University of Mary Washington- What Am I Missing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does William and Mary have the same problem? They have a Mary in their name.

Not quite as much because there's also a William. But a little. People often think it's a private school though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does William and Mary have the same problem? They have a Mary in their name.

Not quite as much because there's also a William. But a little. People often think it's a private school though.

My son toured it and still thought it was a private school.

A school with a similar problem is St. Mary's College of Maryland. Assumed to be a Catholic school + the Mary name turn off. But it's a much smaller school (1500 students) so they don't need to recruit as many students. Still leans female but not as strongly (58% female)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. The math department at UMW seems oddly strong for a small college with a high admissions rate, especially in cryptography. Can anyone speak to that?

It's the law of small numbers at play. At a larger university, a similarly sized cryptography department wouldn't be as much of a standout. UMW seems like a great option for students interested in cryptography, as these professors won't have the demands of grad students and the rush to make tenure, and UMW's understated reputation makes it unlikely that a student interested in cryptography (or any math research) will struggle with competition for research opportunities.

[Anonymous]

They also have a strong program in Historic Preservation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does William and Mary have the same problem? They have a Mary in their name.

That would be somewhat ironic for a school that was all male for 220 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I'm glad you liked it! My DD just finished her first year there. It has been a good fit for her. To answer your question about why it isn't more popular... I have a few ideas. In fact, they recently sent out a survey to parents, students, and alumnae to ask what the pros and cons were and what the image is, etc.

Here's my take.
(1) as a small school, it doesn't have the "big-U"-rah-rah sports image/marketing. They do have teams and the teams do well (soccer, basketball, volleyball, and clubs for rugby and others). But, if you as a parent went to a big-state-U type of school, you might steer your kid toward that dynamic.
(2) this is a big one: I really think the name "MARY..." turns off young men in the 17-18 yr old range. Honestly, I told them to LEAN INTO marketting themselves as "UMW" and minimize the "Mary" part. Yes, I'm a feminist, but in marketing, they need to look at who their audience is, and how the audience perceives them. Most male teens are not going to want to tell their friends they are going to "MARY..." Guys are going to want to tell their friends they are going to "Christopher Newport" or "Radford" before they want to say they are going to "Mary... U."

I know the alumni would have a fit if they changed the name altogether. But, I think in the service of staying relevant and solvent, they should seriously consider renaming themselves to "UVA-Fredericksburg" or "Univ. of Central Virginia" or something else. Even using JUST "UMW" would be a start.

3. They DO have a computer science degree... and that's CRUCIAL for attracting guys. They need to AMP UP the connections for that degree (i.e. internships, etc.)

That said, their biology dept. is very strong. My DD is in that dept. They have so many great international opportunities. It IS a lot easier to get to know your advisor and professors, and they do have research opportunities. If you want to apply to medical, dental or law school, or really any grad program later, having professors who actually KNOW you is going to make a huge difference in the quality of the recommendation letters they can write on your behalf.

My DD likes the size of the campus. She likes the food. She likes the size of the classes. The campus is pretty, and it's easy to get involved in clubs/activities. It is a campus that is accepting of diversity without the typical "toxic masculinity" that you see at "big-state-U." They students are just good people.

If you are confident enough to do your own thing and not follow the pressure of the crowd that says "you must go to X, Y, or Z college" then you can have a very good experience at UMW. If you need Greek life or football Saturdays -- then this isn't going to be a good fit.

I find it incredibly offensive that men won't attend a school named after a woman but we have attended schools named after them for centuries. Talk about inequality and not taking half the human race seriously. Where have parents gone wrong that a young man born in the 2000's has not gotten past that mindset? It really stuns me to hear this.

There are MANY subtle messages still in the environment every day. You would be mistaken to think that equality of the sexes was achieved in the 70s. I am old enough to remember when Janet Reno became the AG. I hadn't ever thought about it before, but it really had an impact on me to see a WOMAN take that position for the first time. We SAY "girl power" all the time, but until girls SEE women in power, it doesn't really resonate.

As for boys and the "Mary" name -- I mean, look... we're talking about 17 and 18 yr old guys. They are entering their peak years of defining and being the most "masculine" that they will be for their whole lives. I can't expect them to be so evolved. Sure, some boys are fine with it. But, if you are in charge of marketing a college to teen boys, you might find out that they do not feel strong and proud about a "Mary" in their college.

Deal with the world as it is, not as you wish it to be!... that's what the marketing people need to do.

+1
I'm a UMW alum and was asked in a survey what I would suggest to market the school more effectively. I responded that they HAVE to show more young men in their marketing material. Everything I was getting from them, for years, made it look like it was an all-women's college. I think they have started featuring more men - after all, they have great men's sports, so they need to sell that.

Just went to their web page and the majority of pictures are of men. They took your advice I guess.

Yes, just saw that too! Glad to see it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son was not interested at all. We visited twice hoping he would get a different vibe each time- no luck.

All tour guides were female with various colors of hair and gender expression. I personally love the look as I was very similar at that age, but when it’s the only one you see, you don’t get a feel for other sides of the community.

At admitted student day, I was excited that they finally had a parent talk about their son’s experience but it turned out the main draw and passion for her son was theatre. Again, very cool, but again skews to attract a certain group.

My athletic, straight, non-white male son could not see himself fitting in and I agreed with him.

If that’s the only type of student body UMW wants, then they’re doing a great job. If they want to attract other types of students, then they need to rethink their marketing strategy.

I'm an alum and agree completely. When I attended (late 80s), I think the gender ratio was something like 60/40 - still more women, but it really didn't seem noticeable on campus. It was a very mainstream student body, with few "alternative" types. Lots of people dated, etc. I think UMW has gone overboard in the other direction, and agree that if they want to increase interest, they should rethink this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
JMU was our least favorite by a long shot and he'd be accepted there. The dorms were garbage with old AC window units. The tour didn't include the library or any academic buildings. Mostly the time was spent talking about inclusion, I kid you not. I will say the dining hall food was good and that matters to him.

Incoming JMU parent here. Many of the JMU dorms are newer with central air. I’d estimate that 40% of freshman dorms have a/c. The Skyline dorms were built in the late 90s and one in 2009. Those all have central air and most are open to freshmen. The Bluestone dorms are the most popular freshman dorms and they have a/c but I don’t know if it’s central air. But the virtual tour doesn’t show a window unit so I’m assuming they have central air.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son was not interested at all. We visited twice hoping he would get a different vibe each time- no luck.

All tour guides were female with various colors of hair and gender expression. I personally love the look as I was very similar at that age, but when it’s the only one you see, you don’t get a feel for other sides of the community.

At admitted student day, I was excited that they finally had a parent talk about their son’s experience but it turned out the main draw and passion for her son was theatre. Again, very cool, but again skews to attract a certain group.

My athletic, straight, non-white male son could not see himself fitting in and I agreed with him.

If that’s the only type of student body UMW wants, then they’re doing a great job. If they want to attract other types of students, then they need to rethink their marketing strategy.

I'm an alum and agree completely. When I attended (late 80s), I think the gender ratio was something like 60/40 - still more women, but it really didn't seem noticeable on campus. It was a very mainstream student body, with few "alternative" types. Lots of people dated, etc. I think UMW has gone overboard in the other direction, and agree that if they want to increase interest, they should rethink this.

It's not like they can really control who applies--they accept enough applicants so that pretty much everyone gets in. So that's who is currently attracted to the school. Their marketing materials reflect a different reality (racial/ethnic diversity; male-focused) that they might be working towards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not good for any school to be 61 / 39.

Unless you're a guy, heh heh.

[Anonymous]

It's a nice small little campus and school.
Not a lot going on during the weekend. We used to visit my cousin a few years ago and even finding a place on campus open that was not a full dining hall was tough. There weren't a lot of kids on weekends and there weren't many advertised activities.
Lots of kids live within driving distance and go home for at least part of the weekend. As the semester wears on, some kids go home earlier in the week.
Winter was really boring. Not a lot to do.
The professors were nice and easy to get to know. The classes were ok. Nothing amazingly challenging. No internships offered in some degree programs - it's really up to the student to track someplace down and there just aren't all that many options in the area.
It is surrounded by a nice little old town area and then some strip malls. You can get to any other shopping pretty quickly.
Overall it's a nice pick for kids who want a small college environment.