Pre-College Student Experience

Please note that this information is from 2025. The activities that we offer during summer 2026 are subject to student interest and staff availability.

Commuter student

Residential student

Our goal is to give students adequate time to relax both during the week and on the weekends. Students will have the option to participate in supervised activities outside the classroom during weekends. In the past, students have toured museums, visited shopping districts, enjoyed outdoor green spaces, and more. Residential students will also have the opportunity to participate in optional evening social activities.

PACKING LIST

Required

• Alarm clock or a cell phone with an alarm clock app
• Blanket and/or bedspread
• Cell phone
• Comfortable and temperature-appropriate clothing for air-conditioned classrooms and the residence halls and walking to and from class
• Comfortable walking shoes
• First aid kit, including Band-Aids
• Laundry detergent and fabric softener or dryer sheets
• Linen set for an extra-long twin or regular twin bed
• Personal hygiene products, toiletries, and tissues
• Pillow and pillowcase
• Towel set
• Umbrella and/or raincoat

Optional

• Bedside lamp (halogen lamps are not allowed)
• Board games and playing cards
• Change, credit card, or debit card for vending machines
• Clothing hangers
• Clothing iron
• Epipen, if needed
• Flashlight
• Hairdryer
• Media (movies, video games, etc.) to use during evening activities
• Portable fan (please note that all rooms are air conditioned)
• Portable speaker
• Shower shoes
• Small amount of cash in case you want to buy food, souvenirs, etc.
• Small kitchen supplies (oven mitts, spatulas, wooden spoons, etc.)
• Snacks and drinks (soda, water, etc.)
• Toiletry basket

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Valuables
VCU will not be responsible for any lost or damaged items, therefore recommends that no valuable items such as jewelry be brought to campus.

Currency
Students are encouraged to bring a debit/credit card to cover personal expenses while attending the program. A small amount of cash might be needed for personal expenses.

Prohibited Items

• Animals, unless designated service animals
• Alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs
• Firearms and weapons of any kind, including “look alike” weapons
• Hot plate
• Items that will use or contain open flames and/or produce smoke, such as candles or incense
• Window fans

A violation of any of the rules listed here, including any intentionally false information stated on any of the forms, may result in dismissal from the program without a refund.

The Summer Pre-College Program Head of Residence Life, Assistant Head of Residence Life, senior counselors, and counselors will live in the residence hall with students during the duration of the program. These individuals will facilitate program-related activities, and they will escort students to all meals, classes, and weekend excursions.

Students are permitted to go on unsupervised excursions when other required activities are not scheduled. Students are required to be in groups of two or more students from the Summer Pre-College Program, be back by curfew or the start of a required activity, check in and out with a counselor, and may only travel within a certain limited geographic area.

Pre-College students live on campus in VCU residence halls. Live-in staff and program counselors supervise the residence halls. Students live in a double room with a roommate. The application contains a section where you can list your living preferences and interests, including hobbies, sleeping hours, etc.

VCU’s current practice: VCU asks students for some information, and assigns students to rooms after considering the information provided by the students, and if any participant in the program wants to request a roommate, VCU generally accepts the request.

Take a virtual tour of the Gladding Residence Center where Summer Pre-College Program students live.

Meals are served in the Shafer Court Dining Center’s Market 810, which offers delicious, high quality, all-you-care-to-eat selections, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and diabetic-friendly options.

Students may park on campus for the duration of the program, but students are not allowed to leave campus during the program. Parking fee information will be updated as we get closer to the 2026 program’s start date.

VCUarts Summer Pre-College Program students will not be allowed to use VCU’s gyms or recreation centers, including those located in residential housing.

At the end of the program, your work will be showcased for your friends, family, and the VCUarts community to see your work! More information will be updated as we get closer to the 2026 program’s start date.

While you are on campus for the Summer Pre-College Program, we encourage you to meet with a VCUarts Admissions representative. You can learn more about our academic programs and also get a portfolio review or more information on the audition process, which can help strengthen your art school application.

Student safety and security are top priorities at Virginia Commonwealth University. Twenty-four hours a day, highly responsive VCU Police officers patrol the campus on foot, on bicycles, on scooters, and in automobiles.

Welcome to Richmond, Virginia — lovingly known as RVA — where the walls of businesses and warehouses are canvases for murals and monthly gallery walks pack the streets with art lovers and food carts.

Richmond is the perfect home for one of the nation’s leading public arts schools. Current students work, intern, and volunteer with prominent museums, parks, Hollywood film crews, and creative agencies. Students have endless opportunities to explore Richmond’s rich culture and history.

Richmond is home to many museums, but two are very close to the heart of our campus. The Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU, part of the relationship between VCUarts and the city’s long-standing professional gallery and creative cultures, and serves as a space for internationally recognized artists, designers, performers and the community to convene. Also, the world-renowned Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, one of the largest art museums in the U.S., is less than a mile from VCU’s Monroe Park campus.

Richmond also offers many opportunities to enjoy the performing arts! Just to name a few, the Richmond Ballet, Richmond Shakespeare Festival, andRichmond Symphony are all relatively close to campus and highly regarded.

Richmond’s rich cultural history and literary traditions go beyond the visual and performing arts. Visitors to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia can learn more about the culture and rich history of African American people in Virginia. At the Poe Museum, located in the oldest residential building that is still standing in Richmond, students can investigate the Richmond roots of the inventor of the detective novel and iconic horror writer.

No matter what your interests are, you can find something interesting to do in Richmond!

We’re not the only ones who think that Richmond is great. Check out some of the accolades that Richmond has received.

#1 on America’s Best Towns To Visit list
CNN Travel, 2024

#8 of the 25 Best Places to Live on the East Coast in 2024-2025 list
U.S. News & World Report, 2024

Included in the Great American Cities for Creatives (That You Can Actually Afford to Live In) list
Thrillist, 2022

Richmond, Virginia, Has Become a Culinary Powerhouse
Food & Wine, 2023