Charlottesville and UVA have so much to offer you
Charlottesville is a beautiful, diverse, vibrant community nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. From its breathtaking hikes and its concert-loving populace, to its numerous restaurants and historical sites, Charlottesville has countless selling points that make it so easy to call home! We can promise you you’re going to love it here.
Traditions
UVA students are very fond of traditions and make sure they are passed from class to class. From what we say to what we do, traditions are maintained. We don’t refer to our school’s “campus” but to our school Grounds. Our students are first years, second years, third years, fourth years and so on because saying “senior” implies the end of an education but people are always learning even after graduation. Don’t be confused if you’re asked whether or not you’re “in the College” when you arrive. That’s how we refer the College of Arts and Sciences and the answer is yes because all Echols Scholars are in the College. We are very fond of our student self-governance and the trust that the school puts in the students. Students are responsible for carrying out most of the activities that concern them from our Honor system, which is entirely student run and puts complete faith in our students, to our Echols Council, the representative body of the Echols Scholars Program.
Another big tradition is students are selected to live on the Lawn, many of whom are Echols Scholars. They are selected based on their involvement in the UVA and Charlottesville community and are seen to represent the core values of our school. Fittingly, they live at the heart of our school. The Lawn is also home to many events that bring together our community. On Halloween, we welcome children from the Charlottesville area for Trick or Treating on the Lawn from our Lawn Residents. Every winter, we celebrate community with the Lighting of the Lawn and the lights stay up throughout winter. In so many aspects of UVA student life, there are traditions and you can learn all about them here.
Athletics
In addition to being highly academically driven, UVA students love sports and for good reason. UVA is an NCAA-Division I school in the Atlantic Coast Conference and our sports teams and athletes are very talented. Of course, students love to attend games. We are currently National Champions in women’s swimming and diving as well as men’s lacrosse. Our other most recent championships was men’s basketball in 2019. Throughout our history, we have had 28 NCAA National Championships, 9 non-NCAA national championships, and we have been ACC Champions 138 times. Admissions to all regular season home games are free for all sports with men’s basketball games being on a lottery system—the more sporting games you attend of other sports, the more likely you are to get seats at a basketball game. Games are very fun and you really get to see the spirit and love that UVA students have for their school.
If you are interested in continuing to play a sport, UVA has intramural sports that play tournaments within the school and club teams that will compete against teams from other universities. There are also teams for sports that are not official NCAA sports such as ultimate frisbee and quidditch.
The City of Charlottesville
UVA is located in Charlottesville, Virginia and the two are inherently intertwined. As they get older, students love to see everything in Charlottesville. They love to walk down the Historic Downtown Mall and hike up the Blue Ridge Mountains (hiking Humpback Rock is a UVA student rite of passage). The surrounding area has such an amazing food scene that you won’t even be able to try all the restaurants and cafés by the time you graduate. There is a beautiful art park, vineyards, and the countryside to see. Musicians come through Charlottesville all the time; Dave Matthews Band is even from Charlottesville.