Student Experience

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, walking to and from class, and exploring Richmond on the weekends
• Comfortable walking shoes
• First aid kit, including any medications that you might need
• 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
• Shower shoes
• Towel set
• Umbrella and/or raincoat

Optional

• Bedside lamp (halogen lamps are not allowed)
• Board games
• Change for vending machines
• Epipen, if needed
• Flashlight
• Hairdryer
• Hangers for your clothes
• Iron
• Media (movies, video games, etc.) to use during evening activities
• Portable fan (please note that all rooms are air conditioned)
• Portable speaker
• Small amount of cash in case you want to buy food, souvenirs, etc.
  Snacks

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.

Pre-College students live on campus in VCU residence halls. Live-in professional staff and program counselors supervise the residence halls. Students live in single-sex rooms with one roommate within mixed-gender floors. The application contains a section where you can list your living preferences and interests, including hobbies, sleeping hours, etc.

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. This state-of-the-art dining facility features home-style meals, stir-fry, burgers, pizza, an extensive salad bar, and a build-your-own sandwich section. Shafer Court Dining Center offers a wide range of delicious, high quality options for participants with special needs and allergies, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and diabetic-friendly selections.

Students may park on campus for the duration of the program. Last year, parking rates were $19 per week, per car. We will receive 2024 rates in May 2024. Please note that students are not permitted to drive around campus or Richmond while attending the Summer Pre-College Program.

At the end of the program, your work will be showcased for your friends, family, and the VCUarts community to see!

You are encouraged to have your portfolio reviewed by VCUarts admissions representatives during the program. This is an opportunity to share your work for feedback and strengthen your portfolio to apply to art college.

Student safety and security are top priorities at Virginia Commonwealth University, and the university provides a safe, well-lit environment. Twenty-four hours a day, highly responsive campus police patrol the campus on foot, on bicycles, on scooters, and in automobiles. Additionally, well-trained counselors escort Summer Pre-College Program residential students everywhere they go to and from all meals, classes, and all activities. Unless accompanied by program staff, it is expected that students stay on the VCU campus at all times.

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.

The Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU is part of the relationship between VCUarts and the city’s long-standing professional gallery and creative cultures, serving as a space for internationally recognized artists, designers, performers and the community to convene.

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.

The average daily temperature in Richmond in July is 80°F.

Don’t take our word for it! See what others have to say about Richmond’s excellence.
• Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2022-2023 (U.S. News, 2022)
• Great American Cities for Creatives (That You Can Actually Afford to Live In) (Thrillist, 2022)
• Richmond, Virginia, Has Become a Culinary Powerhouse (Food & Wine, 2023)

The Summer Pre-College Program 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 these activities.

Students are permitted to go on unsupervised off-campus excursions when other required activities are not scheduled. Students are required to be in groups of two or more, 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.

Please note that required activities include courses, meals in the dining hall, weekend field trips, and any other required activity that a Summer Pre-College Program leadership (head of residence life, senior counselor, or counselor) has scheduled.