UVA in-state v. Davidson v. Washington and Lee

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA isn't even close to 30,000 students. It's just over half of that.

25,000. 16,034 undergrads on grounds. 6,471 graduate and professional studies students on grounds. 2,031 UVA at Wise. Also 30,000 employees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - It really depends on what it means to your family to spend this money.

My VA kid was absolutely opposed to going to UVA. It was a bad fit for him, and it attracts a kind of kid who he doesn't much care for. He went to an OOS flagship that is a much better fit (but we don't have the $$ for full fees private).

Those are two very good private colleges and they do offer something UVA does not, so it really comes down to opportunity cost:

a) borrowing!!!! scary.
b) no funds to help with grand school?
c) will be living lean for 4 years, which might affect internships and other opportunities
d) other children....

we can't answer that.

So very curious as to the kind of kids your VA kid doesn't care for?

There's nothing wrong with VA kids but just wrong for my kid. UVA is a fairly conservative school that attracts kids, in-state and out who want to join frats and have that joe-college kind of experience. Nothing wrong with them, just wrong for him. (And please don't argue that there are all kinds of kids there because there's no point in working hard to pick a college if none of them have anything special about the product they offer. This is just one that is not for him.)

Good luck to your kid, truly. But you can’t make a sweeping generalization about 30K students being into fraternities. And UVA conservative? LOL!

Over 60% consider themselves moderate, conservative, or very conservative. Only 35% consider themselves democrats. For college kids, that is glaringly conservative

Source? Typically when you have a large state university, it reflects the state. Virginia's schools are fairly middle of the road as colleges go, but colleges in general are left of center compared to the overall population. There is an online ranking based on political affiliation of students and here is where Virginia colleges came in for "most Liberal" out of 504 schools:

62 VCU
220 JMU
245 W&M
280 VT
286 UVA
320 MWU
343 GMU
407 ODU
435 CNU
463 VMI

No,we want a real source for the bolded section above. I have a conservative kid at UVA and the stats you give are simply not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MY DD was accepted at all three with aid. BTW congrats OP it wasn’t easy! The schools are very different. UVA is a great school but very large. Half of the class will be edited from the top spots just because of the size. But if big state school is what you want UVA is the ticket.
W&L attracts an elite crowd from all over the US. Big help if you are going into law business or any field where connections count. It’s the Potomac school of colleges.
Davidson is more or less the same but with a southern focus. The price was the same & DD chose Davidson.

W&L attracts an “elite crowd from all over the US”? That’s news to me.

Yes. It’s very highly ranked school of the 1%. Some people think that’s a drawback.

It’s a decent regional LAC, but that’s about it.

Oh look. Stupid is back.

LOL! Yes, this stupid person who has a grudge comes on every UVA thread and calls it a regional school". Meanwhile, USN&WR has UVA as third best public university behind Berkeley and UCLA. It's been No. 1, tied for 2, 2, or 3 for the last seventeen years, yet knucklehead keeps calling it regional. If so, then Berkeley and UCLA are "regional" especially since they now have to take 80% Californians whereas UVA does not. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MY DD was accepted at all three with aid. BTW congrats OP it wasn’t easy! The schools are very different. UVA is a great school but very large. Half of the class will be edited from the top spots just because of the size. But if big state school is what you want UVA is the ticket.
W&L attracts an elite crowd from all over the US. Big help if you are going into law business or any field where connections count. It’s the Potomac school of colleges.
Davidson is more or less the same but with a southern focus. The price was the same & DD chose Davidson.

W&L attracts an “elite crowd from all over the US”? That’s news to me.

Yes. It’s very highly ranked school of the 1%. Some people think that’s a drawback.

It’s a decent regional LAC, but that’s about it.

Oh look. Stupid is back.

LOL! Yes, this stupid person who has a grudge comes on every UVA thread and calls it a regional school". Meanwhile, USN&WR has UVA as third best public university behind Berkeley and UCLA. It's been No. 1, tied for 2, 2, or 3 for the last seventeen years, yet knucklehead keeps calling it regional. If so, then Berkeley and UCLA are "regional" especially since they now have to take 80% Californians whereas UVA does not. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public

The comment was about W&L.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MY DD was accepted at all three with aid. BTW congrats OP it wasn’t easy! The schools are very different. UVA is a great school but very large. Half of the class will be edited from the top spots just because of the size. But if big state school is what you want UVA is the ticket.
W&L attracts an elite crowd from all over the US. Big help if you are going into law business or any field where connections count. It’s the Potomac school of colleges.
Davidson is more or less the same but with a southern focus. The price was the same & DD chose Davidson.

W&L attracts an “elite crowd from all over the US”? That’s news to me.

Yes. It’s very highly ranked school of the 1%. Some people think that’s a drawback.

It’s a decent regional LAC, but that’s about it.

Oh look. Stupid is back.

LOL! Yes, this stupid person who has a grudge comes on every UVA thread and calls it a regional school". Meanwhile, USN&WR has UVA as third best public university behind Berkeley and UCLA. It's been No. 1, tied for 2, 2, or 3 for the last seventeen years, yet knucklehead keeps calling it regional. If so, then Berkeley and UCLA are "regional" especially since they now have to take 80% Californians whereas UVA does not. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public

The comment was about W&L.

And the initial thread was from last year. The poster's kid is at Davidson.

[Anonymous]

Will y'all just shut up about UVA?

a) the kid is at Davidson and thriving.

b) my kid didn't apply to UVA because.... and he is thriving.

c) UVA is one of many schools in this country that does a good job with the undergrads, and is better in some fields than in others. I'm happy you are happy but I just don't understand the need to insist your school is the best on that could possibly exist in any possible world for any possible kid. How boring would that be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will y'all just shut up about UVA?

a) the kid is at Davidson and thriving.

b) my kid didn't apply to UVA because.... and he is thriving.

c) UVA is one of many schools in this country that does a good job with the undergrads, and is better in some fields than in others. I'm happy you are happy but I just don't understand the need to insist your school is the best on that could possibly exist in any possible world for any possible kid. How boring would that be?

I read that author John Grisham donated $1.2 million to U.Va. baseball. Wonder if his kid would have gotten in without that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will y'all just shut up about UVA?

a) the kid is at Davidson and thriving.

b) my kid didn't apply to UVA because.... and he is thriving.

c) UVA is one of many schools in this country that does a good job with the undergrads, and is better in some fields than in others. I'm happy you are happy but I just don't understand the need to insist your school is the best on that could possibly exist in any possible world for any possible kid. How boring would that be?

I read that author John Grisham donated $1.2 million to U.Va. baseball. Wonder if his kid would have gotten in without that?

Better to donate to something that benefits many than to bribe one person who pockets the money.

I don't think I mind development admits. If taking one kid means ALL students get a new dorm or lab or library, is that so, so terrible?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will y'all just shut up about UVA?

a) the kid is at Davidson and thriving.

b) my kid didn't apply to UVA because.... and he is thriving.

c) UVA is one of many schools in this country that does a good job with the undergrads, and is better in some fields than in others. I'm happy you are happy but I just don't understand the need to insist your school is the best on that could possibly exist in any possible world for any possible kid. How boring would that be?

I read that author John Grisham donated $1.2 million to U.Va. baseball. Wonder if his kid would have gotten in without that?

He is a baseball fanatic. He's funded numerous baseball facilities in the county, most at youth level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - It really depends on what it means to your family to spend this money.

My VA kid was absolutely opposed to going to UVA. It was a bad fit for him, and it attracts a kind of kid who he doesn't much care for. He went to an OOS flagship that is a much better fit (but we don't have the $$ for full fees private).

Those are two very good private colleges and they do offer something UVA does not, so it really comes down to opportunity cost:

a) borrowing!!!! scary.
b) no funds to help with grand school?
c) will be living lean for 4 years, which might affect internships and other opportunities
d) other children....

we can't answer that.

So very curious as to the kind of kids your VA kid doesn't care for?

There's nothing wrong with VA kids but just wrong for my kid. UVA is a fairly conservative school that attracts kids, in-state and out who want to join frats and have that joe-college kind of experience. Nothing wrong with them, just wrong for him. (And please don't argue that there are all kinds of kids there because there's no point in working hard to pick a college if none of them have anything special about the product they offer. This is just one that is not for him.)

Good luck to your kid, truly. But you can’t make a sweeping generalization about 30K students being into fraternities. And UVA conservative? LOL!

Over 60% consider themselves moderate, conservative, or very conservative. Only 35% consider themselves democrats. For college kids, that is glaringly conservative

Source? Typically when you have a large state university, it reflects the state. Virginia's schools are fairly middle of the road as colleges go, but colleges in general are left of center compared to the overall population. There is an online ranking based on political affiliation of students and here is where Virginia colleges came in for "most Liberal" out of 504 schools:

62 VCU
220 JMU
245 W&M
280 VT
286 UVA
320 MWU
343 GMU
407 ODU
435 CNU
463 VMI

No,we want a real source for the bolded section above. I have a conservative kid at UVA and the stats you give are simply not true.

I didn't put the original quote in. I cited a ranking purportedly based on political affiliation data. It shows UVA as comparatively middle of the road. https://www.myplan.com/education/colleges/college_rankings_14.php

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - It really depends on what it means to your family to spend this money.

My VA kid was absolutely opposed to going to UVA. It was a bad fit for him, and it attracts a kind of kid who he doesn't much care for. He went to an OOS flagship that is a much better fit (but we don't have the $$ for full fees private).

Those are two very good private colleges and they do offer something UVA does not, so it really comes down to opportunity cost:

a) borrowing!!!! scary.
b) no funds to help with grand school?
c) will be living lean for 4 years, which might affect internships and other opportunities
d) other children....

we can't answer that.

So very curious as to the kind of kids your VA kid doesn't care for?

There's nothing wrong with VA kids but just wrong for my kid. UVA is a fairly conservative school that attracts kids, in-state and out who want to join frats and have that joe-college kind of experience. Nothing wrong with them, just wrong for him. (And please don't argue that there are all kinds of kids there because there's no point in working hard to pick a college if none of them have anything special about the product they offer. This is just one that is not for him.)

Good luck to your kid, truly. But you can’t make a sweeping generalization about 30K students being into fraternities. And UVA conservative? LOL!

[b]Over 60% consider themselves moderate, conservative, or very conservative. Only 35% consider themselves democrats. For college kids, that is glaringly conservative

[/b]
Source? Typically when you have a large state university, it reflects the state. Virginia's schools are fairly middle of the road as colleges go, but colleges in general are left of center compared to the overall population. There is an online ranking based on political affiliation of students and here is where Virginia colleges came in for "most Liberal" out of 504 schools:

62 VCU
220 JMU
245 W&M
280 VT
286 UVA
320 MWU
343 GMU
407 ODU
435 CNU
463 VMI

No,we want a real source for the bolded section above. I have a conservative kid at UVA and the stats you give are simply not true.

I didn't put the original quote in. I cited a ranking purportedly based on political affiliation data. It shows UVA as comparatively middle of the road. https://www.myplan.com/education/colleges/college_rankings_14.php

This is just so incorrect. I asked my UVA student who is home on break (not on a yacht in the Bahamas) and who is very active in political groups on campus. HE says UVA is the reverse of what the bolded section says.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the concern is your kid wants an SLAC type of experience and UVA is too big, I'd look at W&M. It is larger than W&L and Davidson (closer to Dartmouth and Brown size), but it is a great LAC alternative and it would have a significant cost advantage.

If you think Davidson or W&L is going to provide a leg up on medical school compared to UVA (or W&M) all things being equal, I don't think that is the case. Regardless of where they go, your kid will have to buckle down and work hard and they'll have to have a really good GPA and MCAT. Top, top privates like the Ivy League may provide some advantage because they have the highest average GPAs (the highest grade inflation), but admission is a crap shoot there.

I'd agree with comment on William & Mary as a good alternative, but I assume they've already submitted applications.

Yep. As someone who ended up at W&M (and loved my undergrad experience) but also considered Davidson, I think they attract a fairly similar type of student and if cost is a factor, a kid attracted to Davidson would probably also thrive at W&M.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the concern is your kid wants an SLAC type of experience and UVA is too big, I'd look at W&M. It is larger than W&L and Davidson (closer to Dartmouth and Brown size), but it is a great LAC alternative and it would have a significant cost advantage.

If you think Davidson or W&L is going to provide a leg up on medical school compared to UVA (or W&M) all things being equal, I don't think that is the case. Regardless of where they go, your kid will have to buckle down and work hard and they'll have to have a really good GPA and MCAT. Top, top privates like the Ivy League may provide some advantage because they have the highest average GPAs (the highest grade inflation), but admission is a crap shoot there.

I'd agree with comment on William & Mary as a good alternative, but I assume they've already submitted applications.

Yep. As someone who ended up at W&M (and loved my undergrad experience) but also considered Davidson, I think they attract a fairly similar type of student and if cost is a factor, a kid attracted to Davidson would probably also thrive at W&M.

And I would also say that if they really like Davidson, it is probably good they didn't end up at W&L. Although a very good school, I think W&L is better for a different type of kid than Davidson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the concern is your kid wants an SLAC type of experience and UVA is too big, I'd look at W&M. It is larger than W&L and Davidson (closer to Dartmouth and Brown size), but it is a great LAC alternative and it would have a significant cost advantage.

If you think Davidson or W&L is going to provide a leg up on medical school compared to UVA (or W&M) all things being equal, I don't think that is the case. Regardless of where they go, your kid will have to buckle down and work hard and they'll have to have a really good GPA and MCAT. Top, top privates like the Ivy League may provide some advantage because they have the highest average GPAs (the highest grade inflation), but admission is a crap shoot there.

I'd agree with comment on William & Mary as a good alternative, but I assume they've already submitted applications.

Yep. As someone who ended up at W&M (and loved my undergrad experience) but also considered Davidson, I think they attract a fairly similar type of student and if cost is a factor, a kid attracted to Davidson would probably also thrive at W&M.

And I would also say that if they really like Davidson, it is probably good they didn't end up at W&L. Although a very good school, I think W&L is better for a different type of kid than Davidson.

More alike than not. I went to Davidson and my brother went to W&L and I spent a lot of time at both. Our friend groups were remarkably similar. We’d kill them in pretty much every sport though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the concern is your kid wants an SLAC type of experience and UVA is too big, I'd look at W&M. It is larger than W&L and Davidson (closer to Dartmouth and Brown size), but it is a great LAC alternative and it would have a significant cost advantage.

If you think Davidson or W&L is going to provide a leg up on medical school compared to UVA (or W&M) all things being equal, I don't think that is the case. Regardless of where they go, your kid will have to buckle down and work hard and they'll have to have a really good GPA and MCAT. Top, top privates like the Ivy League may provide some advantage because they have the highest average GPAs (the highest grade inflation), but admission is a crap shoot there.

I'd agree with comment on William & Mary as a good alternative, but I assume they've already submitted applications.

Yep. As someone who ended up at W&M (and loved my undergrad experience) but also considered Davidson, I think they attract a fairly similar type of student and if cost is a factor, a kid attracted to Davidson would probably also thrive at W&M.

And I would also say that if they really like Davidson, it is probably good they didn't end up at W&L. Although a very good school, I think W&L is better for a different type of kid than Davidson.

More alike than not. I went to Davidson and my brother went to W&L and I spent a lot of time at both. Our friend groups were remarkably similar. We’d kill them in pretty much every sport though.

OK. I thought of W&L as much more Greek and more conservative.