Student-Subway ^alpha

No one wants to sound shallow enough to say that they chose a college based upon how pretty it is; however, if we're honest, we have to recognize how much environment contributes to the educational experience. I feel much more comfortable in a rural environment, but at the same time I need to be close to the action of the city and to all of the great opportunities the city provides. UR is the best of both worlds--the campus is covered in great trees and sports a nice sized "lake" (more of a big pond, but it's still beautiful and great for catching small fish if you are so inclined). At the same time, the campus is only a few minutes from the center of the state capital, and only a couple hours from our nation's capital.

The law school in particular boasts a great atmosphere. Like most buildings on campus, its Gothic architecture has a distinct beauty and distinguished air, but the style is not so pretentious as to make you feel uncomfortable. Even though I would usually rather be somewhere other than attending class, the coziness of the building always makes me feel at home when I enter the law school, and I never dread entering the building, no matter how busy my day is shaping up to be.

The entire law school is contained within one building, which makes getting to class extremely convenient. And unlike some other law schools, we're still pretty close to other buildings on our campus, so you can make a quick jaunt to the gym for a workout or cross campus in a few minutes to catch a comedy routine at the Modlin Center. Although you do have to walk a couple minutes from the parking lot to the law building, the scenic walk is not nearly as far as many other law schools, and third year students get a special parking pass to park right next to the law school.

The inviting interior of the law school has a humbleness to it, but recent additions to the school have spruced up the atmosphere. The administration has also told us that even more improvements are coming our way in the next few years, so we can expect classroom remodeling and updated furnishings. Two of our smaller classrooms were just refinished and are great for upper-level courses with a modern, yet homey feel.

The entire building (and nearly all of campus) has wireless internet, so you can go anywhere in the law school and not worry about having to plug in. Each student desk has an electrical socket too, so you don't have to worry about your laptop running out of juice because you've overused your battery. The wireless is especially nice during the perfect fall weather days when you can still access the internet from the picnic tables located right outside of the building.

Of course, most law students spend the majority of their time in the library, and this is where Richmond Law excels best. Each and every student in the law school has a study carrel that they can treat as an office. It is yours specifically (and even has your name on a name tag), so you never have to worry about having to find a quiet place to study. There is a space above your desk where you can keep all of your books and a printer, and the University gives you a key to lock everything up. The carrel is yours for all three years if you choose (unless you opt to switch to a different location in the library), and you can still come and work there during the summer if you have summer work you need to get done as well. Although having your own carrel seems like a small thing, it's really huge. Most law schools that I visited only had large study tables (which Richmond has as well), but easily distracted people can't always do their best work when people are always walking by. Having your own office space that you can personalize (I have pictures, desk organizers, and was even able to mount a whiteboard to my wall) greatly helps students to get quality studying in so that they can go home and not have to worry about finishing the work they were too distracted to get done at an open group table. Professors even let students take their exams in the privacy of their own carrels, so you don't have to worry about being distracted during that dreaded final. The public spaces in the library were just renovated this past summer, so if you prefer to work at group tables, you have a beautiful place to do so on expensive-looking wood tables with desk lamps.

Another of the great advantages UR provides is our moot court room. It's a beautiful room with vaulted ceilings and a balcony, and it's a wired courtroom that makes local judges jealous. In fact, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals will occasionally hold court in the law school to make use of our room. That is something you won't get at Washington and Lee or William and Mary. Students will often meet in the moot court room for law skills classes, and our moot court competitions are also hosted at that location. Getting experience arguing in a real courtroom located inside the school is a great and convenient learning experience that helps make students feel that much more comfortable when they go out to practice in the real world.

For down time between classes, you can go downstairs to a place called "the down-under." It's a modest room with booths and couches, a pool table and foosball table, vending machines, and a television. There are also several refrigerators there for you to store your lunch and microwaves in case you want to heat something up. Although the DU is not exactly a swanky club, it generally suits students' needs, and the administration has promised that funds are on the way to renovate that space to make it even more of a relaxing social gathering point.

Overall, the law school has a cozy, yet collegiate atmosphere that is perfect for fostering a closely knit student community and a great educational experience.

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Jepson Hall is conveniently located in the academic quad on the Richmond side of campus, making it easy for students to travel quickly from another building to Jepson in the 15-minute period between classes.

The building is home to the similarly named and very unique Jepson School of Leadership Studies. The only school of its kind in the country, the Leadership school includes classes like Civil Justice and Society and Gender in Leadership.

The basement contains the Information Services office, where students can get their computers fixed for free. Also, if you’re looking for a quick snack on your way to a class in the building, here you can find two vending machines.

The first floor has classrooms, conference rooms, and two lecture halls. As the small class sizes at Richmond do not usually require lecture rooms, they are very few on campus. There is an impressive spiral staircase in the entryway that leads you to the offices of the math and leadership professors on the second floor.

Aside from the lack of cell phone reception in the basement, Jepson Hall is a great place to study on campus.

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Gottwald Center for the Sciences is not only a building for classes to convene but also a cozy alternative to the library. Equipped with classrooms, science labs, a computer lab, a quiet study room, and several couches and chairs, students can spread out and study wherever suits them.

Gottwald is on the Westhampton side of campus, which makes it an attractive place to work to those who live far from the library. Similarly, Gottwald is especially useful near exam time, when the library is full or when all the desktop computers are in use. It is also located across from the Dining Hall and ETC, a campus convenience store, making it easy for students to take a quick break from studying for a meal.

Though I am a liberal arts student who has not even ventured into the classrooms to take my science requirement yet, I have spent many nights hibernating in Gottwald in the comfortable leather chairs.

University of Richmond School of Arts & Sciences: Biology

University of Richmond School of Arts & Sciences: Chemistry

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I have been to my share of colleges and universities and so appreciate a good library when I see one. This library is located in the center of campus, overlooking Westhampton Lake, on Richmond Way. It’s got almost 500,000 books, as well as a vast supply of electronic and media resources. According to my friend, who is studying library science, U of R undergraduate library has one of the best research facilities out there. They also have a good selection of movies and DVDs that you can borrow from the media resource center for free!

But my personal favorite things about the library are all the student-friendly aspects that it has. First of all, there is a café at the entrance to the library, where you can get all different and necessary forms of caffeine, baked goods and snacks to help supplement study break cravings. Secondly, there are two floors of basement, which are set up in a study-friendly atmosphere with couches, big tables, little tables, and desktop computers. Third, you can eat your food on these lower floors, so that you don’t have to leave the library to eat, and these floors are open 24 hours for U of R students. Also, if you are looking to study with a group, they have great group study rooms available.

University of Richmond Library

Richmond Boatwright Library (About)

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Located at the northern end of campus, the Robins School of Business is home to both undergraduate and graduate business programs. The undergraduate curriculum includes classes in accounting, economics, finance, international business, marketing, and management systems. The graduate school offers an MBA program.

As far as the building itself goes, RSB consists of three stories, with a beautiful two-story glass-ceilinged atrium. Classrooms are either atrium-style seating or traditional row seating. All are fairly small though, holding no more than about thirty students each. There is one computer lab, a finance lab with additional computers, a vending machine room to grab snacks in between back-to-back classes, several Wall Street Journal newsstands, and even a few flat screen TV's showing up-to-the-minute stock prices for students who need to keep in touch. The only drawback is the lack of available computers. Usually the labs are filled with classes and the terminals in the atrium are full. However, recent renovations have added new computer terminals in the atrium which should correct this problem.

The atrium itself is filled with comfortable chairs and tables for students to casually do work before or after classes. It is a great place to do that last-minute studying before your econ exam!

The B-school is currently undergoing renovations which will expand the school significantly. For more information, visit the school's website.

Robins School of Business - University of Richmond

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