With the start of the school year rapidly approaching, UVA Today wanted to remind the Class of 2023 that students have created a cool virtual tour to welcome and help you get settled at the University of Virginia before you even move in.

UVA’s University Guide Service created this interactive, online virtual tour with the support of a $60,000 Jefferson Trust grant, filling it with 360-degree images and green-screen technology.

Want to check out the Rotunda, scope out cool study spaces or learn about this historical heart of the University? This tour has it. How about touring the Alderman Road residence halls and learning about all their amenities, as well as the two grassy quads where you can play Frisbee or grill lunch or dinner? It’s there.

There is also information about all the ways students can stay in shape at one of UVA’s five athletic complexes, plus details about Scott Stadium, where the Cavalier football team (just predicted by the media to win the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division) is set to kick off its season Aug. 21 against the University of Pittsburgh. (Students get free tickets to home athletic events.)

You can also learn about a hub of student self-governance, Newcomb Hall. This building houses several dining areas, as well as the Student Activities Center; the Cavalier Daily, the student-run newspaper; and UVA’s trial room, where the Honor and University Judiciary committees uphold UVA’s tradition of student self-governance.

The Corner, a seven-block collection of shops and restaurants next to UVA’s Grounds, is also featured in the virtual tour. Always an active area, students can grab a bite to eat, read at coffee shops or check out 1515, a University-owned student center. A former bookstore, the building was recently overhauled and designed by students to provide an alcohol-free space to hang out. You can set up camp to study or play foosball in the free game room on the bottom level.

There are also tips on how to explore the greater Charlottesville community by catching a free, five-minute trolley ride to visit the downtown pedestrian mall. There, students will find more restaurants, shops, a Saturday-morning farmer’s market and several concert venues that attract national acts like Kacey Musgraves, Elvis Costello and Young the Giant.

Students begin moving in to dorms on Aug. 23, with courses beginning Aug. 27. In the interim, members of the Class of 2023 can expect an exciting and busy time as they begin their official lives as Wahoos.

Programming for this year’s “Wahoo Welcome” to new and transfer students will be announced soon. Previous years have featured a carnival outside the Aquatic and Fitness Center and residence hall movie and game nights to help floormates get to know one another. On the evening of Aug. 25, all first-year and transfer students are required to attend Opening Convocation and Honor Induction, when the Class of 2023 will assemble for the first time and sign the honor pledge, promising not to lie, cheat or steal.

The Class of 2023 is the most competitive of any entering class in UVA history. And it also holds this distinction: This fall, according to preliminary numbers, UVA will have a record 509 first-generation first-year students, which represents 12.8% of the incoming first-year class, up from 11.1% last year. The number of first-generation students has increased in each of the last four years.

Wahoowa #UVA2023!