Virginia Commonwealth University
Reviews

Transit

I guess the transportation at this school is pretty good for being in the city cause they work with the city bus called GRTC. As long as you make a bus pass and show your student ID you get on the bus for free. Pretty awesome, cause each trip costs $1.50

Nightlife/ Transportation

clubs are great if you like urban music and dancing. house party's are cool if you can find them. the bus comes around every 30 minutes, so thats good and you can call the VCU escort service to get you home safely for free.

Connections Are the Way to Go

You'll really only have a good time when you go out if you know people who are having parties or if you know a lot of greeks. Fraternities usually have parties but you can only get into those if you're a girl or if you're a guy with friends in that frat. House parties are nice too, but they usually get busted quickly.

Campus Housing

The better options for housing are Rhoads and Brandt if you're a freshman. Brandt is the best, then Rhoads, then Johnson is the worst. If you're in honors, you have the chance to live in West Grace which has a large single with your own bathroom. The social atmosphere of dorming is great if you're living in Rhoads. The cost of dorms are pretty decent I guess, Brandt costs the most because its the nicest. Its convenient to live in the dorms because classes and dining are so close by.

What Is Strictness?

VCU isn`t strict at all. You can wear whatever you would like, as long as it is legal. If you live in the dorms, you can have your boyfriend or girlfriend stay with you as long as you would like. All you have to do is sign them in and leave your ID. Drinking is acceptable as long as you don`t have anyone under the age of 21 living in your room.

Drug Visibility

There is a lot of access to drugs and alcohol and there are always people who have those items on hand.

GROVE STREET PARTY!

Nightlife in the downtown VCU area is hectic. It doesnt matter what time of the day it is, people are out walking the streets until the sun rises. Clubs and bars circle the VCU campus with some of the best night scenes in walking distance! Transportation is easy! VCU offers a "drunk bus", a shuttle service,and also GRTC bus lines run constantly through the city.

More Upperclassmen Housing Needed

VCU garuntees on campus housing for first year freshman, but after that students are selected for housing through a hectic lottery process. As far as freshman living goes though, the best and worst can depend on what you are looking for. If you want the traditional one room, two beds, and community bathroom then either Rhoads or Johnson is where you should look. My preference between the two would have to be Rhoads. If you want less traditional, more apartment style living look into Brandt, GRC Phase 1 or GRC Phase 3. I stayed in Phase 3 my freshman year and while I loved my room, the residents weren't very social in the building. I much preferred being in Brandt where everyone was more social. And finally theres Phase 2 which I am not fond of at all. Its a suite style dorm with two rooms connected by a bathroom and two people in each room. The rooms were the smallest of all the other dorms and there were no elevators which could be a pain at times. All of the dorms are located around Monroe Park and are acceptable walking/biking distance to classes.

Upperclassmen housing is extremely limited. If your lottery number isn't 200 or below then go ahead and count yourself out. Current occupants have the option to do same room sign up so the bulk of the rooms are already taken before the lottery even begins. The options include Ackell, Broad and Belvidere (B&B), and Cary and Belvidere (C&B). The prices of each is around the same, but finding an aparment within walking distance of campus could save you about $1,000.

Johnson Hall at VCU

I personally had a good experience in the dorms because I ended up with a very large room on the corner. Because the room was so large, we were able to de-bunk our bunk beds and still had plenty of space to do yoga in the middle between our beds. We never felt cramped and still had space for two beds, two desks, two desk chairs, two wardrobes, two dressers, and a bookshelf. My roommate and I got along and were very cooperative. However, I lived in Johnson Hall which has community bathrooms so you have to share a bathroom with the entire floor which kind of stinks at times, but I never really had a big problem with it. The dorm was less than a five minute walk from the dining hall which on-campus freshmen are required to purchase a meal plan for. Bike racks are close by. Other freshmen dorms are close by. This dorm was very close to the buildings on campus and very close to things in the city. Security is good and tight. Other people's rooms were smaller and more cramped. My room was on the corner so the light from the sun and the streetlights always came in, so it was not very dark.

Misfits in Action

A number of individuals engage in drug use. Smoking is the drug of choice. They tend to hang around others who engage in the same activity and do not force it on others.

In Class' Attitude

Students have to be in class before it's starting, otherwise he/she will not allow to sit in.

Love College Life

I love being in college. There is never a dull moment at my college. You get the best of both worlds and VCU. You can party on the weekend and hardcore focus on studies during the week.

Rules Are Somewhat Fair

In my opinion the rules are fine. Drinking rules are reasonable just to maintain safety. I just don't like that you can only sign in one guest at a time at your dorm. I also wish certain buildings were open and accessible at later hours for students. Otherwise Students do have a lot of freedom.

Financial Aid

My freshman year financial aid paid for my whole year with excess.

VCU

The best freshman dorms to pick hands down would be brandt. GRC single rooms have full sized fridges, kitchens, and jack and jill sinks and its are good as well but they go fast. Social atmosphere is good, its never the same night at VCU but let me warn you if you are someone who likes a closed campus and lots of green grass VCU is not the school for you. If you have visited other Virginia campuses such as V-Tech or JMU and absolutely loved those campuses, VCU is not the school for you. VCU is in richmond, richmond is in the city. It has a very antique old feel to it.Very diverse. You either hate it or you love it nothing in between. VCU is that transfer school in virginia, meaning when people do not like the schools they are at they tend to come to VCU. Don't let anyone try to tell you different It's a generally safe campus, you just have to be cautious of not doing anything you wouldn't do normally in anywhere else, u.s.a. (i.e. walk outside by yourself at night).

Social Drinking

Students consume alcohol socially. Since the school is composed of a fairly liberal and artsy yet philosophical student body, smoking is a close second. However, not everyone participates in these activities and those that do demonstrate responsibility and seldom allow their social lives to interfere with their studies.

I Love This School

To be honest, I really hated VCU when I first got here. There's a lot of people and it's easy to feel lost. But once I started joining organizations and getting involved, I fell in love. I love the gym, I love the weather, and I love the people. I party it up in Club Cabell all of the time with my study buddies. I eat at Shafer. I went to Belle Isle the other day (the river) and it was beautiful. It's filled with people and crossing the river is magnificent. We all laid out on the rocks and watched the sun set, and it was more relaxing than anything I've done this semester so far. I've made friends that I know will always be there for me. I would 100% choose this school again.

Apartments

It's really easy to find a apartments at great price.

Apartment Through Landlord

There are so many housing options off campus. If you can find a roommate there are a lot of three and four bedroom houses that when you split the rent it can be as little as $300 a person. I live in a one bedroom apartment very close to the school campus and my work and pay $695.

Very Convenient Transportation

Richmond provides VCU with many bus routes, some of which are free for students. For nonstudents, the cost is $1.25, and there are also many taxis nearby.

Greek Life Updated

The "Facts" section of the Greek Section left out all of the NPHC fraternites/sororities:

Alpha Phi Alpha

Alpha Kappa Alpha

Delta Sigma Theta

Omega Psi Phi

Kappa Alpha Psi

Phi Beta Sigma

Zeta Phi Beta

Sigma Gamma Rho

Iota Phi Theta

I Like Watching a School Grow While Watching Myself Succeed

VCU has made some drastic improvements in their student environment, especially impacting their engineering students. I have had an amazing time learning with VCU engineering. Over my three years of attending VCU, I have witnessed my university enter new realms of notoriety. Further emphasizing this statement by mentioning, VCU has had two basketball players get drafted by the NBA in two consecutive years-what an outstanding feat. VCU has created a MEGA gym that will only attract more and more ambitious athletes. Not to mention VCU has one of the best Art programs in the country and a Medical school that ranks extremely on a national level. I love my school with a passion & I cannot wait to see where the future takes us.

Richmonder First

I have been surprised to find that students at VCU tend to identify themselves as Richmonders first and VCU students second.

Fun

I am not Greek myself, but my boyfriend is so I often hang out with guys and girls who are Greek. I love them all. They are very welcoming although they obviously share very close bonds with one and other. I have also never felt uncomfortable or pressured to join yet they have never treated me any differently because of that. Fun parties, good people. A little small but it works.

VCU Honors Dorms Are an Excellent Choice

Ive thus far enjoyed my on-campus housing experience. I'm currently living in the West Grace Honors dorms, which I would highly recommend to any student who qualifies for the honors program. The rooms are clean and quite large with private bathrooms for each student. There have been a few problems with small bugs (namely ants, etc.) this summer, but overall my experience has been positive. The honors dorms are also much quieter and less social than the regular dorms, which can be a positive or negative thing depending on your personality type.