University of Virginia-Main Campus Top Questions

Diversity is a big buzz word at UVA. There are kids from dozens of different backgrounds as well as dozens of different states/countries. Some people dress up for class while others roll out of bed and wear sweatpants. Whatever your background, you'll be able to find a group of students like you within 2 weeks...and you'll make friends quickly. For the most part, UVA students are very tolerant.

Students at UVA are very accepting of other people and for the most part I have not noticed any problems as such. The kind of student that may feel out of place at UVA is those from humble means. Many people dress in a way to project an image of elitism in an attempt to separate themselves from normal people. They wear odd things such as bowties from time to time. You do not have to conform that much to not feel out of place but one should conform at least a little bit. Most of the students at UVA are wealthy. The students are mostly left wing and often times pretend to be politically aware but are usually quite misinformed. A lot of the conversation that goes on between students is about how much they will make one day.

Work hard play hard kids with some that work really hard and some that don't work hard at all.

What do most students where to class? This question is intriguing because I was most surprised with the answer to this, more than anything else, when I was a first year at UVA. I assumed that most students, like myself, would prefer to wear sweats/pajamas, and tshirts to class. Boy was I wrong. Though a proud few do opt for comfort in the classroom--many of those, however, are either coming to or from the gym--most students actually dress to impress when they go to class. From skirts and dresses to khaki pants and collared shirts. Although I would say most students wear jeans to class...it's usually not jeans and a t-shirt--more like something that would be appropriate to wear out later that night. Though I don't think this is a bad thing at all, be prepared to be in the minority if you prefer to wear sweats and baggy tees to class (except during finals...when everyone does it)

UVA is stereotyped as being preppy which is not really true at all. Yes there are preppy people and girls do wear sundresses to football games, however during the week most people and in T-shirts and jeans just looking to get to class. UVA is no more preppy than most other colleges. UVA has such a large and diverse student body that everyone is able to find there own group or niche that they fit in with. I am not the preppiest girl around and I had originally that I wouldn't fit in here, which is why I didn't apply here my senior year. I then transferred in and found out that I did fit in. I found other people who were like me and it just worked. There are many students that come from wealthy families, but there are also those students that didn't and have student loans and jobs to worry about.

Everyone has a voice at UVA. Name a racial, cultural or religious group that is represented here and chances are you've been to one of their events on grounds. However, personally I would prefer to have a little more racial diversity in the student body. It's no secret that the majority of UVA students are white, and that itself isn't the problem, more that the status quo with regards to racial demographics can often lead to self segragation from the black community, as well as the white community. On the whole I find that I have fewer friends of different ethnic backgrounds to myself than I did in High School, which is a bit of a shame.

The stereotype of UVA students is that it's all southerners who wear bow ties and pearls (not the same people wearing each, mind you). There is definitely that component, but there's plenty of people who don't fit that. UVA students do tend to be dressier than most, however. Politically, religiously, racially, etc., there can be some self-segregation, but it's not hard to either reach out or find your niche, depending on what you want to do. You'll probably fall into a group of people who are relatively similar to you no matter what type of person you are.

Everyone likes to say that UVA is made up of a bunch of southern white bigots, but that really isn't the case. We are actually a pretty diverse school, getting more so every year. We have more religious and cultural groups then I can count so that everyone has somewhere they feel like they fit in. We've also got a pretty large gay/lesbian/transgender society, with numerous support groups/clubs that back them up. We are still a majority white school and the majority of the students are still from Virginia.

Uva student body is very diverse everyone can find their nitch, or can just hang out from anyone

There is every kind of person at here.

It is fairly homogenious, which is a good thing.

I already covered race, LGBT is not a huge presence on campus. Like a said already, there's is some old South kind of people around, but they can and will stick to themselves. They may be annoying, but they don't bother you if you don't bother them. UVA, for a public school, tends to be very affluent. Lots of kids have a lot of money, so expect to see Range Rover and Mercedes around grounds. I mentioned snobbiness above, but need to add a caveat; UVA students tend to be pretty good to each other, especially in a classroom setting. Everyone is usually really friendly and easy to work with. The one exception is the really bitchy rich girls (who generally join Kappa Alpha Theta) who think they are too hot of shit to hang out with anyone but guys in DKE and, occassionally, the Hall (two frats). You are best off avoiding these stuck up bitches at any cost.

I would say our student body is mostly people from upper-middle class families from northern Virginia. Honestly, UVa is not very diverse.

Intense PC mainstream overtaking good ole boy past.

Half the student body is from Northern Virginia (aka NOVA). 25 percent of students have parents with a cumulative annual income of $250,000 or more. It can get quite preppy at times. Three percent of students are international, and about 10 percent are African-American. Depending on who you talk to, people at UVa can be very racially and culturally sensitive. With these folks, you have to be careful to not even hint at any form of prejudice, whether explicitly or implicitly. They will crucify you in an uber-liberal irrational opinion column in the Cavalier Daily (which is one of the most retarded publications ever printed). On the flip side, some people find their differences hilarious. Hearing two kids from Taiwan and India make fun of each other in jest is quite hilarious. I would say most minorities at UVa fall into this category (that is, the ability to see differences and not be terrified by them).

UVA is very much about diversity but the student body for the whole is not. It groups itself into people most like themselves (which is natural in the United States). With these groups they then do philanthropies and shows to let the rest of the school body see what they are about. Since most people don't care/don't have the time to go/have better things to do, almost no one they doon't personally know goes to the events.

most uva students are from va, mostly nova. upper-middle class would be most prevalent, followed by upper class financial backgrounds. few students pay their tuition. students are politically active--there are many politically involved groups around campus, mostly liberal. yes students talk about their future income. most girls wear dresses to class in warm weather, guys wear polos. different types of students do interact; however there is a definite separtion in racial groups. there is a niche for most students, so i feel few people would indefinitely feel out of place..

most uva students are from northern virginia..then if not there, richmond, or virginia beach. its always fun to meet out-of-state students, and especially international ones. ppl assume that uva kids are rich, but i thing theres a lot of diversity in financial backgrounds. from my experience theres a lot of middle class student. students here are really athletic...on any given day you'll always see many students running. everyone is pretty skinny and its kind of rare to see heavy students walkin around. there are probably cliques with athletic teams, fraternities, sororities, u-guides, and jeff society. grou[s at UVA

Most students are from Virginia, with the largest group therein being from Northern Virginia. There are a wide variety of groups on grounds, and with the exception of a few isolated, yet highly publicised incidents (which might not have even been caused by UVa students), the groups get along well. There is a wide variety of political thought.

The student body is a beautiful bunch of beer-drinking bastards. The political slant is mildly left. Everyone interacts with everyone else in utopian fashion.

As a peer health educator, I am "safe-spaced" trained to be inviting to the LGBT community here. I feel like I have become hyperaware of these issues now and I try to speak up when someone says, "that's so gay man" or "he's such a fag." The fact that the "NOT GAY" chant has resurged has been really perplexing to me when I think we are making so many progressive strides with other student body issues.

I think UVa has a very diverse student body and it keeps getting more diverse as each class comes in.

Everyone is accepted here in the mutual love and joy of all being WAHOOS!

Very diverse, with student populations from many different cultures and countries. Most come from slightly higher class families, but really all different kinds of people can be found. Yes, many of our students are also highly involved in politics at some level.

Its awesome! Very diverse! Come from all over, variety of states and country with a lot of ethnic backgrounds. Very very active in every problem around the world, and most are involved in politics.

Like everywhere, there are ignorant and prejudiced people here. However, racism is less prevalent than elsewhere, and homosexuals don't get ostracized as much either. There is a wide variation from people dressed well to people who put no time into their appearance throughout the campus, so either type has a friend here.

With the amount of organizations around grounds at UVa, there is something for EVERYONE of every interest. It is so hard to describe UVa in terms of race/religion/sexuality/economics, etc. because of the mass participation in all of these organizations. I love this about UVa and I think it makes us very accepting and unique to all types of people.

We like to dress up, and apparently there's nothing wrong with that. One of UVA's facebook groups is title 'guys in ties, girls in pearls'. Come fall, you'll see the pastel sun dresses being replaced by black or grey northface jackets and it will seem like EVERYONE has one. But don't worry, it's hard to feel out of place even if you lack a northface. Politically, the school is an accurate microcosm of the US. We're not a hippie school where the break-down is 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} liberal, 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} conservative. Our ratio is much more balanced, but UVA is still a left-leaning institution. Recycling is BIG, as is biking, but you won't often see hunger-strikers or other public activism. Black, Asian, queer and other minority groups are prominent, although it often seems like the groups don't have lot of support from their own communities... campus politics aren't too heated and there aren't many hot button issues to militate the community.

unfortunately, although there is great diversity at UVa which is awesome, i feel like the different ethic groups keep separate, kinda like oil and water- i would like that to change. I go to UVa's campus crusade although we call it Agape. there are sooooo many student groups here tho, i just havent checked many out. I dont think that there is a type of student that would feel out of place at UVa because our school is so diverse. most students wear jeans to class but we definitely do not have a shortage of girls that look like theyve stepped off a runway to go to class. most students are from virginia but there are a some international students as well as out of state ppl.

At the IRC where I live, I interact with people from all over the world. I don't think any student would feel out of place at the IRC. I can't say as much for first year dorms; there I think mostly accepted are the pre-Greek crowd. Students usually wear jeans, basically casual clothes. Definitely different types of students interact. On any given day I will talk to a preppy white boy from New Jersey, a skateboarder from Virginia Beach, a girl from India, an gay American from Spain, two Koreans (one studious and one artistic), and a townie with Danish background who grew up in Hong Kong. Most UVA students are from Virginia I believe. However I wouldn't know it from the people I hang out with and where they say they are from. I don't ask people about their financial statuses. Students are definitely politically aware, and many are active. There is a mix of political orientations. No one talks about how much money they plan to make. Most people have different goals.

Most students are from in-state and richmond and northern Va. most people wear jeans and a nice top to class. kinda like a dressy casual. most people do not wear sweats to class. and when it gets warm outside girls start wearing sundresses around.

I don't think any student would feel out of place at UVA for long. It might seem for the first few weeks you're here that there's only one type of person, but after about a half a semester diverse student groups just come out of the woodworks. Be sure to check out the Fall Activities Fair, get on some mailing lists, and go to some alternative-type group meetings if you want to make friends that defy the UVA mold.

I've had a lot of experience with other ethnic groups on grounds. We plan all sorts of events together, and of course, they're all student led. Some of the best times I've had at UVa were when I was with other student leaders planning out events or other things at the University. Dress is slightly on the preppy side at UVa. Some people will randomly dress up for class. When I go to other schools, I see just how preppy we are, but it's really only in a good way. One of the unusual things about UVa are the relationships that I've seen formed. There are some people who, while I was in high school, would not have befriended in a million years, but whom I'm now good friends with. People from all sorts of races and backgrounds are friends with each other, and many UVa students seem to embrace the idea of diversity very well. If there were only one social class I could choose to describe a UVa student, I would choose upper-middle class. Most of our students are from Northern Virginia and Greater Richmond, which are all mostly that socio-economic category. We have people of all different backgrounds, though. Most UVa students are from Virginia, the biggest concentration from Northern Virginia, which includes Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudon, Prince William, Stafford, and Spotsylvania Counties with a few independent cities like Fairfax and Fredericksburg. Most other out-of-state students are from Maryland, New Jersey, and New York, but we have students from all over North America, really. We have a high number of international students, too. In the engineering school, I get the sense that most students are politically aligned in the center, but in the College, I would definitely say predominently left. The architecture, commerce, and nursing schools are probably in the center, too. UVa grads seem to have the advantage of getting management roles in companies, so, yeah, we do talk about how much we'll earn.

I feel there's a strong religious community at UVA. I believe every major religion has a strong and thriving presence on grounds. This is a very liberal campus. I believe this is a drawback to the University. I see different types of students interact constantly. Race is not an issue here. I believe people have a misconception that UVA does not give enough support to those who are not as financially well-off as others. However, UVA is consistently one of the "best-value" schools in the nation. We have a very developed financial aid program and the scholarships available to students are almost countless. In addition, UVA accepts AP/IB/dual enrollment credit and transfer students from community colleges. Reasonable student loans are also available to students. These avenues are great opportunities for students to get the most for their money.

UVa actually IS very diverse. I thought that was a load of BS until I came here. I am one of 2 white girls in my suite (and I'm half English, so...I still add to my suite's international flavor). Different types of students definitely do interact. I am friends with alot of Indians. I don't think anyone would feel out of place at UVA. I am the president of the Neo-pagan club...need I say more? There are loads of exciting, interesting people here. Most students come from fairly wealthy families. We joke about how much we'll earn (i.e. I will be living in a cardboard box after I graduate because I'm artsy, but I plan to scrounge off my friends who are studying business.) There are many groups on campus. I am friends with members of QUAA (Queer university Allied Activism ... I think it stands for) which is one of the LGBT groups. I am a memeber of FIFE (Feminism is for everyone), and I am the president of NatureSpirit at UVA (Neo-pagan/Wiccan/earth-centered religion group). Email me if you are at all interested in NatureSpirit!(It's open to everyone)

There's a place for every student. There are so many different groups that it's easy to find something in which you are interested. I've been a part of the running club and a club to make the dining halls more environmentally-friendly and I'm president of the Latter-Day Saint Student Association, the Mormon club. Most people don't know much about Mormons and respond more with curiosity than anything else. I've experienced such diversity. My first year, my roommate was from Taiwan and my neighbors were from Bulgaria and Michigan. Across the hall, one girl was Indian and the other from a small town in Virginia.