VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY F-14

901 West Franklin St.
Richmond, VA 23284-9005
Tel: (804)828-0100; 800-841-3638; Admissions: (804)828-1222; Fax: (804)828-1899; E-mail: vcuinfo@vcu.edu; Web Site: http://www.vcu.edu/

Description: State-supported, university, coed. Awards bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and first professional degrees and post-master's certificates. Founded 1838. Setting: 126-acre urban campus. Endowment: $227.6 million. Research spending 2002-03: $101.5 million. Educational spending 2002-03: $9157 per student. Total enrollment: 26,770. Faculty: 1,991 (1,094 full-time, 897 part-time). Student-undergrad faculty ratio is 14:1. 9,435 applied, 74% were admitted. 14% from top 10% of their high school class, 40% from top quarter, 79% from top half. 18 valedictorians. Full-time: 13,991 students, 60% women, 40% men. Part-time: 4,321 students, 55% women, 45% men. Students come from 47 states and territories, 73 other countries, 7% from out-of-state, 1% Native American, 3% Hispanic, 21% black, 9% Asian American or Pacific Islander, 1% international, 17% 25 or older, 22% live on campus, 9% transferred in. Retention: 79% of 2003 full-time freshmen returned. Academic areas with the most degrees conferred: visual/performing arts; business/marketing; health professions and related sciences. Calendar: semesters. Academic remediation for entering students, ESL program, services for LD students, advanced placement, accelerated degree program, self-designed majors, honors program, independent study, distance learning, double major, summer session for credit, part-time degree program, adult/continuing education programs, co-op programs and internships, graduate courses open to undergrads. Off campus study. Study abroad program. ROTC: Army.

Entrance Requirements: Options: Common Application, electronic application, early admission, early decision, deferred admission, international baccalaureate accepted. Required: high school transcript, SAT I or ACT. Recommended: essay, minimum 2.5 high school GPA. Required for some: minimum 3.0 high school GPA, 2 recommendations, interview. Entrance: moderately difficult. Application deadlines: 2/1, 11/1 for early decision. Notification: continuous until 4/1, 12/1 for early decision. Preference given to state residents for allied health programs.

Costs Per Year: Application fee: $30. State resident tuition: $3780 Full-time. Nonresident tuition: $15,904 full-time. Mandatory fees: $1358 Full-time. College room and board: $6920. College room only: $3980. Room and board charges vary according to board plan.

Collegiate Environment: Orientation program. Drama-theater group, choral group, student-run newspaper, radio station. Social organizations: national fraternities, national sororities, local fraternities, local sororities. Most popular organizations: Student Government Organization, Activities Programming Board, Muslim Student Association, Black Caucus. Major annual events: Homecoming, Annual Fall Step Show, Spring Fest. Student services: health clinic, personal-psychological counseling. Campus security: 24-hour emergency response devices and patrols, student patrols, late night transport-escort service, controlled dormitory access, security personnel in residence halls. 3,900 college housing spaces available; 3,384 were occupied in 2002-03. Options: coed, men-only, women-only housing available. James Branch Cabell and Tompkins-McCaw Library with 1.7 million books, 3.1 million microform titles, 13,886 serials, 44,434 audiovisual materials, an OPAC, and a Web page. Operations spending 2002-03: $10.1 million. 1,000 computers available on campus for general student use. A campuswide network can be accessed from student residence rooms and from off campus. Staffed computer lab on campus.

Community Environment: See University of Richmond.