What is the real W&M experience/vibe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williamsburg is a quaint town for retirees, but a dreadful college town. That seems to influence the tone and vibe of the college as well. And it feels like an introverted campus because it generally attracts introverted students.

Some schools have energy and momentum. W&M is low on both.

This is how my rising sophomore feels. She wishes she had chosen a different school because she feels like everyone else is having more fun. No one seems to care about the sports and there isn’t much of a party culture compared to other va schools.

+1. I have a rising junior who already says the feedback she gets is that W&M is a pressure cooker full of stressed-out students. Not her vibe. She is a good student, but the kind of student who says "I'm going surfing" instead of "I'm going to the library to study for five hours" type of kid. Very smart, but low key. Good at science, and rolls her eyes at brownosers.

She is interested in Virginia Tech. Fingers crossed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williamsburg is a quaint town for retirees, but a dreadful college town. That seems to influence the tone and vibe of the college as well. And it feels like an introverted campus because it generally attracts introverted students.

Some schools have energy and momentum. W&M is low on both.

This is how my rising sophomore feels. She wishes she had chosen a different school because she feels like everyone else is having more fun. No one seems to care about the sports and there isn’t much of a party culture compared to other va schools.

+1. I have a rising junior who already says the feedback she gets is that W&M is a pressure cooker full of stressed-out students. Not her vibe. She is a good student, but the kind of student who says "I'm going surfing" instead of "I'm going to the library to study for five hours" type of kid. Very smart, but low key. Good at science, and rolls her eyes at brownosers.

She is interested in Virginia Tech. Fingers crossed.

Pp with a sophomore here. She is a rising sophomore at W&M. I wouldn’t say everyone is stressed out, but it’s kind of low key.

[Anonymous]

Disagree with conservative comment previously. It’s a very open-minded, free-thinking school. Very accepting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williamsburg is a quaint town for retirees, but a dreadful college town. That seems to influence the tone and vibe of the college as well. And it feels like an introverted campus because it generally attracts introverted students.

Some schools have energy and momentum. W&M is low on both.

This is how my rising sophomore feels. She wishes she had chosen a different school because she feels like everyone else is having more fun. No one seems to care about the sports and there isn’t much of a party culture compared to other va schools.

If she wanted a sports and party culture, she chose the wrong school. DD did not want that. I can't say she is happy with her choice, as she have been on campus for 49 hours

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williamsburg is a quaint town for retirees, but a dreadful college town. That seems to influence the tone and vibe of the college as well. And it feels like an introverted campus because it generally attracts introverted students.

Some schools have energy and momentum. W&M is low on both.

This is how my rising sophomore feels. She wishes she had chosen a different school because she feels like everyone else is having more fun. No one seems to care about the sports and there isn’t much of a party culture compared to other va schools.

+1. I have a rising junior who already says the feedback she gets is that W&M is a pressure cooker full of stressed-out students. Not her vibe. She is a good student, but the kind of student who says "I'm going surfing" instead of "I'm going to the library to study for five hours" type of kid. Very smart, but low key. Good at science, and rolls her eyes at brownosers.

She is interested in Virginia Tech. Fingers crossed.

When I went to Tech, the "I am going surfing vibe" students had problems. First the nearest beach is 330 miles away. A better bet is tubing in the new river.

Second, those with that attitude that were STEM majors (not just engineering, but also science) ended up non-stem majors. They did fine in the Pamplin business school.

My DD is a freshman at W & M. The alums I know rave about the place. They worked hard, but it served them well long term. Not unlike my experience at Tech, except, I suspect no on graduates from W & M writing only one term paper. (

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand that everyone’s experience is different, etc. However, I’d like to hear from people with first-hand experience about the students, social life, and education. I’m not interested in the cliches and stereotypes, unless your experience supports them.

That's what you'll get a lot of on this forum. If possible, try to talk to verified alumni.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williamsburg is a quaint town for retirees, but a dreadful college town. That seems to influence the tone and vibe of the college as well. And it feels like an introverted campus because it generally attracts introverted students.

Some schools have energy and momentum. W&M is low on both.

This is how my rising sophomore feels. She wishes she had chosen a different school because she feels like everyone else is having more fun. No one seems to care about the sports and there isn’t much of a party culture compared to other va schools.

+1. I have a rising junior who already says the feedback she gets is that W&M is a pressure cooker full of stressed-out students. Not her vibe. She is a good student, but the kind of student who says "I'm going surfing" instead of "I'm going to the library to study for five hours" type of kid. Very smart, but low key. Good at science, and rolls her eyes at brownosers.

She is interested in Virginia Tech. Fingers crossed.

When I went to Tech, the "I am going surfing vibe" students had problems. First the nearest beach is 330 miles away. A better bet is tubing in the new river.

Second, those with that attitude that were STEM majors (not just engineering, but also science) ended up non-stem majors. They did fine in the Pamplin business school.

My DD is a freshman at W & M. The alums I know rave about the place. They worked hard, but it served them well long term. Not unlike my experience at Tech, except, I suspect no on graduates from W & M writing only one term paper. (

One term paper for the entire time?

[Anonymous]

I am a little concerned by some of the posts about grade deflation because graduate/professional school will be on the horizon. Also concerning is the announcement regarding voluntary furloughs for employees and leadership taking salary cuts. However, I know that COVID-19's financial impact is being felt everywhere including the Ivies and there is widespread uncertainty in higher ed.

[Anonymous]

So much nonsense here. It’s a charming town and a beautiful campus. Academically challenging, with a work hard, play hard vibe. Student body generally mainstream liberal. Williamsburg is a liberal enclave. The momentum thing is an issue — the school capped off a billion dollar fundraising drive, barely nudging the ball over the target goalpost, but getting there nonetheless. I am somewhat concerned about the female to male ratio and an increasing admission rate. But it’ll always be the country’s second oldest college, and it’s a special place in so many ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I just dropped of my kid, so I’ll report back!

me too. I know what others told me. I know its reputation. It is not a party school, but parties can be found except this year). The leadership has a lot of faith in the students doing the right thing re covid.
The food is not particularly edible (according to DD).

I can tell you it is hot in August, if that helps.

Hot indeed. It’s been 20 years, and I still remember the heat and humidity walking up to dorm on move-in day. And just an aside, file this in the subjective category, but hardly a day goes by that I don’t think about that place and all the positive things it did for me after I got my bearings.

[Anonymous]

I went there. My husband went there. My brother went there. My daughter went there. Hands down, the best education for Virginians...My son went to UVA.. and I say this with full understanding that education and experience are two very different things.. my son had a quintessentially better college experience if you include bigger sports and parties. The rest of us had an intellectually rewarding, sometimes intense, but ultimately very fulfilling four years of focused education. We had fun at W&M, but we worked hard. I bristle when people talk about Williamsburg being a less than an optimal 'college town'..another child went to Notre Dame....South Bend is miserable..but it has no bearing on how much he enjoyed his four years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much nonsense here. It’s a charming town and a beautiful campus. Academically challenging, with a work hard, play hard vibe. Student body generally mainstream liberal. Williamsburg is a liberal enclave. The momentum thing is an issue — the school capped off a billion dollar fundraising drive, barely nudging the ball over the target goalpost, but getting there nonetheless. I am somewhat concerned about the female to male ratio and an increasing admission rate. But it’ll always be the country’s second oldest college, and it’s a special place in so many ways.

I’m an alum. It is a work hard school, but definitely not a play hard school. Not even close.
You can’t put it in the same category as Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Lehigh, and other schools known as “Work hard, play hard” schools. It doesn’t have the hard partying atmosphere.
It’s more a work hard, hang out and have fun with your friends kinda school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much nonsense here. It’s a charming town and a beautiful campus. Academically challenging, with a work hard, play hard vibe. Student body generally mainstream liberal. Williamsburg is a liberal enclave. The momentum thing is an issue — the school capped off a billion dollar fundraising drive, barely nudging the ball over the target goalpost, but getting there nonetheless. I am somewhat concerned about the female to male ratio and an increasing admission rate. But it’ll always be the country’s second oldest college, and it’s a special place in so many ways.

I’m an alum. It is a work hard school, but definitely not a play hard school. Not even close.
You can’t put it in the same category as Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Lehigh, and other schools known as “Work hard, play hard” schools. It doesn’t have the hard partying atmosphere.
It’s more a work hard, hang out and have fun with your friends kinda school.

I’m an alum too, and what can I say, I suppose my experience and social group was different from yours.

[Anonymous]

If you are an instate resident, I think a classic combination is W&M for undergrad and UVA for grad school. Best of both worlds, in my humble opinion. You’ll get where you want to go. Of course, UVA-UVA does it too. UVA - W&M would only make sense if you are going to W&M Law School because you were rejected by UVA Law School. Don’t misunderstand: it’s a very good law school, but folks know why you’re there (usually).

[Anonymous]

OP you should be aware that there is a poster who surfaces and posts vitriol re W&M on any thread that has it in the title. The other posts are balanced.