University of Virginia-Main Campus Top Questions

Extremely high ratio of basic (though obviously intelligent) people (unoriginal, cookie-cutter, safe, and usually boring in appearance, beliefs, behavior)

Many of the introductory classes have too many students, so you aren't able to get to know the professor very well.

Parking. But that's every city, right?

The upper-class housing is generally far from the main grounds and housing can be hard to obtain. We therefore have to figure out housing for our second year before first semester even ends!

I believe that the worst thing about U. V. A. is the great number of students who come from America's elite. Having been raised by a single mother, who worked so hard to ensure that we had a roof over our head, it is difficult to blend well with so many students who are no stranger to expensive clothes, purses, and electronics. They seem to have access to unlimited funds and it can make a student such as myself, who's had to work since I was 15 years old, feel very intimidated and out of place.

The worst thing about UVA is the competition, even though that can also be a good thing. Everything is competitive, from the classes to the clubs. So many students at UVA want to be involved in community service, for example, that many community service organizations on-grounds (we are a bit pretentious, so we have "grounds," not a campus) have a competitive process. The competition can push students to work harder, but it can also discourage some students from being involved.

It's very homogenous. Most of the students are upper class and white. Minorities are abundant but stick to themselves and don't seem to have much of an impact. An international perspective is stressed but so many of the students are the same.

I do not feel like the personalities of the people who go to school at The University of Virginia are diverse enough. The people at Brown Residential College are the most diverse; however, they are similar to one another in a way than the rest of the school.

Our school is not diverse enough and is less than optimally tolerant of diversity. This includes both racial diversity and diversity of sexual orientation. The school is fairly diverse in its students' beliefs.

The worst thing about the school is the size. There are so many people that it is very easy to feel lost or uncomfortable in the new surroundings. I rarely pass the same people twice and I don't see familiar faces too often unless I seek them out. There is also so many different types of people that it takes awhile to find your own niche. It is important to get involved.