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 preppy 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.
It’s smaller than Vandy and Wake, and larger than W&L. It’s not near much like a Vandy or even a W&L where you can roll down a hill into town.
Vandy has engineering. UR doesn’t. UR has business. Vandy doesn’t have a major.
Very different.
Wake is a huge full pay school. Vandy somewhat as is UR but they have more merit. W&L has a higher % getting need.
Greek life is prevalent at W&L but maybe not Greek like you think. It has business and non accredited engineering.
There are just vast difference. Wake and Vandy are D1 big time. UR small scale.
I’d say if interested apply to all and see where you get in. And what you get offered. And go from there.
Friending on major of interest I can see a cross shop but in many ways these are different schools.
Given this list, has she looked at Davidson, Bucknell (further North, a bit easier admit, or Furman, great reputation, much easier admit and big merit aid.
What is she interested in studying that she came up with this list ?
Aren’t most of the schools in the OP also considered preppy, though?
There are many differences among these 5 schools, a number of which have already been pointed out by other posters.
Richmond was once a very southern school, a place where Virginia’s old money sent their kids. But that has changed dramatically. It has become very popular with Northeners. Today the majority of the students come from the East Coast in the DC-Boston corridor to the north of Virginia. In this respect it is different from any of the other schools on your list.
Vanderbilt is the only one with a truly national population. Washington & Lee, Wake Forest, and Davidson all draw the majority of their students from states of the Confederate South.
Wake Forest has undergone a regional shift much like Richmond, though not as pronounced. Only about 40% of students hail from the South now, 36% if one leaves out Florida. Only 16% come from North Carolina. Most of the rest come from the Northeast and California. DS visited Richmond and really liked it, but decided to ED to Wake instead. He told us that it reminded him of a smaller Wake Forest. It’s a good school with great merit aid.
According to College Factual, the percent of Wake Forest’s population from states of the Confederacy is as follows:
22% - North Carolina
8% - Florida
6% - Georgia
6% - Virginia
4% - Texas
2% - South Carolina
2% - Tennessee
1% - Alabama
1% - Louisiana/Arkansa/Mississippi
52% - Total
That’s old information, probably 4-5 years out of date, and their data is only for the freshman class. Here’s the report from the school for the entire student population which illustrates the point that I was trying to make.
Thanks for the update. The link which you kindly provided totals 5120 students. I assume that the other approximately 300 undergrads are internationals.
Of the 5120, 43% are from Confederate states and 40% are from Northeastern states, a decided shift as you’ve pointed out.
The difference I see with Richmond is that Richmond now has a majority (56%) of its students from the Northeast and while Wake Forest retains a substantial part of its population base from the Old South, Richmond’s percent of students from the Old South has shrunk to 27%. Hence, they are outnumbered by Northeasterners by about 2:1 while Southerners still slightly outnumber Northeasterners at Wake Forest.
This is only one dimension of life at these schools and there are plenty of others to compare.
I think you’re splitting hairs, but whatever. I was just pointing out that Wake Forest is undergoing a similar transformation geographically. I apologize to OP for the digression.
This. IIRC, the college somehow survived a hundred years of financial difficulties with a gorgeous 19th century campus in pristine condition by the time a big donor and more dynamic leadership came to its rescue in the late 1970s. I think it was decided that it was never going to be a liberal arts powerhouse and powered up its business and law degree programs instead. I think by staying small and pinpointing its market to northerners looking for little ivy alternatives, it rose steadily in the polls where money spent per student was a key component.
It’s chief drawback, IMO, is that its green and leafy, wooded location is, despite its name, miles away from downtown Richmond but not nearly the kind of outdoorsy destination of a Williams or Middlebury. It reminds me a lot of Bard without the arts students.
I believe the student population of URichmond is largely pre-professional (quite different from Bard).
OMG!! Why are you talking about the Confederate South and the Confederacy!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!
I have a friend who went to Davidson and their kid went to Richmond. I think they are fairly similar. Both good schools. Worth a visit to each.
I think that’s what I said.
I visited Richmond about a year ago and was impressed. The campus was small, but somewhat packed so you could feel the energy. Richmond was a cool city with great food and somewhat easy to get to relative to many other southern options - at least from MA. The career orientation seems to be a major selling point (if you like that stuff) with lots of business-minded types studying and competing in business plan and stock market competitions. It is certainly not a school to shy away from for an above average student looking for a campus in a city who wants business. It has much more than that, too, but that is the way I saw it.
Yes to @michaelcollege’s comments and also very good for pre-law.
I looked at all 5 of these schools when I applied long ago and looked at some with d20, so no current information or student. They are all great schools with good reputations and I can understand considering them even if they are different. I think Wake and Richmond have risen in rankings and opinions over the years, and the other 3 have always been high. I think Richmond has a beautiful campus, strong academics and programs, and nice happy kids (generalizing). When we toured precovid, d20 and I were impressed by a lot of things ranging from ability to take interesting business courses without being in a major, seemingly strong career guidance, campus life, and friendly feel. Good luck!