Daughter is considering adding the University of Richmond to her list after visiting campus and exploring the school’s website.
As parents, we’re not very familiar with the school and would appreciate some perspective on how it compares to schools like Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington & Lee, and Davidson.
Thank you.
So Richmond has a somewhat unusual (although not unprecedented) structure. It isn’t a doctoral university, but it does have a law school and a business school (I think something like 45% of the undergrads are in the business school). It is also a D1 school, one of the smaller ones, although Davdison is an even smaller D1.
I think it is fair to say Richmond is one of the colleges that has benefited from things like the traditional “elite” colleges not expanding capacity as the US college student population grew in size and competitiveness. They’ve built up a large endowment per capita and very nice campus, and offer generous need and merit aid.
The other schools you mentioned have some broad similarities in that they are all “Southern” institutions with strong academics and particularly strong reputations for pre-professional purposes (although definitely not exclusively). But I think it would be fair to say they are all less newcomers to that level of reputation than Richmond.
My two cents is if the academic and student mix at Richmond is appealing to your daughter, there is no reason not to consider it a strong contender. I’m sure some people would argue that some or all of those colleges are still more “prestigious”. But I think at this point almost everyone who would matter to your daughter knows that colleges like Richmond are using their ample resources to attract great students.
So if she does well there, I am sure she will have plenty of opportunities for next steps. And picking a college that you actually like is a significant factor in doing well.
In terms of academics, Richmond offers excellent programs in fields such as business, economics and international studies and the foundational sciences of biology, chemistry and physics. Richmond also performs notably well in the general attribute of classroom experience.
Read some forums (watch videos ) about Richmond. Dd applied and it was initially her top choice but then she realized it is too prepy for her taste. (Told me that she is very happy that did not choose Richmond. ) Her HS President who got half ride at Richmond (very wealthy but humble family) also decided in the end against Richmond. I do not know about other schools but dynamic is very different from W&L.