University of Richmond Top Questions

Social life- go to the bars the apartments off campus parties fraternity lodges - you dont have to be in a fraternity or sorority to have fun- but it sure does make it a lot more fun if you are.

A lot of students are involved in Greek Life, but you don't feel left out if you are not a part of a fraternity or sorority. I am an independent, and my friends are from a variety of sororities and fraternities. It's nice that we rush second semester of our freshman year because you already have a lot of friends, and you do not make your friends based on their Greek label. During the weekends we usually hang out in the dorms before going to an on-campus apartment or a lodge. Seniors can choose to live in on-campus apartments with a kitchen and living room, and they often register parties, which allows them to host students in their home with alcohol. Each fraternity has its own lodge. Lodges are a one-room house with a bar. The lodge parties are like high school dances with beer served to students aged 21 or older. During the week, we do a lot of school work. If we happen to have a light night or finish all of our work early, we rent a movie from the library or take a friend's car to Sheetz or Wawa.

I'm told we're pretty tame when it comes to parties and drinking, but I've got no way to prove it. Lots of people (4/5 of 'em) drink, but the number of actual drunks doesn't seem too high. Extracurricular stuff is pretty good and you can always start your own group if you're willing to go through endless red tape to get it after a year or so.

Greek life is huge. Rush happens in the Spring so you get some time to decide if it's right for you. As a girl who is an "independent" but whose friends are in sororities, it is easy to feel left out or different but fortunately any girl in a sorority probably has plenty of friends in different sororities or who are independent. Social life is concentrated on campus. Most parties on campus happen either in the on campus apartments or fraternity lodges (no Greek organizations are residential). If I'm awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, I have a big test the next day. If I don't want to drink on a Saturday night, it's totally normal to go out to the movies, go find a cool new restaurant with a friend (Richmond is loaded with them), or stay in and hang out with friends who also don't feel like going out and drinking. Athletic events aren't very popular, so if you're looking for a school with lots of spirit, look elsewhere. Richmond brings a lot of amazing performance artists (musical, theater, dance, etc.) and guest speakers that I wish more students would take advantage of. Performances are another good alternative Saturday night. It seems like most people make their friends early Freshman year, whether in orientation or in your dorm. Since housing isn't co-ed, students complain about segregation of the sexes. Dating isn't all that prevalent and I think a lot of people fall into the random hook-up trap (which I'm sure is the same at every school). The city of Richmond is great. There is a fun downtown scene (fraternities often host parties downtown and take shuttles of students), tons of great restaurants, excellent shopping, and beautiful sight-seeing.

Most popular groups- frats and sororities. Although athletes are cool, too, but they are their own group. Me and my friends alwaysss leave our doors open. Dating scene has a couple options. Either you date someone and get in a REALLY long term relationship, or you just hook up with random people. It really depends what kind of person you are. If you're not in a relationship don't expect to be taken out to dinner and a movies. If you're lucky you'll consider a date pregaming before the lodges. Socials are a lot of fun though. The frats and sororities each have about 3 socials each semester where you have to bring dates so those can be cute. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday I'm probably doing work. Or drinking. depending on the week. Every year there's pig roast. that's a LOT of fun. girls wear sundresses boys wear pastels and ties and the lodges are open and people drink all day. usually people party thursday friday saturday each week. more or less depending on who you are but thats the average. There aren't frat and sorority houses so it isnt IMPERATIVE to be in one but its a lot of fun! I'd say its more important for guys to be in frats than girls in sororities because they are the ones that actually have lodges and throw parties. Frats are definitely more exclusive with just hanging out with eachother. Last weekend.. friday night was my formal and saturday night we pregamed in my dorm then went to the lodges. off campus- tiki bobs, element. thursday night we usually go to one of the clubs.

Greek life is the social scene on campus. Students leave doors open when they are there. Athletic event popularity depends on how good the team is and who they are playing, but not too popular overall No experience with Speakers/Theater Not too strong of a dating scene. Lots of movement from person to person Closest friends -- Greek 2AM -- studying or partying Traditions -- Pig Roast (Spring) Party -- whenever they don't have work and all Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays Greek is the major social scene on campus. Last weekend -- party Friday, Saturday afternoon and Saturday night Non-drinking -- Movie on Campus or go off campus Bowling, Food, Movies, Golf

I am involved in an Acappella group, and I love it. I feel like they are my family. Like I said before, this school is definitely a "work hard, play hard" type of school. There are always fraternity lodges and apartment parties on Thursday nights and weekends. The campus is so safe. We never lock our door, and I have walked back to my dorm room by myself at 3 in the morning without a problem. I have never heard of any incident otherwise. Greek life is big, but sororities cannot throw parties except for socials which usually happen 3 times a semester. Fraternities have lodges where they throw parties on the weekends and people dance and drink. If you don't drink, there are always movies and shows happening on campus. You can also use the city to find something to do, but drinking is big.

Fraternities and sororities are huge here. I think around half the girls are in some Greek organization and little less than half of the guys. The problem with the Greek organizations here is that they don't really know how to throw a good party. The parties are pretty weak comparative to other schools I've experienced. Add on top of that the fact that the fraternities are overflowing with a bunch of groupthink douchebags who think adhering to a frat gives them special powers is quite annoying and not conducive to your health if you cross them. I'm not the type to dislike Greek guys for being greek because I have experience with other schools. Its just the people aren't very nice here. On the whole, the social life is weak at best here. The parties are downright bad. Stick to a big school if you plan on being a big party person, trust me on that one.

People party on the weekends, and some thursdays. Its not a party school. Yes, we have a lot of fun / go out hardcore, but schoolwork is the priority. If you have a huge paper, you just don't go out that weekend. its that simple. Fraternaties and Sororities dominate college life. If you aren't into greek life, well, that just sucks for you. Lodge parties are the main weekend events. Apartment parties happen too, but again, they are usually thrown by someone who is greek-affiliated. Frat/sorority socials are also big things here. Sometimes there are downtown "richmond" events, but they are also sponsered by frats. you dont need to be involved in greek life to partake by any means, but its a huge thing. It's hard to go off-campus. It requires a lot of planning, money, or both. The bars/downtown are about 20 minutes away, so you have to get a cab (or convince a friend to DD). It's more of a hassle than anything, so basiclaly you're stuck in the bubble. If you're awake on 2 am tuesday, you're doing homework. Things non-alcohol related to do? There are lots of campus sponsered events - movies, speakers, lectures, music, outside festivals, etc. Some are better than others. There are 3 malls within 10 minutes of school, and a little town, so shopping is a big thing. So is going out to dinner - people LOVE to go out to dinner here. there's a river nearby where people go to swim/tan in fall and spring. Other than that, people really don't go off-campus all that much.

Sororities and fraternities are [unfortunately] the most popular groups on campus. They dominate the social scene/social ties. I think that people have to devote so much time to them that they don't get involved in other activities/multi-cultural groups, and thus there's this kind of divide between those in Greek life and those not. There are exceptions, of course, but I usually don't meet a Greek student unless he/she lives next to me or is in a class of mine. I'm involved in VOX (Voices for Planned Parenthood), SALSA (Spanish and Latino Student Alliance), and Ambassador's Club (where American students get matched up with international exchange/4-year students). The multi-cultural scene on campus is definitely improving, and I really enjoy participating in and attending different cultural performances to learn about other countries/ideas. I think it really depends on the dorm/hall as to whether or not students leave their doors open. Athletic events are so-so popular, but the administration is really trying to get students more interested in attending. There are toonnnnnsssss of guest speakers, educational, non-educational- they're great :) The dating scene... well, I've been in a steady long-term relationship, and there are definitely others on campus who are in the boat, but I still here more often than not about weekend hookups, etc. Because it's a closed campus, it's kind of hard to go on the traditional date, so the dating scene is definitely different than if you were living at home. I met my closest friends through organizations I joined. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, then I'm DEFINITELY doing hw/procrastinating on doing hw. People party Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Last weekend was our president's inauguration, so I went to all the events for that on Friday plus played some tennis, slept all day Saturday (it was a lonnngggg week), and mostly did hw on Sunday. Not too eventful, but then again it was my first free weekend in a long time and I wanted to just chill. This weekend, I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to even get to hw with all the events going on!