The University of Rich Men

Introduction
U of R has the most beautiful campus I have ever seen, and I looked at a lot of schools before applying to any. There's a lake in the center of campus complete with a wooden bridge and a gazebo on a little island in the middle, we have our own woods, and in spring the flowers are amazing. However, I recommend looking beyond just the beauty of the school when you come on a tour, because while the school is beautiful it is also incredibly homogeneous. If I had to pick the typical Richmond student I would say he/she is white, from an upper middle class or rich family, and politically conservative. This is not to say that all students are this way, and it's not to say that all of those who are act and dress the same. I, for example, am white and from an upper middle class family and very much a liberal who alternates between stilettos and sweatpants on a daily basis. Polo and Ralph Lauren do run rampant on this campus, however, and a lot of students have problems adjusting to the culture inside the Richmond bubble. There are a lot of us who don't fit this stereotype, it just takes a little while and a second glance to find us.

Campus Life and Social Life
The best thing about the social life here is that if you want to find something you do on any given night, you certainly can. The majority of seniors live in on-campus apartments, which are part of University Housing, and there are always plenty of parties. We also have fraternity lodges that are open on Friday or Saturday nights each weekend. If you want to find something quieter, there are movies playing in our commons on the weekend for free, and plenty of organizations through dance parties and other activities. Intermural and club sports are very popular, however school spirit is practically non-existent. Students get excited if our football or basketball team is doing really well, but if they aren't then students don't really go to the games. It's also a hike to get into downtown Richmond to go to the bars and clubs there. A taxi home, for example, can cost anywhere between $20-$30 dollars. Advertisement
Academics
Rating how hard your major is really depends on what you decide to major in. The science departments are generally considered the hardest, the humanities classes are known for their grade inflation, and the business school fits somewhere in between. However, campus stereotypes aside, there are some departments on campus that are amazing and others that aren't, just as on every campus. As far as I'm concerned, the language professors and history professors are the best, but I may be a little biased since those are the departments where I take the majority of my classes. We don't have TAs on campus very much. What we have instead are students who help out during labs for the sciences and psychology as well as drill instructors who help language students learn vocabulary and grammar. The workload varies depending on the department as well. Humanities students tend to have a lot of reading to do, business school students always have exercises to prepare for their classes, and science students spend a good portion of their week in the labs.

Student Body
The states that send the most students to UR are Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and Texas. Again, most are white, from well off families, and conservative. When it's warm out a lot of girls wear skirts and heels and about half the student population loves to pop their collars while the other half rails against it. Although I say that students are conservative, most are in reality apathetic to politics and it isn't a topic of conversation amongst students on a very regular basis. Appearance is important on this campus, and a lot of students spend a lot of time at the gym, which is why we are currently building a new, bigger, gym on campus.

In Closing...
This school has gotten the reputation of being the University of Rich Men over the years for a lot of reasons. At the same time, there are so many of us that break the typical Richmond mold that it's hard to completely generalize. The best thing that I can recommend is to come to visit the campus and see for yourself if you'd fit in here. While I thought that this was the most beautiful campus I had seen on any college tour, I also discovered one of the perks of going to school in Virginia- students are so friendly and helpful to each other here. People will hold doors for you, help you pick something up if you dropped it, and most will make eye contact and smile as you walk by each other. So while sometimes it frustrates me that I may not be the typical student here, I know that I made a good choice.