The University of Virginia

UVA definitely has the good, as well as the bad. The campus ("grounds") is beautiful, and the surrounding city of Charlottesville always has something going on. Greek life is a huge part of the social scene, at least for me, and that also adds to weekend events. UVA also just completed the "south lawn" project, which houses a new building for the government department, and most of my classes are there. This is a much prettier and newer building than New Cabell, which is currently being renovated. It's basically falling apart, so hopefully it will be done soon.

The classes are okay - it probably depends on which classes you take, but a lot of mine are very large (think a few hundred people) that break up into smaller discussion sections with a TA. How you do in a class really depends on the TA you get; if you get a bad one, you are totally screwed. Some of them don't speak English and don't know how to teach, and going to the professor isn't too helpful. If you need help with a specific problem, the TA is expected to help you, whereas the professor is there to discuss larger problems or ideas. My friend is in the Engineering school, and I'm told their office hours are different, but I haven't been too impressed as far as the government department goes.Overall, I really do love UVA, but the classes haven't exactly been what I expected, and my GPA definitely shows it. I was expecting more exciting and interesting topics and lectures, and for the most part, they are just extremely boring and I don't want to go to class most of the time.

3rd Year Female -- Class 2013

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Collaboration/Competitive: B-

Personally UVA is not a fit for me, and I knew that two years ago as a HS senior. However, after a year of community college, I decided to come here mostly because they had such good rankings. Now that I'm here though I feel like the rankings are pretty much worthless. Anyway, here's some pros and cons in my opinion.

Classes: Sad thing to me was how big they are (300+ people!). A few professors allow questions, but most don't. If you're liberal arts, you have a much better chance of getting smaller classes, but in the sciences it is much harder. You can see the large class size as a positive though because if your professor is useless, and you decide class is not worth attending they will never know. Of course if you decide to do this it's going to take a lot of dedication, but some students actually gets better grades this way.

Professors: Some are great (again mostly in the arts) but many could careless about how much their students are actually learning. Tests can be impossible, and if you're lucky there is a curve. Even when I understand lectures, I have no idea what to do with the test. I definitely feel like I'm paying to teach myself.

Social Life: Study hard, party harder. If you aren't interesting in getting wasted, you might have a hard timing making friends. Hang in there though because eventually you will. Be sure to go to a lot of social events to meet people. Even though so many drink, everyone is still really nice, and you should have any problem getting alone. Oh, and football games are a lot of fun!

Resources: One thing I have no complaints about is that UVA has some great resources (but find the right advisor). They have all sorts of fairs and workshops, and they are pretty well advertised. It's worth your time. Overall, UVA is just a name with a lot of fluff. Going to UVA doesn't always mean you're any smarter, just that you'll work harder to find the tricks. It's alright I suppose, but not worth it. I'll probably transfer somewhere else.

1st Year Female -- Class 2014

University Resource Use/ spending: A-, Faculty Accessibility: F

UVa is largely what you make of it. Attending a large state school means that you will be given a wealth of opportunity outside of the classroom. However, the classes themselves, at least in my major, were usually would have at least 60 people and often 100 or more. That is entirely unacceptable for a institution that is so highly ranked. I felt cheated in my education as result of the lack of emphasis on teaching in some classes. Moreover, large classes were graded on a curve where I felt that the focus on competition took away from the learning. That being said, there were certainly some diamonds in the rough. Some professors were excellent and it was a pleasure learning from them. Consequently, they usually teach the few small upper level courses that are difficult to register for all but fourth years.The social scene is my main complaint about UVa. Some reviewers have pointed out that there is a diversity of people and personalities at UVa - that may be true but people tend to be very segregated and conservative in their habits. Main 'scene' at UVa revolves around Greek life or barhopping for the older crowd. There is a strong sense of status and entitlement that is prevalent throughout the campus, sometimes afflicting even the traditionally more modest. Those groups that are not part of the mainstream drinking culture tend to hold themselves above everyone else and thus many clubs/student organizations function like cults. It is at times difficult to make friends because classes are large and the cliches are too exclusive, making the whole experience intimidating. Simply put, there are not enough people who are outwardly friendly or easygoing.

4th Year Male -- Class 2011

Extracurricular Activities: A, Social Life: D+