University of Mary Washington

[Anonymous]

You would think that with W&M being so hard to get into, a smaller LAC like public school would be more popular as an alternative to W&M. But one of the PPs is correct that students who don’t get into W&M but want that vibe will likely look at private LACs that provide some merit to make it similar in cost to W&M.

[Anonymous]

UMW has long had a branding issue with the name, which is unfair in my view. I think CNU has encroached on its Niche in Virginia higher ed, which was already quite narrow.

[Anonymous]

I never knew it was third! When did that change?
In the 1980’s, Mary Washington was very highly respected and selective. I think the decline began when it became a university and tried to grow too quickly and lowered admission standards. It should have stayed a college, with its niche for quality undergraduate education. When I attended, all of my classes were taught by full professors with no TA’s.

As a Mary Washington College alum, this + the rise of CNU + some marketing missteps along the way have made it significantly less popular and less selective. But I know quite a few alums whose kids attended, many athletes, and have had terrific outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Is a UMW degree respected within the region?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. AI says the admit rates was 55 percent in 2000, 70 percent in 2008 and 80 percent in 2026, and says at the turn of the century it only trailed UVA and W&M. That's consistent with my understanding.

Why would it start to become less selective?

Other schools like VT and JMU became a lot more selective. More kids want the bigger college experience. UMW is very small, doesn't have big sports programs, not a lot going on. Its perfectly fine, just not what a lot of kids want in a college experience.

JMU is also less selective now than back then, so nope.

That's actually not true. JMU is getting harder and harder to get into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is a UMW degree respected within the region?

One of my top performers a software engineering/consulting role is a recent Mary Washington grad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. AI says the admit rates was 55 percent in 2000, 70 percent in 2008 and 80 percent in 2026, and says at the turn of the century it only trailed UVA and W&M. That's consistent with my understanding.

Why would it start to become less selective?

Other schools like VT and JMU became a lot more selective. More kids want the bigger college experience. UMW is very small, doesn't have big sports programs, not a lot going on. Its perfectly fine, just not what a lot of kids want in a college experience.

JMU is also less selective now than back then, so nope.

That's actually not true. JMU is getting harder and harder to get into.

JMU has a 72% acceptance rate.

[Anonymous]

It’s the name. UMW suffers because it doesn’t sound like a school many men would go to. Also it’s small, and we have more selective options in VA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. AI says the admit rates was 55 percent in 2000, 70 percent in 2008 and 80 percent in 2026, and says at the turn of the century it only trailed UVA and W&M. That's consistent with my understanding.

Why would it start to become less selective?

Other schools like VT and JMU became a lot more selective. More kids want the bigger college experience. UMW is very small, doesn't have big sports programs, not a lot going on. Its perfectly fine, just not what a lot of kids want in a college experience.

JMU is also less selective now than back then, so nope.

That's actually not true. JMU is getting harder and harder to get into.

JMU has a 72% acceptance rate.

JMUs acceptance rate has gone to 66% in the last available admissions cycle (2024-2025)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s the name. UMW suffers because it doesn’t sound like a school many men would go to. Also it’s small, and we have more selective options in VA.

Agree with this. If you are a straight 17 or 18 yr old male, you are more likely to be drawn to a school named "Christopher..." than "Mary..." That is just a fact. My DD is finishing up a double major at UMW. It was a good fit for her. But, I can see why the brand wouldn't be a big draw for teenage guys. It's more about the caché or name when you are applying as a high school student. "Mary..." isn't really giving a "guy" vibe.

And just generally, liberal arts have been rejected as everyone flooded the computer science programs at larger universities. That is changing now for data analytics.

My son goes to GMU. I would say that the teaching is much more personal and much smaller classes at UMW. Also, pretty much every prof at UMW speaks clear English -- which we are finding not to be the case at all at GMU. Not sure why the state opened CNU, but it definitely competes against UMW.

[Anonymous]

18 year old boys are idiots. By the time they are 20 they 100% want to be at school with mary in te ename that has a high female population. But at 18 they still want to be where the bros are

[Anonymous]

even 19

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. AI says the admit rates was 55 percent in 2000, 70 percent in 2008 and 80 percent in 2026, and says at the turn of the century it only trailed UVA and W&M. That's consistent with my understanding.

Why would it start to become less selective?

Other schools like VT and JMU became a lot more selective. More kids want the bigger college experience. UMW is very small, doesn't have big sports programs, not a lot going on. Its perfectly fine, just not what a lot of kids want in a college experience.

JMU is also less selective now than back then, so nope.

That's actually not true. JMU is getting harder and harder to get into.

the acceptance rate was 60 percent in 2000, 54 percent in 2010, 80 percent in 2020, and in the high 60s today. so while it's gotten more selective since 2020, it was still more selective in 2000 and 2010 than it is today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's a concern . . . but it's interesting that yes over the years MW has slipped considerably in the VA state school hierarchy.

It hasn’t really. Any adjustment in hierarchy is because other schools improved, not because UMW declined. After the top tier of UVA/VT/W&M, JMU and GMU have been in ascendance. UMW and VCU are next tier after that — UMW is the best of the small public LACs in VA.

Agree with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's a concern . . . but it's interesting that yes over the years MW has slipped considerably in the VA state school hierarchy.

It hasn’t really. Any adjustment in hierarchy is because other schools improved, not because UMW declined. After the top tier of UVA/VT/W&M, JMU and GMU have been in ascendance. UMW and VCU are next tier after that — UMW is the best of the small public LACs in VA.

I never said it declined in quality. I said it slipped in the hierarchy. BUT it definitely has declined in terms of admissions standards. It absolutely has gotten less competitive in admissions. Not that long ago it was turning away nearly half its applicants. It was the third most selective state school in VA for many years. Those days are over.

I never knew it was third! When did that change?

In the 1980’s, Mary Washington was very highly respected and selective. I think the decline began when it became a university and tried to grow too quickly and lowered admission standards. It should have stayed a college, with its niche for quality undergraduate education. When I attended, all of my classes were taught by full professors with no TA’s.

+1
I also attended in the 1980s. I knew as soon as they decided to change the name from Mary Washington College (a perfect little school) to University of Mary Washington, things were going to change and they did. I loved my time there but I so regret they felt the need to expand.