Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU is the best, I got admitted in 5 of the 6 universities I had applied for my Masters in Urban Planning program and I decided to go to VCU based on its location and the courses offered within the program. I am completely thankful that I made this choice. VCU provided me with excellent internship opportunities that allowed me to work in state, county and local government. I did five different internships in two years, I found wealth of opportunities at VCU and I am sure anyone who wants to go after their passion would. Study abroad program is excellent as they even provide scholarships if you can't afford, this program provided me with a wealth of learning experience during my Germany study abroad trip. The school recognizes the students through scholarships and awards if they see the drive in you. Since I had a strong foundation from VCU, I was successful in getting a job that I was passionate about in my very first interview among 150 applicants. My heart felt thanks to VCU and its ... Read more

Ok so I'm doing research on ODU for my brother and I find a rating page. I decide to check VCU's rating since I go there and truthfully I am surprised at some of the responces. So I decided to write a review. I give it a five because I love it here. Its home to me. But its not really for everyone. First off if you want a college that is going to buy your books and put them on your bed for you then this isn't it. Its a great college but they have a lot of older students that are either in the military or have been away from home for a long time. Atleast in engineering there are. So don't exspect to be sheltered at all. They do have VCU WALK which has saved me many walks home alone... Its really not the best place to walk home alone as a female at three in the morning. Although I like most of everyone lives off campus. Yes we have bums but I really don't mind them. A simple "No man, sorry I don't have any money" is all it really takes. If you can't stand them so much that you can't say... Read more

Anyone who says there is nothing to do at VCU is blind. Located in the middle of a city, VCU offers more to do than most colleges. But honestly if you are working a job to afford school and you’re a full-time student, there isn’t much time to do stuff anyway. Because it’s located in a city, a whole lot of homeless people will harass you for money. That can get pretty old fast. Don't give them money because they will follow you home and wait outside your house and ask you again every day. VCU does treat its students pretty rough sometimes though. It is not uncommon for them to say you have to take a certain class in order to graduate and then not offer that class for four or so years. Thus delaying your graduation and paying unnecessary tuition. You can fight to get an exception but that takes a lot of time and a lot of patience. It’s almost not even worth it. Most professors actually care about the students. There are, of course, a few that seem to live to make student’s lives hell. ... Read more

VCU is a great school. The largest university in VA, offering all kinds of educational and life experiences that one would expect in an urban environment.

Indio70 summed it up really well. It's a good school in an urban environment. If you're looking for the "college experience" with the football games and bonfires and whatnot - you WON'T be happy at VCU. It isn't suburbia and you might wind up with at least a minor in paralell parking. Academically, there are some really good and challenging programs. And there are a couple professors that you wonder if they could find their way out of a paper bag - but these aren't common. The art school is great, but it seems to have painted the public's perception of the entire university. The art program is strong, but it isn't the only thing there. The ratio of part time students is very high. This leads to a lot of commuters who don't stick around the campus for "fun," because they have work and/or family to get back to. So if you're 19 and looking for to go to college just for kicks, there might be some more enmtertaining options out there. If you want to learn something, VCU presents some excell... Read more

This is a terrific urban school with some great teachers. It has less graduate student teachers than other major Virginia public universitites. You can receive a topnotch education here. Of course, like most anything else in life, you get back whatever you're willing to put in so if you just want to party and hang out, you won't get a good education.

VCU is my Alma-matter. I went their because I wanted to be in an urban enviroment. I did not want to be studying in the middle of a cow pasture. VCU is a Tier-3 academic institution meaning it is in the top 150 in the nation. It is currently working very hard to be Tier-2 which would place it in the Top 100. We have a Noble Prize winner on campus. I moved from DC to Richmond. I loved the moderate to low cost of living and the friendly people of this great medium sized Southern city. My career path has taken me away from Richmond and VCU. I still follow VCU basketball and miss Richmond. What a great place to have gone to college.

A very poor school. There is very little to do for fun around the campus, and no where to park long term so there is little point in having a car, you'll have to walk as far to your car as it would take to get anywhere. Some of the teachers are really good, most are not. The fact that the panhandlers aren't on campus property is moot, because the campus is entertwined with the city, so they surround it regardless, including the parks.

From an academic point of view, this is a good school with a lot of good programs. Library is first rate. However, if you're an undergrad looking for the tree lined campus and ivy covered buildings VCU isn't it. It's in an urban environment and spread out all over downtown Richmond. Depending on what you like, this may be a good or bad thing. There's not a 'quad' like at many schools for students to just sit and hang out. But like I said, if you don't need the whole college experience and like the city then it's fine. My reason for only 3 stars is because of the low pay for its employees.

VCU is one of the countries top ranking academic public universities. The belief that VCU is nothing more than an arts school is just a plain lack of knowledge for the person who believes that. Among others you can obtain degrees in Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, Bioinformatics, all Sciences, Engineering as well as hundreds of other degrees ranging from BS to post doctorate. The bums mention by another poster are not ON campus because VCU houses its own police department and they do not allow panhandlers to roam the campus. There are of course a few homeless people on the outskirts of the campus which lies in the largest economic and financial spot in the entire state. VCU has wonderful professors, interested advisors and manages to give out one on one attention even with a standard 26,000 students per year (and rising). There is a huge array of volunteer opportunities that help the student learn as well as help younger children in local public schools that need help. VCU also has... Read more

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a good school. It had an image problem in the past, but the new president is working very hard to improve campus aesthetics. As for an urban campus, VCU is better than a lot of other inner-city universities. VCU has become a top-level institution and is ranked by the Carnegie Foundation as an Extensive Doctoral Research University(Highest ranking from Carnegie). The art and med schools are terrific, the new engineering school is gaining good press and VCU has 20 u-grad programs that are ranked as some of the best in the nation according to U.S. News. VCU is a good school, just a good urban school. If you love medium size cities, Richmond offers plenty of opportunities in the form of museums, restaurants, nightlife, and cultural activities. If you're creative, motivated to learn, and don't have the same, mundane cookie-cutter mindset about colleges, I encourage you to check out VCU. People like to down the school because its inner-city, ... Read more

I see a lot of terrible ratings for this school. Unfortunately, not many of the terrible raters left comments. Probably because they were so sick of the school, they didn't dare bring back the memories. This school is a joke, a total sleeper school. Challenging classes? Maybe at the elementary school two streets north of campus. Campus? Oh! That's what that's supposed to be? It was usually a bedroom to about 15 bums. That might be an exaggeration, sometimes you couldn't tell the difference between student and bum. Unless you're an art freak, you will hate this place. And if you're a guy, it'll be easier for you to get a man than a woman.

Grad: VA Commonwealth or just plain old VCU is a good school that allows you to be yourself. Too many of the classes were opinion oriented, Springer style is what I called it. I grew up in RIC and watched VCU grow and grow into what is starting to resemble a world class University. Some challenging classes too. Used to be RPI (Richmond Prof. Inst.) an outreach of William & Mary (public ivy). Richmond's big enough to impress country folk and small enough to slow down big city folk so they can concentrate on their studies. A campus without walls, VCU sits a mile or two west of downtown in The Fan, Richmond's version of Greenwich Village. A lesson in tolerance and diversity. No one (well almost) leaves VCU judging a book by its cover. Lots of intellectual guests and school sponsored lectures, often controversial. Not your average school. More liberal than conservative. More unconventional than traditional (try U of R). Very urban. If you need a lot of structure and someone to tuck you in... Read more

I have friends who go/have gone there and they loved it! Perfect for corporate-hating artsy types who live to be different. All profs except art are sub-standard. Dorms are not so great, so get some roommates and live in a cute little apt in the fan. Learn to do drugs and paint out your problems and you'll fit in fine.