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Hollins University
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Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang
  • Back Quad: The grassy area between the gym and Tinker dorm
  • Blackboard: The online forum for posting assignments, grades and discussion boards
  • CDC: The Career Development Center
  • CLE: The Center for Learning Excellence, tutoring for both writing and math
  • The Crack House: A dilapidated, abandoned house close to campus
  • First-years: Hollins uses this term instead of "freshmen" since it's a women's school. This term makes many students feel like they're at Hogwarts.
  • Front Quad: This historic landmark is the location of many outdoor social gatherings.
  • GDR: The Green Drawing Room is the location of many receptions and literary readings.
  • HDP: History Department Party
  • HOP: Hollins Outdoor Program
  • The Loop: The main road that encompasses campus
  • Moody: The cafeteria, which is located in the Moody Student Center.
  • NEFA: Near East Fine Arts (pronounced “neefa”)
  • The Rat: Short for "Rathskeller," which is a German word for a restaurant in a basement. Fittingly, the Rat is located in the basement of the student center and serves snack food like quesadillas, chicken strips, and soda.
  • Ring Sister: An older classmate who awards you with your class ring
  • The Rock: Seniors paint announcements, birthday greetings, and strange pictures on this huge rock that sits near the entrance of campus.
  • Short Term: The month of January in which students may take a class, travel, or intern
  • Tinker Beach: The grassy space behind Tinker dorm—technically, this is one of the few spaces on campus where sunbathing is officially allowed.
  • Tinker Scares: Late night efforts of seniors banging pots and pans in hallways to fake out underclassmen on the date of Tinker Day
  • The VAC: The Visual Arts Center
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
  • It's hard to do anything fun in Roanoke without a car or a friend with a car.
  • Most students on campus are very liberal.
  • Roanoke has a lot of bugs.
  • Some of the departments are very small.
  • The food in the dining hall is not very good.
  • Tinker is the only dorm with air conditioning.
Tips to Succeed
  • Always do the reading for your classes; professors can tell when you don’t.
  • Don’t skip classes.
  • Don't put off graduation requirements.
  • Figure out your major as soon as you can.
  • Get to know your professors, and don’t be afraid to tell them if you’re having a problem with the material.
  • Go abroad.
  • Have an open mind.
  • If you know what you want to study, make sure Hollins has a strong department in that area. Make sure you don't come here for a medical or digital art degree.
  • Keep an open mind in class.
  • Let Hollins help you find an internship.
  • Manage your money carefully.
  • Participate in the traditions. They're actually a lot of fun!
  • Prepare to write a lot of essays.
  • Try anything and everything.
  • Unwind with a walk around the loop or a swim in the pool.
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Hollins Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Inside Scoop at Hollins University

Catiebug92

Creative Writing '15

5.0
A+

The Best College for Women

The faculty and staff at Hollins are absolutely wonderful. They know you as a name, not a number and will go out of their way to help you at any cost.

The campus itself is very cozy and your fellow peers are very friendly.

Feb 23, 2012

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Inside Scoop at Hollins University

hollinsgirl18

Theatre, Arts, and Media Management '15

4.2
A-

Exploring Interests

Hollins offers a unique variety of academic options that are keystones to a liberal arts education. While at most schools you'd be stuck taking a huge chemistry lecture, at Hollins you can take acting classes, dance classes, even classes in stage makeup. The social scene is hugely varied, and if you're a social butterfly, it's perfect. You can be friends with jocks, arts people, nerds, and everyone in between. The campus life is vibrant and friendly. What sets Hollins apart is the immense personal growth every student experiences. I've changed so much, and I've only been here for a little over two months. Being at Hollins is immersing yourself in a place full of fascinating people ready to share their story and let you write yours.

Nov 07, 2011

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Inside Scoop at Hollins University

Madelineq

Women's Studies '15

5.0
A+

What Sets Hollins Apart

Hollins is a wonderful university. Not only is the landscape around the school beautiful, everyone is so kind. Because of the honor code, which prohibits lying, cheating, and stealing, we don't have as many problems with theft. There is transportation to the other schools for certain events, so if you're straight or bisexual and looking for a boyfriend, there is help in getting there. There are numerous fun activities on campus for nearly every interest. There is a great supermarket only a mile's walk away.

Also, there is the free store, one of my favourite parts of Hollins. The professors are fasinating and the classrooms are great. The computers and labs which they are in are top notch.

Oct 08, 2011

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User rating for Hollins University - Inside Scoop is 4.6 out of 5 based on 8 user reviews.

Facts

Traditions
  • ADA: ADA is a secret society founded in 1907. Only members know what the letters stand for, and they are required to wear purple on Tuesdays. Each semester, “spuds” or student pledges are selected. ADA defines itself as a school spirit organization and hosts an annual blood drive.
  • Convocation : Convocation is a ceremony in September in the chapel that welcomes new students and recognizes the start of the new school year.
  • Cotillion: Cotillion began as a women-only dance in the 1890s. Today it is one of the biggest coed events on campus that takes place every Spring.
  • Faculty Christmas Caroling : This tradition takes place one night in December, when members of the faculty and administration surprise students by singing favorite holiday songs in the residence halls.
  • First Step: This tradition takes place after Opening Convocation at the beginning of the school year. Seniors dress up in decorated graduation robes and take their first steps on the grass of Front Quad, spraying each other with sparkling cider while they do so.
  • Founder’s Day: Founder’s Day is observed in February and celebrates the life of Hollins’s founder, Charles Lewis Cocke. Members of the senior class dress in decorated robes and walk to the Hollins Cemetery, where they place a wreath on Mr. Cocke’s grave.
  • Freya Walks: Freya Walks take place on nights of special events or issues. Members of this secret society walk around campus wearing black, hooded robes and carrying candles to call attention to or celebrate current events. Since 1903, Freya has sought to emphasize the notion that “concern for the community is a creative and active force.”
  • Golden Rule Dinners: The dinners are promoted by the Spiritual and Religious Life Association. One day each semester, the dining hall serves a simple meal of soup and toast. The money saved is donated to various service organizations that aid the less fortunate.
  • History Department Parties: These campus-wide parties celebrate the end of each semester. The department invites all students to come dance to loud music and to party the night away.
  • Holiday Tea : Holiday Tea is held during December in the Green Drawing Room. The festive gathering is time for good cheer, caroling, and tasty treats.
  • Honors Convocation: This brings the entire community together at the end of the year to honor and recognize those who have received awards, attained membership in honorary societies, and earned the designation of honor student for the fall term.
  • Hundredth Night: This tradition marks 100 days before graduation. On that day, seniors gather at a party given by the senior class, reflect on their four years at Hollins through a slide show and skits, and enjoy food served by sophomores and juniors.
  • Literary Festival: Launched in 1960 by Grapheon and the English department, this festival is held annually and features several distinguished writers.
  • Miss Matty’s Birthday : Miss Matty’s birthday is when the Hollins community honors Matty Cocke, daughter of Hollins’s founder (Charles Lewis Cocke), president of Hollins from 1901 to 1933, and the first woman to head a college in Virginia.
  • Pancake Study Breaks: Held on the first night of exams, Pancake Study Breaks give students an opportunity to take a break from studying and enjoy pancakes hot off the griddle with their friends. Faculty and staff “helpers” flip and serve these late-night treats.
  • Passing of the Robes: This is a new tradition. Seniors who care to may pass their decorated robes down to juniors. It is also a day for other classes to pass on something special to the class below them.
  • Ring Night: Ring Night is an ever-evolving tradition in which seniors secretly adopt junior ring sisters. The juniors participate in skits and other silly antics in hopes of earning a basket of gifts and discovering who their senior sisters are.
  • The Rock: The Rock, located on the lawn outside the Dana Science Building, has been called Hollins’s billboard. It was first painted by the Class of 1982. Seniors spray paint colorful messages to congratulate, celebrate, and speak out on issues.
  • Tinker Day: Tinker Day is the most unique and highly anticipated tradition at Hollins. One day every fall, the president surprises the campus community by canceling classes. All the students dress up in ridiculous costumes and hike up Tinker Mountain, where they sing songs, eat fried chicken and Tinker cake, and perform skits. This tradition has been around since 1880.
  • White Gift Service: One of the oldest and most moving traditions at Hollins, White Gift Service is marked by the concert choir heralding in the holiday season with seasonal songs and by members of the community reading scripture passages. At the end of the service, donations are made to local, national, and international charities.
Urban Legends
  • Green Drawing Room ghost: Legend has it that years ago, students were presenting their senior theses to a group of faculty in the Green Drawing Room. One student went up to the podium and shot herself in the head. The room has two large mirrors across from each other, and supposedly if you look far back in the infinite reflections, you'll see the student just as she is about to take her life.
  • Randy Ghost: This ghost occupies the Randolph dorm. Supposedly, a girl hanged herself in her dorm closet. Now she roams the building, anonymously folding the students' laundry.
  • The Presser Ghost: Years ago, a music student had an affair with her piano teacher. When he finally told her they couldn't be together, she slit her wrists and played a piano in Presser, the music building, until she died. Her ghost still haunts the building, and sometimes students hear mysterious piano music coming from the practice rooms when no one is inside.
  • Tinker Ghosts: The Tinker ghosts are very silly. They move the potted ficus trees around in the Tinker lobby and occasionally play poker.

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Most Recent Student Author View all

Name
Melissa Hammond
Hometown
Dayton, Ohio
Major
English (Creative Writing) and Studio Art
Grad Year
2012

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We update this information twice annually, most recently in May 2012, but it may not be the most recent information available for a particular school.
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