Thoughts on Mary Washington College?

[Anonymous]

I loved my 4 years at MWC but that was almost 14 years ago. I also loved the town of Fredericksburg. My only complaint is more to do with my choices, I got a BA and have never used it. I eventually went back to school for my RN. I wish I had known more what I wanted to do with my life before I went to college. A liberal arts school doesn't offer as much exposure to different ares of studies like larger schools. Maybe I would have done nursing, or something different (more useful) if it had been an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a beautiful school, with great academics - small classes, amazing professors. Not a huge party school either, which i liked. I hated Fredericksburg itself - very small, very southern town. I graduated almost 15 years ago, though, so not sure how much has changed (and how did I get so old!?)

Fburg has got a nice small liberal community but you have to know where to look. I found it at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. But still that's not probably a big draw for a college student.

I'm curious why you would think anyone would look for a liberal community? Or, why you think pp specifically was looking for one? Ethnocentric much?

No I wasn't sure that that's what the pp was looking for. I was only guessing that from the expression "very small, very southern town." That sounds like something a liberal would say. However, I lived there about the same time and while there were elements that were southern I didn't find it to be a small southern town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a beautiful school, with great academics - small classes, amazing professors. Not a huge party school either, which i liked. I hated Fredericksburg itself - very small, very southern town. I graduated almost 15 years ago, though, so not sure how much has changed (and how did I get so old!?)

Fburg has got a nice small liberal community but you have to know where to look. I found it at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. But still that's not probably a big draw for a college student.

I'm curious why you would think anyone would look for a liberal community? Or, why you think pp specifically was looking for one? Ethnocentric much?

No I wasn't sure that that's what the pp was looking for. I was only guessing that from the expression "very small, very southern town." That sounds like something a liberal would say. However, I lived there about the same time and while there were elements that were southern I didn't find it to be a small southern town.

And of course, using the phrase "ethnocentric much" reveals that you have jumped to conclusions about me. Guess that goes both ways, eh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMW alum here: loved my four years there. The campus and buildings are just beautiful; the quintessential classic college campus. After touring several other schools, I knew when I first laid eyes on Mary Washington and walked around that it was the place for me. Yes, it's a small school, though bigger than many other SLACs. It's true there is no Greek system whatsoever, which is one of the main reasons I chose it. Parties were open to everyone and usually just organized within dorms or at off-campus apts. One thing I loved about the school was that everyone was friends with everyone else and you always recognized someone in your classes or around campus. I didn't want to go to an enormous university where I would just have been one among many anonymous students. The old town area of Fredericksburg is adorable, lots of antique stores and restaurants. My friends and I used to meet up for brunch downtown sometimes on the weekends. As for the male/female ratio, I never, ever felt that there were too few guys there. When you're actually going to the school, it isn't particularly noticeable that there are more female students, at least it wasn't to me. Lots of great friendships with the guys, as well as several boyfriends during my time there. I had some incredible professors who opened my mind to all kinds of different ways of looking at the world. I made lifelong friends at Mary Washington and hope that one of my kids will want to go there someday as well. Highly recommend this school.

This was my experience too. I graduated in 2005. I went to a very small high school overseas and didn't want to get lost at a big university. I found that there was a pretty sizeable group of kids like me, whose parents were Foreign Service or military and moved often. It was nice to not be the only one who didn't have a hometown. Mary Wash is consistently in the top ten small colleges for Peace Corps volunteers too.

Among my friends, academics came first. We had fun and were very social, but no one gave anyone crap if they skipped a party to study or finish a paper. We all knew the library well Of my close group of friends, I'd say 75% of us now have grad degrees (a few lawyers and PhDs as well) and we're all in solid, stable careers. Classes were small and taught by professors, not graduate students. I had several seminars that were less than 10 students, the biggest class was a Poli Sci 101 class and it was less than 100. The faculty is very accessible and many of the departments have social events for students and faculty, community and mentoring are definitely emphasized.

I really loved it.

Thanks! That was useful info. I knew a number of Mount Holyoke students who grew up abroad, and wanted a place that felt welcoming as they didn't have homes/parents in the states.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The above stats mean squat - for getting in - if your kid is from Northern Virginia.

True. If you're from NoVa, the Virginia state universities do NOT not ot want you at all. The state system has become a mechanism for NoVa to subsidize Goochelberg county.

In 2012, 35.44% of the undergraduate students at UVa were from Alexandria/Arlington/Ffx/Falls Church/Fauquier/Loudoun/Manassas/Pr William. (54% of undergrads were from Virginia, 46% were not.) By comparison, those areas comprised 28.33% of the population of the state. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison since not every person is of college age, but it appears at first glance that at least at UVa, enrollment from Northern Virginia is roughly proportional to that of the rest of the state.

Interesting statistics here: http://avillage.web.virginia.edu/iaas/instreports/studentdata.shtm (office of Institutional Assessment & Studies)

Enrollment is far from "proportional." It is much more difficult to be admitted from NoVa, higher grades/ranks/SATs are required of NoVa applicants, the average NoVa student receives less in non-loan aid than the average student from the red areas, and the differences have become extreme -- students from some western/southern VA counties are admitted with what amount to essentially remedial-level SAT scores, while NoVa students have to be well within the top 10% even to make the first, non-dispositive pass. UVA and W&M have become nothing but the blue subsidizing the red.

This is absolutely true. Only the very top students from our NoVA high school are ever admitted to either UVA or W&M, as compared to students from other parts of the state. So much for our tax money (Northern Virginia) supporting what is supposed to be a state school. Going to a good NoVA high school will actually work against you if you're trying to get into one of these two schools.

[Anonymous]

One of my LHS sons attended MWC which changed to UMW while he was there. As a mother, I loved that it was an hour away for visiting convenience yet still far enough away for him to start to gain greater independence. His dad liked it because of in-state tuition which we could afford with no loans. He met and married a lovely young woman at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship there who happens to also be from Fairfax County. He is now gainfully employed by a mortgage banker. His attending UMW has been a very positive experience for our family.

The best to you in your search!

[Anonymous]

Enrollment is far from "proportional." It is much more difficult to be admitted from NoVa, higher grades/ranks/SATs are required of NoVa applicants, the average NoVa student receives less in non-loan aid than the average student from the red areas, and the differences have become extreme -- students from some western/southern VA counties are admitted with what amount to essentially remedial-level SAT scores, while NoVa students have to be well within the top 10% even to make the first, non-dispositive pass. UVA and W&M have become nothing but the blue subsidizing the red.

Jeez, bitter much? This happens at flagship state schools all over the country...when I lived in Austin, parents would talk about how they were not sure they wanted to send their kid to the really excellent magnet program for high school because it would lessen their changes of getting into UT in the top 10%. When I lived in the Chicago area, people were bitching about how hard it was to get into the University of Illinois coming from the wealthy suburbs and how all the farm kids got in with lower grades, etc. The reason why people get in with lower SATs and grades is because Northern Virginia has more wealth on average, better schools, and more resources. And if you are talking about the non-loan aid, it seems pretty obvious that poorer families would get more non-loan aid. Since the school is there to service the entire state...not just the wealthiest and most educated portion of the state, they need to level the playing field. Obviously someone coming from Langley or Thomas Jefferson has more preparation and resources put into their education than some more county in western and southern Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Enrollment is far from "proportional." It is much more difficult to be admitted from NoVa, higher grades/ranks/SATs are required of NoVa applicants, the average NoVa student receives less in non-loan aid than the average student from the red areas, and the differences have become extreme -- students from some western/southern VA counties are admitted with what amount to essentially remedial-level SAT scores, while NoVa students have to be well within the top 10% even to make the first, non-dispositive pass. UVA and W&M have become nothing but the blue subsidizing the red.

Jeez, bitter much? This happens at flagship state schools all over the country...when I lived in Austin, parents would talk about how they were not sure they wanted to send their kid to the really excellent magnet program for high school because it would lessen their changes of getting into UT in the top 10%. When I lived in the Chicago area, people were bitching about how hard it was to get into the University of Illinois coming from the wealthy suburbs and how all the farm kids got in with lower grades, etc. The reason why people get in with lower SATs and grades is because Northern Virginia has more wealth on average, better schools, and more resources. And if you are talking about the non-loan aid, it seems pretty obvious that poorer families would get more non-loan aid. Since the school is there to service the entire state...not just the wealthiest and most educated portion of the state, they need to level the playing field. Obviously someone coming from Langley or Thomas Jefferson has more preparation and resources put into their education than some more county in western and southern Virginia.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Enrollment is far from "proportional." It is much more difficult to be admitted from NoVa, higher grades/ranks/SATs are required of NoVa applicants, the average NoVa student receives less in non-loan aid than the average student from the red areas, and the differences have become extreme -- students from some western/southern VA counties are admitted with what amount to essentially remedial-level SAT scores, while NoVa students have to be well within the top 10% even to make the first, non-dispositive pass. UVA and W&M have become nothing but the blue subsidizing the red.

Jeez, bitter much? This happens at flagship state schools all over the country...when I lived in Austin, parents would talk about how they were not sure they wanted to send their kid to the really excellent magnet program for high school because it would lessen their changes of getting into UT in the top 10%. When I lived in the Chicago area, people were bitching about how hard it was to get into the University of Illinois coming from the wealthy suburbs and how all the farm kids got in with lower grades, etc. The reason why people get in with lower SATs and grades is because Northern Virginia has more wealth on average, better schools, and more resources. And if you are talking about the non-loan aid, it seems pretty obvious that poorer families would get more non-loan aid. Since the school is there to service the entire state...not just the wealthiest and most educated portion of the state, they need to level the playing field. Obviously someone coming from Langley or Thomas Jefferson has more preparation and resources put into their education than some more county in western and southern Virginia.

Not at all. People in NoVa also subsidize the public schools in south/west VA. In fact, NoVa pays the plurality of all of the taxes for all of VA, but NoVa is deprived of applicant-proportional access to UVA and W&M.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Enrollment is far from "proportional." It is much more difficult to be admitted from NoVa, higher grades/ranks/SATs are required of NoVa applicants, the average NoVa student receives less in non-loan aid than the average student from the red areas, and the differences have become extreme -- students from some western/southern VA counties are admitted with what amount to essentially remedial-level SAT scores, while NoVa students have to be well within the top 10% even to make the first, non-dispositive pass. UVA and W&M have become nothing but the blue subsidizing the red.

Jeez, bitter much? This happens at flagship state schools all over the country...when I lived in Austin, parents would talk about how they were not sure they wanted to send their kid to the really excellent magnet program for high school because it would lessen their changes of getting into UT in the top 10%. When I lived in the Chicago area, people were bitching about how hard it was to get into the University of Illinois coming from the wealthy suburbs and how all the farm kids got in with lower grades, etc. The reason why people get in with lower SATs and grades is because Northern Virginia has more wealth on average, better schools, and more resources. And if you are talking about the non-loan aid, it seems pretty obvious that poorer families would get more non-loan aid. Since the school is there to service the entire state...not just the wealthiest and most educated portion of the state, they need to level the playing field. Obviously someone coming from Langley or Thomas Jefferson has more preparation and resources put into their education than some more county in western and southern Virginia.

Another thing admissions from Va top colleges say unapologetically to we Langley parents and other NoVa parents (whose 3.8 GPA kids have 0 chance of acceptance at UVA and little chance at Tech): your kids will be fine wherever they go (at JMU or after we send them OOS). So deal with it basically. Clemson and Pitt, here we come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Enrollment is far from "proportional." It is much more difficult to be admitted from NoVa, higher grades/ranks/SATs are required of NoVa applicants, the average NoVa student receives less in non-loan aid than the average student from the red areas, and the differences have become extreme -- students from some western/southern VA counties are admitted with what amount to essentially remedial-level SAT scores, while NoVa students have to be well within the top 10% even to make the first, non-dispositive pass. UVA and W&M have become nothing but the blue subsidizing the red.

Jeez, bitter much? This happens at flagship state schools all over the country...when I lived in Austin, parents would talk about how they were not sure they wanted to send their kid to the really excellent magnet program for high school because it would lessen their changes of getting into UT in the top 10%. When I lived in the Chicago area, people were bitching about how hard it was to get into the University of Illinois coming from the wealthy suburbs and how all the farm kids got in with lower grades, etc. The reason why people get in with lower SATs and grades is because Northern Virginia has more wealth on average, better schools, and more resources. And if you are talking about the non-loan aid, it seems pretty obvious that poorer families would get more non-loan aid. Since the school is there to service the entire state...not just the wealthiest and most educated portion of the state, they need to level the playing field. Obviously someone coming from Langley or Thomas Jefferson has more preparation and resources put into their education than some more county in western and southern Virginia.

+1

+2 (and I say that as a NoVA parent and a W&M grad who thinks her DC probably won't get in there)

[Anonymous]

Why would someone living in Virginia choose mary wash over a UVA? UVA is very accessible under the NoVa guaranteed admission program - "As a NOVA student, you are offered Guaranteed Admissions to a variety of four-year colleges and universities when you meet the requirements of the written Agreement between NOVA and that college. Be sure to read the Agreements carefully. These Agreements guarantee admission to a college or university but most do not guarantee admission to a specific program." Schools include UVa, William & Mary, Georgetown, George Washington, Virginia Tech, and more, both in-state and out-of-state. You have to be a Virginia resident, and attend a Virginia community college, and achieve high grades in the core subjects that most 1st and 2nd year students take anyway. This deal cannot be beat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone living in Virginia choose mary wash over a UVA? UVA is very accessible under the NoVa guaranteed admission program - "As a NOVA student, you are offered Guaranteed Admissions to a variety of four-year colleges and universities when you meet the requirements of the written Agreement between NOVA and that college. Be sure to read the Agreements carefully. These Agreements guarantee admission to a college or university but most do not guarantee admission to a specific program." Schools include UVa, William & Mary, Georgetown, George Washington, Virginia Tech, and more, both in-state and out-of-state. You have to be a Virginia resident, and attend a Virginia community college, and achieve high grades in the core subjects that most 1st and 2nd year students take anyway. This deal cannot be beat.

I am someone who chose Mary Washington over UVA. I didn't want a large, uber-preppy, Greek-dominated school. Mary Washington was exactly what I was looking for. It's all about fit.

[Anonymous]

I know a superstar student who chose UMW over UVA, Chicago and others. At the time her parents thought she was going through a rebellious phase but supported their daughter 100%. Sure enough she was a very happy, fulfilled, big fish in a small pond. She loved her time there and her parents now agree that it was the best choice for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone living in Virginia choose mary wash over a UVA? UVA is very accessible under the NoVa guaranteed admission program - "As a NOVA student, you are offered Guaranteed Admissions to a variety of four-year colleges and universities when you meet the requirements of the written Agreement between NOVA and that college. Be sure to read the Agreements carefully. These Agreements guarantee admission to a college or university but most do not guarantee admission to a specific program." Schools include UVa, William & Mary, Georgetown, George Washington, Virginia Tech, and more, both in-state and out-of-state. You have to be a Virginia resident, and attend a Virginia community college, and achieve high grades in the core subjects that most 1st and 2nd year students take anyway. This deal cannot be beat.

My DC is not the slightest bit interested in UVA. I also don't think that NoVA would be a great path for him, for a couple of reasons that I won't get into here. I think W&M would be a good fit, but if he doesn't get in there, I think he would have a much better college experience at UMW than he would going the NoVA + transfer route, and I just don't believe that the academic experience at W&M would be so much better as to make the transfer route worth it, for this particular kid.