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In general...a student at UVA feels that he/she is an academic elite. I think that it is an accurate stereotype and is somewhat promoted by the school itself.

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Whenever someone thinks about a typical UVA student, they would think about a preppy, arrogant student that comes from money and dresses up in boat shoes, khaki shorts, collared shirt and sunglasses even. While there are definitely preppy Greeks at our school, the stereotype does not describe ALL the students at UVA as UVA is truly diverse and spread out!

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It's hard to stereotype a 14,000-numbered student body, but people will say there is heavy Greek life at UVa, which is absolutely true. The student body is 33{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} Greek, and while that may seem overwhelming walking around on Grounds and seeing people wear their letters all the time or don philanthropy shirts, there is so much to do at UVa that this stereotype is not accurate. The students here engage themselves in so many different activities, that it is actually difficult to stereotype someone. For myself, the sorority side comes out when I am leading with my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. But my athletic side comes out in full stride when I'm on the rugby field competing. And my nerdy side most certainly comes out as I'm pursuing my engineering degree. There is no boundary to what you can do at UVa, which is what almost makes it so hard, because you will want to do everything, but won't have time to. If I had to stereotype UVa, it would be with a unique label, that we do too much. But being interested in numerous activities, why is that a bad thing?

It's hard to stereotype a 14,000-numbered student body, but people will say there is heavy Greek life at UVa, which is absolutely true. The student body is 33{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} Greek, and while that may seem overwhelming walking around on Grounds and seeing people wear their letters all the time or don philanthropy shirts, there is so much to do at UVa that this stereotype is not accurate. The students here engage themselves in so many different activities, that it is actually difficult to stereotype someone. For myself, the sorority side comes out when I am leading with my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. But my athletic side comes out in full stride when I'm on the rugby field competing. And my nerdy side most certainly comes out as I'm pursuing my engineering degree. There is no boundary to what you can do at UVa, which is what almost makes it so hard, because you will want to do everything, but won't have time to. If I had to stereotype UVa, it would be with a unique label, that we do too much. But being interested in numerous activities, why is that a bad thing?

Common stereotypes about the students at our school include that everyone parties and gets drunk at frats and sororities. It is true that the are people that get drunk every weekend, however it is not necessarily everyone. I can vouch for some of my friends and me who don't party. It may be infact that probably half of the people party and the other half don't not. However the partiers make themselves known for their actions so it may seem like "everyone is doing it". However this case is not the case.

The stereotype at UVA is the "girls in pearls, guys in ties" idea that is associated with our football games. I think the image people have of us is that we are all in sororities and fraternaties and that we are super preppy, but I think that is a misleading stereotype. We have all kinds of people and only 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students are Greek. I truly think there is something for everyone here from music to sports, from Greek life to secret societies!

Some people may have a misconstrued vision of UVA as a conservative, privileged, traditional, southern school or in layman's terms: snobby, rich kids. I'm sure those people exist somewhere, but they're such a loud minority here. The majority of us are caring, hard-working, and open-minded. It only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch. What people who believe in those stereotypes don't realize is how much bigger we are than a stereotype. How diverse, merited, and incredible of a student body we are. I have a friend who is on an academic scholarship who wouldn't have been able to attend otherwise due to financial difficulties. I have a friend who seems like the typical jock/frat boy, but he's also the leader of my dorm's relay for life team to fight against cancer. I have a friend who is a sorority sister and a biomedical engineer. I have a friend who is a fullback on the football team and a member of one of UVA's best all male a cappella groups. We're so much more than what outsiders think they see on the surface.

Some people may have a misconstrued vision of UVA as a conservative, privileged, traditional, southern school or in layman's terms: snobby, rich kids. I'm sure those people exist somewhere, but they're such a loud minority here. The majority of us are caring, hard-working, and open-minded. It only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch. What people who believe in those stereotypes don't realize is how much bigger we are than a stereotype. How diverse, merited, and incredible of a student body we are. I have a friend who is on an academic scholarship who wouldn't have been able to attend otherwise due to financial difficulties. I have a friend who seems like the typical jock/frat boy, but he's also the leader of my dorm's relay for life team to fight against cancer. I have a friend who is a sorority sister and a biomedical engineer. I have a friend who is a fullback on the football team and a member of one of UVA's best all male a cappella groups. We're so much more than what outsiders think they see on the surface.

One of the most common stereotypes about UVA is that people here are very rich and stuck up. We are also seen as one of the most preppy schools in the country. For the most part, I believe the rich and preppy stereotype at UVA is true. The majority of people here fit into that category, though everyone is not stuck up! There are plenty of people here who are not rich or preppy and are more down to earth. Because there are so many people here there is plenty of variety -- it may just be a little harder to find these people.

The common stereotypes at my school are stuck-up rich kids or crazy, competive nerd; both which are untrue!

Coming here one of the few things I knew about the school was that it was known for the girls dressing up for football games and all the guys wore bow ties. I would have to say though a large majority of students, including me, dress up for football games it definately isn't everyone! All the people I have met here no matter how they dress are genuine people and are invested in their education which I love!

At the University of Virginia, there is a stereotype that people are very preppy. Although there are many people who wear salmon colored shorts, polos or sundresses, there are many people who don't. Grounds (what we call our campus) is a diverse and unique place where anyone can find a niche or people who share common interests or style. I am an international student from Trinidad and Tobago and I am not preppy at all. The existence of "preppiness" on grounds has never had any strain or influence on who I am or how I dress. Whether you're into the greek life, arts, government, fashion etc. there is a place for everyone at UVA!

There's a huge outside stereotype that all UVa students are rich, exclusive, and snotty. This is definitely not the case! There are a lot of 'preppy' dressers and of course, some wealthy students, but through so many amazing organizations around grounds, all students really come together. You can definitely find a great group of friends from all kinds of backgrounds! It's a fantastic experience.

When I think of the stereotype University of Virginia, I think, "girls in pearls, guys in ties." Some people would define us in a word, "pretentious." People think all students dress preppy, with money and an uptight attitude. This stereotype is not true. I have been known to dress up for football games, pearls included, and many of my guy friends wore bow ties while they cheered for our team. There were just as many students decked out in U.Va. colors, orange and blue face paint and football jerseys. We respect traditions here, mixing a classic aesthetic with a passion for involvement in current issues. Each student at the University comes from a different background, dresses differently, and thinks differently; none of that matters because after being a first year, we always link arms and sing the Good Old Song when our football team scores a touchdown.

The University of Virginia (U.Va.), being a school in southern Virginia, most definitely has stereotypes. When I visited U.Va. for the first time while in high school, one of the first things I noticed was the plethora of white students that all seem to be wearing very similar clothes; i.e. boat shoes, rainbow flip-flops, polo shirts with khaki pants, or sun dresses. Of course, once I started to attend U.Va. I realized that although that preppy stereotype about U.Va. exists, there is more diversity than people think there is here. So, some stereotypes common to U.Va. A major one is that everyone seems to be involved in a fraternity or sorority. Although there is a significant portion of the school that does participate in that community, not all fraternities and sororities are the same and the rest of the population of students are not in one. Also, the legacy of President Jefferson, our founder, is quite strong here. There are definitely students that love U.Va., and want to continue to maintain the old-school/psuedo-colonial, upper-middle class white American appearance that many students assume all of U.Va. is engulfed in. Often times people assume those students are in fraternities and sororities. However, there are many students, that may or may not be apart of frat/sorority community, who are very committed to diversifying the school by encouraging more students of color, who come from different socio-economic backgrounds, and have sexual orientations to come to U.Va. That was something I didn't expect when I came here. Another stereotype, that makes it way nationwide, is that students at U.Va. do not know how to enjoy themselves. There's this assumption that because of U.Va.'s prestige and history, students are constantly in the library studying and everything seems to related to work. That's not true. U.Va. is a school that builds leaders and although academics is heavily valued students here strike a balance between studying hard and "playing hard." Meaning many students go out for the weekends and participate in extracurricular activities like performance art and cooking. One stereotype, that to some degree is true, is that social groups here sometimes do not often interact. For example, often times student athletics seem to have their own community and don't spend as much time with non-student athletics. Hopefully in the future that will change.

The main stereotype of students at the University of Virginia is definitely preppy. Although some students redefine this look in their own terms, the majority fit this stereotype in dress, mannerisms, and events held at the University.

UVA tends to have a reputation for being preppy and snobby. Being such a large school, it's almost impossible for any stereotype to be completely accurate. In terms of being preppy, there is definitely a significant portion of the student body that dresses as such, and they tend to stick out since it is a bold style of dress. However, it adds a nice and clean atmosphere to the university as people dress like the gentleman style that Jefferson originally intended. In terms of being snobby, UVA students are neither condescending nor rude. However, it's obvious that almost everyone at UVA is so in love with the school that they can't help but to boast about it.

People usually think UVA is full of super smart yet super pretentious kids. Yes, most of the students here are smart; yet a surprising amount of them are actually very nice, down-to-earth human beings. Of course there are some students with way too much money, and I'm sure there are some political-type things happening behind the scenes. But overall, the majority of the people here worked hard to get in and therefore deserve it. A common motto is the "work hard play hard" mantra. While we all study our faces off during the week and on Sundays, we definitely set aside time to have fun!