William and Mary - What do you think?

[Anonymous]

Only takes top 10% of high school class in state. A few exceptions athlete, URM, male, but top 10% is what you need.

[Anonymous]

^ agreed. unless you're from TJ, if you're from a nova high school, minimally you need to be in the top 10% - same for UVA. There might be a few exceptions (and maybe Langley is different) But "being glad" we have great Va public colleges isn't the case for everyone. Get beyond the top few colleges and it's debatable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: But "being glad" we have great Va public colleges isn't the case for everyone. Get beyond the top few colleges and it's debatable.

Seriously? Some states have no decent schools at all and VA, as you said yourself, has "a few"!

Back to the OP's question, my DC, a UVA student, says that W&M has stricter grading compared to UVA. W&M is a great college and a nerdy kid in particular would be very happy there. I am OK with it being a bit under the radar for the rest of the country - this saves a few spots for local kids!
W&M has a joint and very prestigious program with University of St.Andrews in UK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: But "being glad" we have great Va public colleges isn't the case for everyone. Get beyond the top few colleges and it's debatable.

Seriously? Some states have no decent schools at all and VA, as you said yourself, has "a few"!

Back to the OP's question, my DC, a UVA student, says that W&M has stricter grading compared to UVA. W&M is a great college and a nerdy kid in particular would be very happy there. I am OK with it being a bit under the radar for the rest of the country - this saves a few spots for local kids!
W&M has a joint and very prestigious program with University of St.Andrews in UK.

A "nerdy kid"--nice. But W&M does indeed have a rep of being very tough academically.

[Anonymous]

Alma Mater Hail! Best four years of my life were spent there despite theacacademic rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why isn't this a legit question? Not everyone grew up in this area and knows about all of the local state schools.

Anyway, I've met two people who've gone there and they are both major TOOLS. Not that you should draw conclusions from that, but I'd definitely tour the campus and/or attend a recruiting event to get a better feel for the community.

W&M is hardly a "local state school," it the second-oldest college in the country (after Harvard), older than Princeton or Yale, and has been one of the most prestigious for hundreds of years. Four of the first ten presidents went there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: But "being glad" we have great Va public colleges isn't the case for everyone. Get beyond the top few colleges and it's debatable.

Seriously? Some states have no decent schools at all and VA, as you said yourself, has "a few"!

Back to the OP's question, my DC, a UVA student, says that W&M has stricter grading compared to UVA. W&M is a great college and a nerdy kid in particular would be very happy there. I am OK with it being a bit under the radar for the rest of the country - this saves a few spots for local kids!
W&M has a joint and very prestigious program with University of St.Andrews in UK.

Our neighbhor, and summer sitter, applied UVA and W&M - accepted to UVA and weight listed at W&M. She accepted her spot a UVA but for awhile, very upset.

She went to a local public high school in Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

A relative of mine in NoVa had a 3.96, 2200 SAT/33 ACT and was wait listed at W and M. Was accepted at UVa and went there, but I actually think would have been a better fit at W and M. It's very, very competitive for the the top Virginia schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A relative of mine in NoVa had a 3.96, 2200 SAT/33 ACT and was wait listed at W and M. Was accepted at UVa and went there, but I actually think would have been a better fit at W and M. It's very, very competitive for the the top Virginia schools.

This doesn't sound right...I know MANY NOVa students with lesser stats who were accepted to W&M (caution...when I say "lesser" stats...not meaning low grades/scores but certainly less that those quoted by PP) Most be more to this story

[Anonymous]

I know an adjunct there who says there is real concern about career placement--that the liberal arts majors aren't getting jobs after 4 years. Does anyone have reason to know if career placement these days is any worse for W&M grads than for grads from other schools (eg, UVA) with the same liberal arts majors? Would a history or economics major from UVA be more employable immediately after graduation than a W&M history or economics major, for example? Don't most people with liberal arts degrees intend to go to grad school anyway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A relative of mine in NoVa had a 3.96, 2200 SAT/33 ACT and was wait listed at W and M. Was accepted at UVa and went there, but I actually think would have been a better fit at W and M. It's very, very competitive for the the top Virginia schools.

This doesn't sound right...I know MANY NOVa students with lesser stats who were accepted to W&M (caution...when I say "lesser" stats...not meaning low grades/scores but certainly less that those quoted by PP) Most be more to this story

One thing W & M admissions seem to look very closely at is rigor of course load, so perhaps student didn't challenge self enough with classes. There's no grade inflation at W&M, so they're not afraid to accept kids with a lower GPA perhaps, but harder classes, since these kids are often in it for the knowledge, not the grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I know an adjunct there who says there is real concern about career placement--that the liberal arts majors aren't getting jobs after 4 years. Does anyone have reason to know if career placement these days is any worse for W&M grads than for grads from other schools (eg, UVA) with the same liberal arts majors? Would a history or economics major from UVA be more employable immediately after graduation than a W&M history or economics major, for example? Don't most people with liberal arts degrees intend to go to grad school anyway?

Well, the Forbes rankings had UVA at 40 and William and Mary at 41, I think. And those rankings seem based on return on investment. I'd speak to career services directly to try to get the numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I know an adjunct there who says there is real concern about career placement--that the liberal arts majors aren't getting jobs after 4 years. Does anyone have reason to know if career placement these days is any worse for W&M grads than for grads from other schools (eg, UVA) with the same liberal arts majors? Would a history or economics major from UVA be more employable immediately after graduation than a W&M history or economics major, for example? Don't most people with liberal arts degrees intend to go to grad school anyway?

Anecdotally... I'm an 07 grad. Seven years out the Econ, compsci, business majors are all doing pretty well. The top IR students are now State Dept. The English, history, philosophy majors are having a much harder time. With a few exceptions, none of them got career-track jobs right out of school. Many have had to shell out addl $ for grad programs to make themselves employable, often at much less prestigious schools. I always knew certain majors were more marketable than others, but it's truly been a shock to see to what extent our life paths have diverged. I make a good living and feel the name on my diploma is valuable, but I've also been served coffee by fellow alums more than once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: But "being glad" we have great Va public colleges isn't the case for everyone. Get beyond the top few colleges and it's debatable.

Seriously? Some states have no decent schools at all and VA, as you said yourself, has "a few"!

Back to the OP's question, my DC, a UVA student, says that W&M has stricter grading compared to UVA. W&M is a great college and a nerdy kid in particular would be very happy there. I am OK with it being a bit under the radar for the rest of the country - this saves a few spots for local kids!
W&M has a joint and very prestigious program with University of St.Andrews in UK.

Our neighbhor, and summer sitter, applied UVA and W&M - accepted to UVA and weight listed at W&M. She accepted her spot a UVA but for awhile, very upset.

She went to a local public high school in Alexandria.

"Weight" listed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A relative of mine in NoVa had a 3.96, 2200 SAT/33 ACT and was wait listed at W and M. Was accepted at UVa and went there, but I actually think would have been a better fit at W and M. It's very, very competitive for the the top Virginia schools.

This doesn't sound right...I know MANY NOVa students with lesser stats who were accepted to W&M (caution...when I say "lesser" stats...not meaning low grades/scores but certainly less that those quoted by PP) Most be more to this story

One thing W & M admissions seem to look very closely at is rigor of course load, so perhaps student didn't challenge self enough with classes. There's no grade inflation at W&M, so they're not afraid to accept kids with a lower GPA perhaps, but harder classes, since these kids are often in it for the knowledge, not the grade.

Well, we were surprised. And yes, she had a rigorous course load: lots of AP classes including physics and Calc AB (4s and 5s on the exams), four years of foreign language, and participation in high level athletics. Our family thinks that it is just a tougher admit for girls.