@momofgingers Decades ago, UR had a reputation for being a conservative school targeting rich, preppy students. Happily, UR has evolved into a much more diverse institution. Yes, it does have its share of rich, preppy kids, but many more who are not, including my own, who attended public schools, who could not attend UR without their scholarships, do not have cars or designer clothes, expensive vacations abroad, etc. They have had part time jobs on campus to earn their own spending money to fund incidentals and entertainment, eating out, etc.
There are certainly wealthy students at UR, who will be found at most fairly selective LACs. My Ds were able to find plenty of good friends at UR with common backgrounds and interests (some of them wealthy, but very down to earth).
There is a broad spectrum of groups and clubs, for students who lean liberal, conservative, and everything in between. UR has also been recognized for being very supportive of LGBQT students.
There are also many opportunities for community service in the Richmond area. UR has a satellite center for civic engagement in the city, called “UR Downtown” and has daily shuttles for UR students. Richmond is a very diverse, metropolitan city, with transplants from all over, it is no longer a southern tobacco town.
UR’s Board of Directors has recently stepped up efforts to make UR even more accessible for low income students. Last year, they hired a well regarded new President, Ronald Crutcher, who is African American, and he is doing a good job bolstering those efforts.
The partying culture will be hard to avoid altogether at any college. In the end, it is up your son to make the choices which will keep him on a positive path. Simply being aware of his prior issues and turning things around in HS may help him avoid the crash and burn some students experience as freshmen. He really sounds like a great kid:)