University of Mary Washington

[Anonymous]

I went there for undergrad and loved it. I would describe it as being borderline “self-selecting” in that it attracts an oddly large number of seemingly overqualified students.

Not going to get you much, if any, name recognition (though you would be surprised) as larger and/or more prestigious schools upon entering the job market, but essentially offers a private school experience for public school costs.

[Anonymous]

Will also add that while the student body does contain a very vocal and visible far left leaning segment, most would likely be considered conservative by today’s standards.

[Anonymous]

How does UMW compare to VCU?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does UMW compare to VCU?

Apples and oranges. Completely different in every way. VCU is an urban campus, lots of commuters, huge student population, research-focused faculty. UMW is small cohesive campus, much smaller population, liberal arts.
Students probably have similar stats, so I recommend visiting both if your student is trying to get a feel for what type of campus they like. Chances are, they will immediately love one and hate the other.
They are both solid educational choices for a mid-tier Virginia student.

[Anonymous]

If an applicant for UMW has poor grades for junior year, but good grades for first semester of senior year, will UMW admissions officers give more weight to the senior year grades? Obviously, schools like WM, UVA, etc are only going to accept kids with great grades all 4 yrs. How "flexible" is UMW for kids who show that they can work hard, but literally at the last point in HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If an applicant for UMW has poor grades for junior year, but good grades for first semester of senior year, will UMW admissions officers give more weight to the senior year grades? Obviously, schools like WM, UVA, etc are only going to accept kids with great grades all 4 yrs. How "flexible" is UMW for kids who show that they can work hard, but literally at the last point in HS?

It’s not super competitive in terms of acceptance, so shouldn’t be an issue. Just be sure you’re inclined to put in the work once you’re there. Easy in, easy out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does UMW compare to VCU?

Apples and oranges. Completely different in every way. VCU is an urban campus, lots of commuters, huge student population, research-focused faculty. UMW is small cohesive campus, much smaller population, liberal arts.
Students probably have similar stats, so I recommend visiting both if your student is trying to get a feel for what type of campus they like. Chances are, they will immediately love one and hate the other.
They are both solid educational choices for a mid-tier Virginia student.

This.

Unlikely that both schools would appeal to the same student. UMW is extremely insular (ie a bubble), whereas VCU is the exact opposite. The student body at VCU will also be much more diverse and liberal relative to UMW.

[Anonymous]

How does UMW compare to CUA? Is one better than the other if one wants to work in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does UMW compare to CUA? Is one better than the other if one wants to work in DC?

I wouldn’t even know how to compare those two. That’s like trying to compare an apple to a shoe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does UMW compare to CUA? Is one better than the other if one wants to work in DC?

I wouldn’t even know how to compare those two. That’s like trying to compare an apple to a shoe.[/quote]

Really? They are both colleges! One may be a Granny Smith and the other a Gala... but they are both in the same genre.