University of Vermont Top Questions

Yes

No. UVM students are extremely diverse-that is except for race....a good deal of us certainly smoke and party a good deal, but there are all sorts of people here.

Sure, all stereotypes are true to some extent. But these are the best kind of people-- not all or the majority birkenstock wearing, no showering hippies, but people are socially conscious, care about the environment, etc. As for liberals, aren't most college students liberals anyways? UVM has such a diverse student body (although most are white) that everyone and anyone can fit in here. The best part of UVM is that everyone is so open- you can see a preppy kid hanging out with a skater or an assorted group of people from all different social classes drinking coffee together downtown.

no

In many cases,yes.

No, I walked into UVM thinking that it would be that way but actually there is a pretty good mix of everyone. There are different groups that fit everyone's different lifestyles and personalities.

More or less

Some of these facts are true and there are students on campus who have adapated to a combination of these characteristices BUT NOT MANY! If I had to give a percentage of students who appear this way on campus it would be 3{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} and student activists are only 8{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of UVM campus. Otherwise there are middle class white students (our racial diversity rate is only 7{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} this incoming year) who normally are biology majors looking at a pre-med track. The pre-med students are most looking at our medical program for after undergraduate because it is the top 10 medical schools in the country to go to!

sometimes, but not about all students

More or less. There are some really active passionate people doing a lot of good on the campus

For some people, but that's the thing about stereotypes, it's usually pin pointing one characteristic and portraying it upon the masses.

to some degree

Not at all. You will see the occasional hippies or students strive to be them, but for the most part everyone is friendly and just really laid-back. That's what I love about UVM- that eveyone is down to earth and willing to meet new people.

To a degree I would say that the majority of people on campus do fit this category, however there is such an eclectic group of people on campus that not everyone is that stereotype.

These stereotypes are accurate to a certain degree. Many personalities that mesh with these stereotypes are thus attracted to the school because of its reputation. And while in years past UVM might have been an ultra party school, the administration has cracked down on its student body and has publicly stated it wishes to become a public ivy. My friends joke that UVM is the only "Irie league University".

To a certain extent. UVM definitely has a liberal atmosphere but there are also plenty of frat boys, Jersey girls, over-achievers, nerds, etc. The truth is that UVM's Rubenstein School is well-known for its innovative work in environmental sciences and environmental studies, and the people who come here for that are quite liberal. However, they also tend to be the over-achievers as well.

Like I said, there are those types, but then there is everything else too, the pink-pants wearing frat boys, the pink Redsox hat wearing girls that go with them, outdoorsy types with lots of gear, the jam band members, and the misplaced urbanites. Then there are the actual vermonters. Lots of white people in a small city with a great view of the mountains.

Actually, yeah, kind of. There is another group that you should know about: students from Vermont. We actually make up a good portion of the student boby. We are here because we aren't rich or didn't want to be too far from home. This doesn't mean that all Vermont students are hippies who love to smoke pot.

As everywhere else, there are hippies, but they don't dominate. You will see them protesting all kinds of things on the streets though...it's kinda fun

I can say that the "Groovy UV" marijuana-related stereotype is less accurate now. We probably still have higher usage than some college campuses, but The administration has done a good job cleaning up this school.

somewhat but there are all types of people here

To some degree these stereotypes ring true. There are a good deal of drugs and alcohol on campus but its not like you have to do them. There are a wide variety of activities to entertain yourself with if drinking to excess isn't your thing. It would probably be better if it wasn't your thing because in the last three years the school has tightened the rules and increased to probability of getting caught for drinking or drugs on campus. As for the hippies, there are a fair amount here but they don't roam around campus in large groups. The truth is that you can probably find yourself a group of people that you can easily identify with that is similar to you. The beauty of collage is however is that you can become friends will all types of different people, which is likely to happen at UVM.

Both of these stereotypes are inaccurate. There are just as many clean-cut kids as there are ones with dreadlocks, though most students do lean to the left politically. The radical hippies are not taken seriously on campus, both by students and administration. UVM is not a diverse place. Students fall into mainly two categories, neo-hippies who wear Carharts and Teva's, and borderline-preppy kids from the northeast who come to ski and ride. Mostly everyone is middle to upper-middle class. Just as many kids drive Audis as they do Suburus.

Most of them are at least somewhat true, though there are more and more preppy out-of-state students every year who came to attend a party school that also has great academics. Yes, there are drum circles full of hippies and "free spirits!!" which can get annoying.

Yes. Most students smoke pot and/or party at least 2 nights a week. Real hippies make up a minority of students, more just think that they are hippies. You don't have to be that smart to do well here.

For the majority of the students here, yes. The students are well off and they like to have fun with alcohol and other substances.

The one stereotype that I don't think people think of but is very reflective of the student body is that people are generally laid back and friendly. Obviously there are a few students who don't fit the model but walking around campus strangers smile and are happy to be at UVM. This happiness and joy seeps into the campus and makes UVM have a special feeling that I haven't found anywhere else.

I don't think that that term exists anymore but I would say we are much more liberal than most other state colleges.

Sometimes these stereotypes are true, but over all were just students looking to have a good time. I mean other universities have students doing the same thing, but because we are located in the green mountains its italicized.

Although humorous,this not no entirely true. We do have a lot of environmentalists in the school and many do like to ski, but the school is becoming so much more diverse that it's hard to label UVM. The excessive partying in UVM is true because the school has so many events that allow the students to meet new people in a fun, safe, sometimes educational environment and these kind of fun loving events. So I wonder, is this a "party" school, or a school creating a tighter, more comfortable community?

Fairly accurate, but we are pretty smart stoners at least. And about the hippies, we have a lot, but at the same time we have enough non-hippies to get them to shut up once in awhile

They are somewhat accurate but we dont have the typical jocks and frat boys that you would imagine.

No not really. There is that crowd, but there's also a very mainstream crowd here if that's what you're looking for. There is a fair amount of student activism on campus.

The latter half is, the former not so much. about a quarter is hippy the rest hate hippies

1. There are some hippies, like most campuses. Many of the "hippies" talk about fairness and well being while dressed in their sweat shop made clothing surrounded by liberal white people like themselves. Give them something to be conservative about, see how liberal they stay. 2. This is true. 3. This is true, but it seems that everyone is from Massachusettes. A better name for the school would be the UMass Burlington, Vermont.

I think to an extent they are. In most of my classes only about 3 people out of 20-40 have are actually from Vermont. And drawing from my musical theater class, a lot of those students did have their parents pay for things, and then complained when their parents said no. And as far as hippies go, we all know thats true, I just wish some of them would wear real pants and shoes that don't smell like manoure.

Some aspects, but not entirely. You're more likely to meet a laid back person over a prick.

For the most part, yes. The school claims to be extremely open-minded, but it's really only open-minded to anything that helps its radically liberal agenda. President Fogel is just as bad. Conservatives will either thrive on this type of adversity or go crazy.

to an extent, there are a few people who don't smoke, and the gurls do shave their legs, for the most part

No way. We get this reputation because we are in Vermont. For some reason people think that means that all we do is smoke weed and drink and party. We are a normal school. Yes we have Greek life and party but not any more than any other US school. As far as the med students go, some of them are stuffy but they are under so much pressure that I don't think they're any different than other med schools.

The drugs thing, yes, most of the students here like using a wide array of substances. But I have also met students that will not even drink and have never smoked a cigarette. I personally find UVM challenging, I have a double major in Political Science and History and have met some people that think it is a breeze. These people are obviously not getting great grades.

Yea kids at UVM smoke pot but you're gonna find that at any school no matter how large or small. As for the hippies, in the past two years here I've noticed a definite decline in the people your average person would call hippies but seemingly all the good things from hippie culture remain such as the music (minus the drum circles) and the friendliness. The people here are by far the friendliest I have encountered.

Those stereotypes are true for some of the student body here but not all. There is weed at any school you attend, it is just more abundant and more accepted at this school. Not everyone smokes, as there are the athletes, healthy lifestyle-living, and those who just do not smoke. People of all types attend UVM which makes it very diverse.

In some ways the stereotypes are correct--we do still have a lot of political activism on campus, and many students consider themselves very liberal. However, the sincereity of our open-mindedness has changed. Too many people are close-minded to conservatives, which makes our entire liberal steroetype kind of inaccurate. The student body is changing too, since UVM has become sort of a "hot school", people just apply here now for the prestige, and not for the "groovy", political atmosphere UVM is known for.

I would certainly say that the stereotype of UVM being a party school is true. However, in the past few years as the administration has implemented and strongly advocated for the dry-residence hall policy, these ideas are slowly diminishing as the both applicant and student pools are becoming more prestegious. Of course there are members of the community who choose to stay away from the "work hard, party hard" which too is strongly accepted, but I would say the majority of students enjoy their Thirsty Thursdays a bit more than most. As far as the stereotype that UVM is simply the back-up "Groovy-UV", I have been pleasantly surprised to see more and more in-state and out-of state students enroll with the highest opinion of the University. There has been a great push with the current administration to attract more valedictorians and student leaders, which I think is helping to take a step back and reevaluate the UVM stereotype of "Groovy-UV", so I would say this is not as true, or at least in comparison to the past.

somewhat. the "trustafarians" arent overwhelming. there's more just normal kids than anything--not too preppy, not too hippy. however the school is just as white as its reputation indicates.

We have our share of those types of people but there are also plenty of religious people at UVM. Yes the student body does tend to be liberal, however there are plenty of people who are not hippies.

all stereotypes have some factual basis, but they are never always true.

Somewhat

There are certainly students who advocate many liberal causes very vocally, but I think there's a more ho-hum majority that would generally like to recycle and what-not, but they don't really care that much. As for the pot; it's around, but it certainly isn't everywhere.