<p>Ok…its all about fit right? So, this is a honest question…Can you find your
niche there if you don’t party, aren’t extremely rich, are conservative, and actually
enjoy going to church & being a part of a faith based group? Not sure where
my son will land but, as a mom, this is important to know.</p>
<p>UVA is a big school with a lot of different kinds of people. Plenty of them are non-rich, and plenty of them don’t drink. The best way for your child to meet likeminded people would be to join a group or club. There are quite a number of religious groups on grounds, and churches of all denominations within easy walking distance; most (all?) of these cater to the University and student community and have their own youth groups.</p>
<p>Hello,
I will be attending Harvard this fall and I am very religious. I do not drink. Although I have heard that there is a slight party scene there, I know I will find my place. There is always someone like you, someone that has the same values that you do. I recommend looking for a faith-based group to connect with before going to college. I wish your son all the luck!</p>
<p>or you could consider liberty instead… just throwing that out there
i have very conservative friends who go to a christian college (grove city) and they love it. they would be pretty miserable here. i mean, first year you’re forced to live with someone who will probably party and bring home members of the (opposite? same?) sex for the night and there’s nothing you can do about that. if you’re in the christian college environment that doesn’t happen (places like liberty, grove city, etc). i love my roommate to death but adjusting to her steady boyfriend sleeping over every night took a long time and that’s not something everyone can put up with.
so, to answer your question, you will certainly make friends (one of my best friends here is a conservative rural and not wealthy very christian girl who did not drink until her 21st and we had a great time doing other things) but you will also be put in uncomfortable situations. but that is life. so it is really, do you want them to practice in college or do you want them to not have to deal with college and that much of the real world? up to you and them. okay for my uva friend. not okay for my grove city friends. depends on the person.</p>
<p>well said hazel!!</p>
<p>UVA is a huge school. There is bound to be a set of other kids who share the same moral as your kid. However, I have a question. Is it you that wants your kid to be like this or is he actually like this? I’m a junior but I know alot of kids who have gone off to college and alot of them have cahnged completely once they’re there.</p>
<p>UVA seems to have a wide variety of students interested in many different things (look at the following link for clubs at the school; [@UVA</a> - Powered by CollegiateLink](<a href=“- @UVA”>- @UVA)). There are over 600 clubs and some of them are religious based. Might I suggest your S contact one that is a match and talk it over with one of the students already there? We have found all of the UVA students and staff to be very open to any questions that you may have (Dean J). </p>
<p>I don’t think finding a like minded students should be a problem no matter what your interest/beliefs. There was a recent post from a student editor for the Cav Daily that essentially says the same thing; that being the school is small enough to know many people and big enough to find your niche. If you are looking for everyone to be “just like you” then the suggestion regarding attending a religious based university would probably be a good idea. That would apply to any school you are looking at for that matter. </p>
<p>As a side bar D is also looking at face book to try to find a match regarding roommates for next year. She says the preferences run all the way from “let the party begin” to “I want to study every night”. To use a very old expression, there is a lid for every pot!</p>
<p>The initial question seems to show an assumption has already been made. </p>
<p>A walk around the outskirts of the Grounds will have you passing a church for almost every major Christian denomination.</p>
<p>Is UVA overly liberal or something? I hear some people claiming its a bad place to be a conservative and others saying its more moderate than anything else.</p>
<p>I recommend Chi Alpha (It’s-I think-the largest Christian Fellowship group) I’m a part of it and to be honest they’re like my family. It’s just an amazing group of girls and guys. I absolutely love it. (They have large group meetings and small groups…the girls in my core group are definitely my best friends here, it’s awesome.)
There are other groups too and I have friends in some of them–they’re all great–Agape, IV, RUF, I think there’s even more. But your son will definitely be able to find his niche. I know I did, and I’m the same way!
He should check out the activities fair at the beginning of the year, that’s usually the best place to get information about all the different groups :)</p>
<p>college is usually liberal. uva is less liberal than other colleges, but more liberal than the real world (or the state of virginia).</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. To answer one question, my son is still basically
conservative and yet will have to choose his own path as an adult re: his
values, faith, etc. without my input of course. I just wanted to know if
groups were available that would provide a conservative Christian option
versus the drinking frat parties that unfortunately most kids seem to talk
about when they mention UVA…hadn’t seen or heard any discussion on
other type things so I appreciate the info…he is a smart kid and not
easily influenced by peers so that isn’t a concern but its up to him now, right?
His cousin is at Liberty and LOVES it but that is definitely not for him. He
goes to a public school & has friends of all faiths & backgrounds. He is involved
in youth group and outreach ministries to the homeless so doesn’t need to be
insulated from the world…just glad to know there are faith-based groups part
of UVA…thanks again.</p>
<p>Aren’t you the same mom whose son is considering Virginia Tech? LOL, like alcohol isn’t a problem over there. I don’t know where you’re getting at with the “most kids seem to talk about when they mention UVA.” UVA is a pretty liberal school so if your son is a Christian conservative, sure, he can find a group of friends who think like him, but he will be pretty uncomfortable with most students and certainly with most professors being pretty socially liberal. </p>
<p>Disclaimer: We teach evolution, we don’t tolerate bigotry against gay members of our community and we don’t cut funding for groups that don’t emulate “Christian Values” like they do at Liberty University. Virginia Tech is more socially conservative from what I’ve heard, perhaps he would feel more at home there.</p>
<p>OMG the liberal/conservative dichotomy. You’d think that students smart enough to be at UVA would categorise themselves in a manner more unique and refreshing.</p>
<p>UVA is full of students that think. That appreciate intellectual freedom. (Frankly, I have to admit that I am not so sure about the students at Liberty.) When you enter class discussions, people are full of unique ideas. One of my friends who took a summer course on healthcare reform said the most furious discussion would emerge between two Jewish girls … oh look she can’t remember which girl was conservative and which girl was liberal (in the American press sense) because the arguments that emerged were so much more than that.</p>
<p>I don’t know what field your son is thinking of. Commerce? Engineering? Writing? He should be prepared to make friends with a devout Sikh who doesn’t drink but dances like a rockstar … to both salsa and North Indian bhangra music blasted from his room or with a student from an impoverished background as an immigrant from South America. People here break the mould pretty well.</p>
<p>I was getting at that I had not heard much discussion about kids
at UVA being involved in Christian organizations IF THEY WANTED TO BE (which I have no idea what my son…actually grandson…might
choose). He is quite his own person and will make his own choice.
I was thinking this website, college confidential, would be willing to
give me some confidential info. Thanks</p>
<p>Alrighty. Well just remember your grandson is his own person. When kids go to college it’s a whole different experience. They discover who they are and maybe find out their not what you want them to be (in your case regular church atendee). Don’t limit his choices because the college dosent have something YOU want. In the case of one of my good friends his parents told him he could only go to colleges with jewish fraternitys. All the kids life his parents thought he was really jewish but he never really was. They forced him into a school with a jewish fraternity and now he and his parents are in a fight…</p>
<p>@UVAorBust
This lady has repeated several times that she is letting him make his own decisions without her input and without forcing him into one path or another. She’s obviously not limiting his choices because the college doesn’t have something she wants.
She just wanted information about different groups that are available and now she has it. That should be the end of it. </p>
<p>And as for the assumption</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That is completely ridiculous.
I’m Christian and conservative and I don’t feel uncomfortable around people who don’t share my beliefs. I enjoy being in a faith-based community, but I don’t restrict my circle of friends or my life to that group. College is about branching out and learning more about the world and the people in it, and obviously not all of them are Christian conservatives.</p>