Academics
“Midsized” and affordable Radford University is a “very student-oriented” public school in southwest Virginia that offers a pretty vast array of majors. Students call our attention to the business, nursing, education, and interior design programs in particular. “The professors here would have to be Radford’s greatest strength,” says a communication major. Many faculty members are “very personable, affable, and helpful.” They “want to teach.” “They’re easy to get in touch with and easy to talk to and ask questions,” adds a sociology major. Also, “classes are smaller, which makes it easier to get one on one attention.” However, “general education classes can be excruciating” and the faculty is not great across the board. “When they’re just reading from PowerPoint presentations, it sucks,” says a psychology major. “And that happens too often.” Registration is “terrible” but Radford reportedly has “great people making the decisions.” “Overall, the administration is generally pretty helpful and usually very accessible.”
Student Body
Radford is home to “lots of Virginians” and “a lot of females” but “not many minorities.” “There are students who dress somewhat different from the norm” and a few “hippie kids” but this is a “very preppy” campus and most students are “your typical college kids.” “I’d like to think there are more atypical people but they are few and far between,” admits a senior. Students describe themselves as “usually pretty friendly” and “fun to hang around.” Some students take academics very seriously. Others are “not serious about school” and simply “manage to coast through.” Socially, Radford is “clique oriented.” “The size of our school allows everyone to be known by someone, but no one knows everyone,” reflects a profound senior.
Campus Life
In a nutshell, “intramural sports, Greek life, and partying” pretty much sum up life at Radford. The “extremely gorgeous” and “beautifully manicured” campus is located in “a small quaint town” in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. “The area is rather boondockish” but the river near campus provides “excellent” recreational opportunities. “There are plenty of clubs and organizations,” too. There’s also “a great student center with bowling, pool tables, a movie theater, and other things.” It may well be that “most of the time the rumors are not even true” but “Radford is often touted as a party school.” “Drunken escapades” are pretty common and “Greek Life is a big deal.” Some students say that “it can be hard sometimes to get into parties” if you don’t pledge. Others disagree. “If you don’t want to go Greek, you don’t have to ever step foot in a frat house but you can still have a great time,” reports a junior. Many students often travel to nearby Blacksburg for even bigger parties at Virginia Tech as well. You can avoid the party scene altogether if you want. However, you “have to search a little harder for people to associate with or things to do that don’t involve mass alcohol consumption.”