightly changing. Being from the south, I felt somewhat out-numbered, but it's a great experience to get to know people who are different from you. Richmond also has a large percentage of international students. In 2007, Richmond was voted "hottest school for international studies," since Richmond sends so many students abroad and allows so many to study here. Unfortunately, the student body is predominately white. I know that the school is working on increasing the diversity on campus, and that any form of racism is not tolerated. Because of the large tuition payment, it seems like everyone at Richmond has to be rich. While some are, without question, many students are only attending because they are receiving so much money in financial aid. I don't feel like students talk about which category they fall into, and it's never an issue.

Kris

I think the campus could always strive to be more diverse in terms of racal, religious and socio-economic categories. One of our new president's top initiative is diversity, so I think that this will improve in the years to come. Many people say that the students are very homogenous, but I think that is not really true.

Daniel

Students are all pretty much white and somewhat dress up although it really depends. Polo shirts and dresses/skirts are not uncommon to wear to class everyday, but sweats and stuff are also well represented, especially in the colder months. There is often a disconnect between students and the general athlete population, and fraternities often stick together. Students are a mix of political views and political awareness is somewhat a part of campus, but at the same time students are so busy actual action is stunted by general apathy.

Madison

Richmond is often described as the University of Richmen. But I'm not a rich man. I suspect it gets this reputation partially b/c after I graduate, I'll have the opportunity to become a rich man. I've been very pleased with the religious life on campus with numerous opportunities for involvement. There is also a large number of students involved in community service which is coordinated by the Center for Civic Engagement. You can wear what you want to class or around campus and people don't really care, there's a kind of motto of "Do You" do what you want and what you like, we can look deeper than skin color or clothing and realize that people are more than they seem. People aren't big on protests or anything and seem to stay neutral with political issues, but there are definately a few vocal minorities on each side.