Randolph-Macon College (RMC)

The focused 1,500 undergraduates at Virginia's Randolph-Macon College are treated to an exceptional liberal arts education, paired with a four-year career preparation program called the Edge. Across more than 55 areas of study via majors, minors, and pre-professional programs, the college's focus is on producing successful, well-rounded students: "We are all seen and heard at this school." RMC accomplishes this task with a purposeful general education curriculum that requires courses across many subject areas, and a "capstone" experience that shows students to be ready for employment or graduate school. Along the way, the Edge Career Center provides advising, career roadmaps, and internship opportunities, and classes incorporate innovative pedagogy-a hallmark of an RMC education-in the form of "activities, group projects, lab work, guest speakers, and...field trips." Experiential learning is also key, in that "laboratory classes are very hands-on, and most classes make an effort to have discussions," and small class sizes ensure that students "have the opportunity to create strong friendships and relationships." This is especially true of the honors program, which "provides very interesting and different courses," and provides extra attention that goes above and beyond.

Professors help to shake things up by bringing "their own quirks to their classes to make it not as traditional" or by operating flipped classrooms "where the students do the research for the class and teach it for the day." RMC is also "very accommodating," and not just in how "faculty and staff are welcoming and supportive." Says one student, there "plenty of opportunities to explore whatever you want and if the school can't offer what you're looking for in an internship or experience, they'll help you find what you're looking for in the community."

The overall vibe of Randolph-Macon College is familial-it's "a home where current students, previous students, and community members gather to celebrate being Yellow Jackets." Along those lines, school spirit is a big part of the culture, with "a large athletic student population" and where "many students spend their time doing activities related to their team." But it's also an emphatically "welcoming community in a cute little town" where "no one seems to be disrespectful to anyone who affiliates differently than someone else." Perhaps that's because the school is "small enough that you'll almost always see someone you know in your short walk to classes," but however you put it, "the courtesy is endless." For those looking beyond their college years, students note that many here "have jobs or internships and everyone is able to have a car on campus if they want," and the alumni network is incredibly supportive.

Eighty-five percent of students live on campus "so we really have the opportunity to get to know one another and become closer." People usually "spend half of their days in their classes" and then take to the dining hall-"great for a small school"-and studying at night. On weekends, students "explore Ashland and downtown Richmond" and "fill their days by hanging out on campus lawn chairs, hammocking, or playing around on the football field." A lot of the buildings are new and the layout "is very compact, which makes travelling across campus very nice."

"There are plenty of ways to be active on campus," including participation in the more than 100 student organizations and clubs. The numerous intramural sports "allow you to connect with new people and have physical activity at the same time," and "on varsity sport game days, you can find a good number of students at those games, especially men's basketball." Community service is a facet of the RMC experience, and many students participate in service-learning opportunities.