Reply to The Other Virginia Colleges: VCU, ODU, GMU, CNU, UMW . . . .

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Very surprised not to see any substantive mention of VCU.  I didn't go to VCU, but I know a number of grads, ranging over the last 20 years, and I've been there any number of times.  Thirty-plus years ago, not too many people had heard of VCU; it's a merger of two previously-unrelated state schools and a public medical school.  They've really stuck to the institution-building down there.  It's quite astoundingly cosmopolitan; the city-feel permeates everything.  They've really expanded undergrad housing, both quality and quantity; in just about 12-15 years, it's become very predominantly residential among the F/T undergrads.  The academic rankings in several key areas have soared, you can do an actual liberal arts major with a business or ed minor (which is apparently the key undergrad goal now) and the graduate programs are highly recognized by the specialists.  At one point in the last few years, VCU's city campus was viewed as a bit dicey in terms of safety, but I understand that VCU has very aggressively addressed this.

I post this not because I have any VCU affiliation (like I said, I don't, at all), but because I'm so surprised to hear VCU mentioned more by colleagues, friends, friends with HS soph-through-senior kids -- almost everybody -- than I hear VCU mentioned by people around here.  I appreciate the snob factor, and I've been accused of perpetuating it myself.  But I think VCU seems to be beginning to pass the snob test.

I think VCU is the largest consolidated, single undergrad school in the state.  Any other comments out there?  It would be a useful reality check for me, as well as responsive to the OP.

Thanks - [/quote]

I travel to Richmond occasionally and definitely get the sense that the university has expanded.  The fact that it's located in what used to be an "iffy" part of Richmond between a nice residential district and downtown probably made it easier for the university to acquire properties and build in the area.  A lot of kids in Fairfax schools view VCU as a safety school, but the kids that end up going there are a fairly decent mix of kids who'll do quite well and others who'll party too hard and never graduate.  Very strong reputation in the graphic arts, too, so it has a hipster vibe that you won't find at any other school in the state.  Like CNU, it gets mentioned more often because JMU and GMU have become more selective. [/quote]

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