University of Richmond Preview and Campus Experience

University of Richmond is a private liberal arts institution in downtown Richmond, founded in 1830. According to their website, there are 3,890 students enrolled, including graduate students. No classes are taught by teaching assistants. Most of the students are from out of state. 

This year, University of Richmond hosted Preview Richmond, an event held on Oct. 14. The event ran like an open house and registration was required upon coming to campus.

When I first walked into the University of Richmond campus it felt like walking inside the school from Harry Potter. The buildings resembled Gothic architecture, and the Westhampton Lake was beautiful. The Tyler Haynes Commons buildings are across the lake, and wildlife such as geese enjoy their time floating in the water.

 There were many out of state high school students with family members visiting. I attended a financial aid workshop, which mostly focused on first-year students. Transfer students are only eligible for need-based aid.

Afterward, I went to the social sciences, humanities, and arts fair. I had many opportunities to talk with advisers and professors about their undergraduate major programs. I talked with the three departments I was most passionate about: language, education, and history. What makes the University of Richmond language department special is that they offer a variety of world languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Russian. University of Richmond is one of the few private universities in Virginia that offers an undergraduate major in Education. This allows students to earn a teaching license in Virginia. University of Richmond offers many enriching history courses for students to choose from. According to the University of Richmond website, they offer courses that are solely focused on one country, such as Russian history. 

One great experience I had at this event was getting the opportunity to eat at the on-campus dining hall, where the food quality was excellent. According to their website, the University of Richmond was ranked ninth for best campus food by the Princeton Review. The dining hall that I went to for lunch was the Heilman Dining Center– they have a Panini Station and Deli Bar. For vegetarians, they offered a variety of dishes. This included caramelized onion quinoa, roasted butternut squash, and grilled asparagus. 

The last event for the day was a student life panel where visitors were given a tour of the residence hall, and were given a chance to ask current students about the university. Current students talked about why they chose to go to University of Richmond, and what job or internship opportunities they did. 

This was my second time visiting the University of Richmond. I enjoyed every moment that I spent there because the students were friendly. When I passed by a University of Richmond student, they were quick to acknowledge me. Students are also fortunate to have the opportunity to explore the city of Richmond due to their close proximity to many restaurants and fun places to go. According to visitrichmondva.com, there are more than 900 restaurants in the city of Richmond. 

Preview Richmond is a great way to get a sense of the university. There is a big difference between touring the university in person and touring it virtually. 

After visiting, I have encouraged my community college friends to visit the University of Richmond in person. This is a great way for anyone to interact with the students and find out if they would enjoy learning in this campus environment.