These two stereotypes couldn't be more wrong. Yes, obviously there are parties at VCU, as there are at any college, we have a rather vibrant Greek life here on campus which contributes some to this but not majorly. However, the vast majority of the students at VCU are not all about partying. This school is far from a party school. Since we are a state funded university, many of the students that attend VCU are first generation college students, who usually are extremely motivated to do their best in their academics. They don't have time to party nor do they even desire to do so. When you're paying for your education, or someone else is gracious enough to pay for it, you certainly need to have your priorities straight about why you are attending college. I feel like most of the students at VCU know this and feel the same way. But, it isn't only first generation college students that work hard. I'd say the vast majority of the students at VCU work hard, even the ones that do party occasionally. I can't say that every student at VCU is so committed to achieving their degree, but the point I am trying to make is that despite our relatively low graduation rate, the students that do graduate have put forth a lot of effort to do so. Effort that only comes from student who don't get distracted by partying every weekend. In a way, our low graduation rate proves that VCU despite maybe being easy to get accepted in to, is not an easy school. Students don't come here and expect to just get spoon fed their degree, and those that do quickly get put in their place. You have to work hard at this university, the students know this and they know their isn't time at VCU to make it a party school.
For the other stereotype about VCU students being dumb... I think this comes from our high acceptance rate of students, which does keep our acceptance GPA sorta low. But that has nothing to do with the quality education that VCU provides or the quality students that choose to attend VCU. A lot is going on at VCU and the school has put forth a lot of initiative to improve not only the school's image but the Richmond community's image as well. With all this, VCU is improving everyday! The 2020 plan that VCU has set up will probably make VCU one of the most attractive schools in the country, and definitely in Virginia. There's nothing wrong with a high acceptance rate here at VCU. Being a state school, its objective is to educate Virginia residents and that's what VCU does. So what if it take a lot of Virginia residents? That doesn't make this school any worse than any other state school in the country, so assuming that VCU students are dumb, just because we don't have the highest entrance GPA for incoming freshman is just erroneous. I can almost guarantee that after attending VCU, students will come out with a much more realistic view on life than they will from any other university in the state, simply because of where VCU is, what VCU is and why VCU is.