Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 17:06     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Richmond is even preppier and more greek than Wake, but smaller.

Contrary to what you read on DCUM, Richmond and Wake are very popular these days, with both receiving a record amount of applications this year. Turns out there are a lot of kids that like the combination of small classes with professors that care about teaching, meticulously maintained campuses, great post graduate outcomes and a fun D1 sports scene.

However, if your kid is small-minded enough to think all full pay kids are lazy, perhaps besides questioning your parenting skills, you should send them to UC-Merced or VCU so she doesn't have to deal with the affluent.


Wow. You have some angst issues.

I wrote the fratty comment. I'm an UMC white person whose kids will easily be full pay who was in a greek organization at a top tier school and works on Wall Street. I think USN&WR is trash. Probably not the mental image you had of me, huh?

I was told that Wake was what Duke was for our generation (because Duke has gotten a lot more intense). Work hard, play hard, but super smart kids. I was underwhelmed by most of the kids I met there and it was more pre-professional than intellectual. Which I know is generally par for the course these days but it was more than I expected. It is a very good school. Don't get me wrong. I did like the size, campus was beautiful, professors seem truly engaged. But a more serious kid will not be happy there. Which is fine. Different strokes for different folks.


I don't get the point of this post. Why is it relevant where you work or whether you are a full pay family? I would never make assumptions about the entire student body of school based on a one day campus visit as a parent. As a parent of a Wake kid, I've been consistently impressed by how much the kids care about their academics, and how robust the club scene is outside of greek life. Is it more preprofessional than intellectual? Probably, but so is the T10 college I attended. So is Duke, for that matter, especially historically.

There is no question that Wake (and Richmond) are both preppy but that actually isn't synonymous with "fratty.'
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:57     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Anonymous wrote:Op. please use common sense. There are kid that are partiers at all colleges, including William and Mary, where 30 percent of the kids are involved in Greek life, a similar percentage to Wake and Richmond. At all three of these schools, the majority of kids aren't greek.

At Wake the co-ed business and volunteer service "fraternities" are very popular, as are club sports and the outdoors club. I would be surprised if William and Mary and URichmond are much different. You will generally find more wealthy kids at private colleges, if that is an issue for your kid, stick to William and Mary. In my experience, there is no correlation between family income level and partying.

I don't have personal experience with Richmond, but the kids at Wake care very much about grades and building resumes for grad school/post college professional life.
"Greek" at W&M isn't the same as "Greek" at Wake.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:48     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Richmond is even preppier and more greek than Wake, but smaller.

Contrary to what you read on DCUM, Richmond and Wake are very popular these days, with both receiving a record amount of applications this year. Turns out there are a lot of kids that like the combination of small classes with professors that care about teaching, meticulously maintained campuses, great post graduate outcomes and a fun D1 sports scene.

However, if your kid is small-minded enough to think all full pay kids are lazy, perhaps besides questioning your parenting skills, you should send them to UC-Merced or VCU so she doesn't have to deal with the affluent.


Richmond is no longer all preppy and Greek Life doesn’t dominate the campus anymore. Fraternity parties aren’t even on campus anymore. Lots of non full pay kids as well.


Fraternity parties aren't on campus at Wake either. Never were.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:45     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Op. please use common sense. There are kid that are partiers at all colleges, including William and Mary, where 30 percent of the kids are involved in Greek life, a similar percentage to Wake and Richmond. At all three of these schools, the majority of kids aren't greek.

At Wake the co-ed business and volunteer service "fraternities" are very popular, as are club sports and the outdoors club. I would be surprised if William and Mary and URichmond are much different. You will generally find more wealthy kids at private colleges, if that is an issue for your kid, stick to William and Mary. In my experience, there is no correlation between family income level and partying.

I don't have personal experience with Richmond, but the kids at Wake care very much about grades and building resumes for grad school/post college professional life.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:45     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Richmond is even preppier and more greek than Wake, but smaller.

Contrary to what you read on DCUM, Richmond and Wake are very popular these days, with both receiving a record amount of applications this year. Turns out there are a lot of kids that like the combination of small classes with professors that care about teaching, meticulously maintained campuses, great post graduate outcomes and a fun D1 sports scene.

However, if your kid is small-minded enough to think all full pay kids are lazy, perhaps besides questioning your parenting skills, you should send them to UC-Merced or VCU so she doesn't have to deal with the affluent.


OP. I seemed to have touched a nerve, so let me clarify. The stereotypes of these schools - which I stated are stereotypes and I wanted to hear what people thought of them - are that these are kids who wealthy, like to party, school might be secondary. Is this true? We are full pay, but DD isn’t a bit partier, she’s low key with respect to material consumption, etc. I agree with a PP who said W&M might be a good fit. But I’m specifically wondering about these three schools, and I am not trying to offend anyone. [/quote

Pp. op-Highly suggest you visit UR. My son is a pretty “normal” kid with a great group of friends. They study a lot, hang out and explore Richmond, go to sports events, enjoy club sports, etc. with a very full and not Greek life full of genuinely nice, smart and driven people. Ton of opportunities. I will say it’s probably not for everyone. In fact, the campus is actually quieter than many would expect. We have been there two years and have had a phenomenal experience.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:39     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Anonymous wrote:Richmond is even preppier and more greek than Wake, but smaller.

Contrary to what you read on DCUM, Richmond and Wake are very popular these days, with both receiving a record amount of applications this year. Turns out there are a lot of kids that like the combination of small classes with professors that care about teaching, meticulously maintained campuses, great post graduate outcomes and a fun D1 sports scene.

However, if your kid is small-minded enough to think all full pay kids are lazy, perhaps besides questioning your parenting skills, you should send them to UC-Merced or VCU so she doesn't have to deal with the affluent.


Richmond is no longer all preppy and Greek Life doesn’t dominate the campus anymore. Fraternity parties aren’t even on campus anymore. Lots of non full pay kids as well.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:39     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Anonymous wrote:Richmond is even preppier and more greek than Wake, but smaller.

Contrary to what you read on DCUM, Richmond and Wake are very popular these days, with both receiving a record amount of applications this year. Turns out there are a lot of kids that like the combination of small classes with professors that care about teaching, meticulously maintained campuses, great post graduate outcomes and a fun D1 sports scene.

However, if your kid is small-minded enough to think all full pay kids are lazy, perhaps besides questioning your parenting skills, you should send them to UC-Merced or VCU so she doesn't have to deal with the affluent.


Wow. You have some angst issues.

I wrote the fratty comment. I'm an UMC white person whose kids will easily be full pay who was in a greek organization at a top tier school and works on Wall Street. I think USN&WR is trash. Probably not the mental image you had of me, huh?

I was told that Wake was what Duke was for our generation (because Duke has gotten a lot more intense). Work hard, play hard, but super smart kids. I was underwhelmed by most of the kids I met there and it was more pre-professional than intellectual. Which I know is generally par for the course these days but it was more than I expected. It is a very good school. Don't get me wrong. I did like the size, campus was beautiful, professors seem truly engaged. But a more serious kid will not be happy there. Which is fine. Different strokes for different folks.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:37     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Anonymous wrote:Richmond is even preppier and more greek than Wake, but smaller.

Contrary to what you read on DCUM, Richmond and Wake are very popular these days, with both receiving a record amount of applications this year. Turns out there are a lot of kids that like the combination of small classes with professors that care about teaching, meticulously maintained campuses, great post graduate outcomes and a fun D1 sports scene.

However, if your kid is small-minded enough to think all full pay kids are lazy, perhaps besides questioning your parenting skills, you should send them to UC-Merced or VCU so she doesn't have to deal with the affluent.


OP. I seemed to have touched a nerve, so let me clarify. The stereotypes of these schools - which I stated are stereotypes and I wanted to hear what people thought of them - are that these are kids who wealthy, like to party, school might be secondary. Is this true? We are full pay, but DD isn’t a bit partier, she’s low key with respect to material consumption, etc. I agree with a PP who said W&M might be a good fit. But I’m specifically wondering about these three schools, and I am not trying to offend anyone.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:36     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
I have a kid at Richmond (not preppy, super happy). The opportunities have been amazing. Awesome friends. Fantastic size. Great professors. We cannot really ask for much else. Except a lower price tag. Truly. DCUM hates Richmond based on a lot of old info. It’s a gem. We have another starting W&M this fall.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:32     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
I went to Bucknell and there was a large green life drinking partying scene. However there seemed to be plenty of kids who didn’t partake in that. I don’t know if they were happy at Bucknell or not. I assume if they were mature (they probably were- certainly more mature than me) they’d have no problem finding their people and focusing on the academic opportunities and having a good experience. If she is prone to wanting to party don’t send her. I wasted 4 years of my life acting like I was at a drunken summer camp with rich people and no consequences. So stupid in retrospect.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:29     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Richmond is even preppier and more greek than Wake, but smaller.

Contrary to what you read on DCUM, Richmond and Wake are very popular these days, with both receiving a record amount of applications this year. Turns out there are a lot of kids that like the combination of small classes with professors that care about teaching, meticulously maintained campuses, great post graduate outcomes and a fun D1 sports scene.

However, if your kid is small-minded enough to think all full pay kids are lazy, perhaps besides questioning your parenting skills, you should send them to UC-Merced or VCU so she doesn't have to deal with the affluent.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:15     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Anonymous wrote:Sounds like she wants W&M.

Of your list, She probably should keep Richmond and ditch the other two.


Agree. We were shocked at how fratty Wake was. I don't think it is as bad for girls though.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:14     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Sounds like she wants W&M.

Of your list, She probably should keep Richmond and ditch the other two.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:13     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Sounds like you already have your mind made up to not like these schools, so just move on to other options.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:09     Subject: Wake, Bucknell, and U Richmond
Are these schools as wealthy and “unserious” as DCUM purports? They are the right size, have the right academic programs, and are the right distance for DD, but she doesn’t want a school with a bunch of full pay kids who don’t prioritize academics. She also doesn’t want a social scene dominated by Greek life.

I know we should beware of stereotypes, but I’ve seen similar comments over and over about the typical kid who goes to these schools. Thoughts?