What’s wrong with William & Mary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All those schools PP compares to are OOS. So yes you could go to UNC for the campus. Or Wisconsin. Or UVA ( good luck getting in).
For VA residents W&M is a good choice among many.
You sound very bitter and angry about Williamsburg. Did you get into a fight with a retiree?

You seem awfully sensitive regarding Williamsburg. Are you a wealthy retiree from the north that wants to live near a historic college but hates the students that attend it?

All those schools are not out-of-state. Half the schools I listed are in-state, GMU and UVA. This is a new low in reading comprehension.

They are not being sensitive. They just disagree with you and think you are an idiot.

Very useful post, great at betraying your lack of intelligence and argument, moron.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is strongly considering W&M and likes the size, teacher/student ratio and the good things he has heard about the Business school. His only concern is that he has heard there is little to do outside of studying and that Williamsburg is very boring for college students. He has heard great things about the school spirit at UVA and VT. He wants a good balance of academics/social life.

There is indeed very little to do outside of campus in the college town itself, but there is indeed a frat scene with ~35% in frats/sororities. But don't expect anything to be set around the town itself (i.e. no movie theaters/concerts/clubs etc.). Mostly house parties.
There is school spirit but its a different kind from VT and UVA. It's not based around sports, its more of what you might expect at a private liberal arts school.
Some kids do seem to outright hate the school initially though; there are a lot of male students that did not get into their first choice of UVA who come to W&M and would much prefer the environment of UVA i.e. large population, big-time sports, huge frat scene, undergrad business school, Charlottesville.

The outright best part of W&M is their humanities, government, and related majors i.e. international relations. The small class size, generally 20-30 students per class in even freshman classes, is very good and necessary for those types of majors because it allows class discussions, and the professors in those majors are generally great and come from great schools. I would say this is a huge advantage that W&M has over UVA, VT and other top public universities.

Majors like Economics are not as good and you don't need small class size for those types of majors. Not much course choice. Computer Science major is extremely mediocre.

UVA business school is probably better than W&M's and certainly has more prestigious employers i.e. investment banks, top management consulting firms recruiting that W&M doesn't have.

No movie theaters? There are about 20 screens in Williamsburg. The Regal alone has 12 screens.

Another person who lacks reading comprehension. I'm talking about the area adjacent to W&M campus. Not an area that's a 30 minutes drive away.

According to google maps, it is a 6 minute drive, and 30 minute walk. Oh, and a 10 minute bicycle ride to Regal New Town. When I was in college, 30 minute walk was nothing. I would regularly walk 1 mile to get from class to lunch on campus. At these large schools with "great college towns", the college town, if across campus from the dorms, could be a long walk.

No one goes to watch the movies at W&M, no one. Simply too far away. The bus comes every hour, it's not like in other college towns where the university provides bussing service throughout the town that comes every 10 minutes.

And Regal New Town is not part of the 'college town' of Williamsburg. It's not accessible for the vast majority of students that don't have cars.

I just reported what google maps said. And I assume there is Uber in Williamsburg,,,,

Yes, although even getting Uber is more difficult in Williamsburg compared to DC Metro area - not many Uber drivers.

Compare with Ann Arbor. University of Michigan has movie theaters literally right as you set foot off the main campus
Compare with GMU. Discount movie theater literally across the road from campus
Compare with Charlottesville. Movie theater a few blocks away from campus in the main area that students congregate.
Compare with Chapel Hill. Movie theater a block away from campus


But the point is not about movie theaters specifically. Its that the college town of Williamsburg is very lacking in amenities. It's not necessarily due to impossibility - as I said earlier, there is a great walking space right outside of campus. But that area caters to tourists and wealthy retirees, and therefore is extremely expensive. Ergo, no college student goes to eat/shop there. It's a decision made by the town to cater towards tourists and retirees rather than students. That decision permeates throughout the entire town.

Now there are many SLACs in rural areas that lack in amenities. Sure, but at least the restaurants and shops near those campuses are cheap and cater to students. Williamsburg doesn't even have that.

Furthermore those rural towns have a certain scene beauty being in the middle of nowhere. Williamsburg is a suburb - it doesn't even have that.

Does that take away from attending W&M? Yes, unless your conception of college is being cooped up on campus, eating campus dining, for 4 years aka boarding school.

They need to improve the town massively, but that will never happen because the town's residents - wealthy retirees - are very much anti-college-student. They want to live near a historic college as some sort of museum, not a university.

Result: dead town.

Which one is that in Charlottesville? Stonefield, the big theater is a ways away. Same for Alamo Drafthouse. Violet Crown is closer but that isn't a few blocks. Probably a 25 minute walk.

My UVA kid walks to the Alamo. Loves it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is strongly considering W&M and likes the size, teacher/student ratio and the good things he has heard about the Business school. His only concern is that he has heard there is little to do outside of studying and that Williamsburg is very boring for college students. He has heard great things about the school spirit at UVA and VT. He wants a good balance of academics/social life.

There is indeed very little to do outside of campus in the college town itself, but there is indeed a frat scene with ~35% in frats/sororities. But don't expect anything to be set around the town itself (i.e. no movie theaters/concerts/clubs etc.). Mostly house parties.
There is school spirit but its a different kind from VT and UVA. It's not based around sports, its more of what you might expect at a private liberal arts school.
Some kids do seem to outright hate the school initially though; there are a lot of male students that did not get into their first choice of UVA who come to W&M and would much prefer the environment of UVA i.e. large population, big-time sports, huge frat scene, undergrad business school, Charlottesville.

The outright best part of W&M is their humanities, government, and related majors i.e. international relations. The small class size, generally 20-30 students per class in even freshman classes, is very good and necessary for those types of majors because it allows class discussions, and the professors in those majors are generally great and come from great schools. I would say this is a huge advantage that W&M has over UVA, VT and other top public universities.

Majors like Economics are not as good and you don't need small class size for those types of majors. Not much course choice. Computer Science major is extremely mediocre.

UVA business school is probably better than W&M's and certainly has more prestigious employers i.e. investment banks, top management consulting firms recruiting that W&M doesn't have.

No movie theaters? There are about 20 screens in Williamsburg. The Regal alone has 12 screens.

Another person who lacks reading comprehension. I'm talking about the area adjacent to W&M campus. Not an area that's a 30 minutes drive away.

According to google maps, it is a 6 minute drive, and 30 minute walk. Oh, and a 10 minute bicycle ride to Regal New Town. When I was in college, 30 minute walk was nothing. I would regularly walk 1 mile to get from class to lunch on campus. At these large schools with "great college towns", the college town, if across campus from the dorms, could be a long walk.

No one goes to watch the movies at W&M, no one. Simply too far away. The bus comes every hour, it's not like in other college towns where the university provides bussing service throughout the town that comes every 10 minutes.

And Regal New Town is not part of the 'college town' of Williamsburg. It's not accessible for the vast majority of students that don't have cars.

I just reported what google maps said. And I assume there is Uber in Williamsburg,,,,

Yes, although even getting Uber is more difficult in Williamsburg compared to DC Metro area - not many Uber drivers.

Compare with Ann Arbor. University of Michigan has movie theaters literally right as you set foot off the main campus
Compare with GMU. Discount movie theater literally across the road from campus
Compare with Charlottesville. Movie theater a few blocks away from campus in the main area that students congregate.
Compare with Chapel Hill. Movie theater a block away from campus


But the point is not about movie theaters specifically. Its that the college town of Williamsburg is very lacking in amenities. It's not necessarily due to impossibility - as I said earlier, there is a great walking space right outside of campus. But that area caters to tourists and wealthy retirees, and therefore is extremely expensive. Ergo, no college student goes to eat/shop there. It's a decision made by the town to cater towards tourists and retirees rather than students. That decision permeates throughout the entire town.

Now there are many SLACs in rural areas that lack in amenities. Sure, but at least the restaurants and shops near those campuses are cheap and cater to students. Williamsburg doesn't even have that.

Furthermore those rural towns have a certain scene beauty being in the middle of nowhere. Williamsburg is a suburb - it doesn't even have that.

Does that take away from attending W&M? Yes, unless your conception of college is being cooped up on campus, eating campus dining, for 4 years aka boarding school.

They need to improve the town massively, but that will never happen because the town's residents - wealthy retirees - are very much anti-college-student. They want to live near a historic college as some sort of museum, not a university.

Result: dead town.

Which one is that in Charlottesville? Stonefield, the big theater is a ways away. Same for Alamo Drafthouse. Violet Crown is closer but that isn't a few blocks. Probably a 25 minute walk.

Violet Crown. Not only is it 25 minutes away, its in an area that students frequent for food, restaurants, etc., through city blocks.

Meanwhile Regal Theater in Williamsburg is a 45 minute walk away from Williamsburg taking the "short-cut", out in the suburbs where literally no student goes to. You have to literally walk through a jungle and cross two highways to get there.
Again, no one at W&M hangs out where Regal Theater is. The town square developed for and caters to middle-aged families with kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is strongly considering W&M and likes the size, teacher/student ratio and the good things he has heard about the Business school. His only concern is that he has heard there is little to do outside of studying and that Williamsburg is very boring for college students. He has heard great things about the school spirit at UVA and VT. He wants a good balance of academics/social life.

There is indeed very little to do outside of campus in the college town itself, but there is indeed a frat scene with ~35% in frats/sororities. But don't expect anything to be set around the town itself (i.e. no movie theaters/concerts/clubs etc.). Mostly house parties.
There is school spirit but its a different kind from VT and UVA. It's not based around sports, its more of what you might expect at a private liberal arts school.
Some kids do seem to outright hate the school initially though; there are a lot of male students that did not get into their first choice of UVA who come to W&M and would much prefer the environment of UVA i.e. large population, big-time sports, huge frat scene, undergrad business school, Charlottesville.

The outright best part of W&M is their humanities, government, and related majors i.e. international relations. The small class size, generally 20-30 students per class in even freshman classes, is very good and necessary for those types of majors because it allows class discussions, and the professors in those majors are generally great and come from great schools. I would say this is a huge advantage that W&M has over UVA, VT and other top public universities.

Majors like Economics are not as good and you don't need small class size for those types of majors. Not much course choice. Computer Science major is extremely mediocre.

UVA business school is probably better than W&M's and certainly has more prestigious employers i.e. investment banks, top management consulting firms recruiting that W&M doesn't have.

No movie theaters? There are about 20 screens in Williamsburg. The Regal alone has 12 screens.

Another person who lacks reading comprehension. I'm talking about the area adjacent to W&M campus. Not an area that's a 30 minutes drive away.

According to google maps, it is a 6 minute drive, and 30 minute walk. Oh, and a 10 minute bicycle ride to Regal New Town. When I was in college, 30 minute walk was nothing. I would regularly walk 1 mile to get from class to lunch on campus. At these large schools with "great college towns", the college town, if across campus from the dorms, could be a long walk.

No one goes to watch the movies at W&M, no one. Simply too far away. The bus comes every hour, it's not like in other college towns where the university provides bussing service throughout the town that comes every 10 minutes.

And Regal New Town is not part of the 'college town' of Williamsburg. It's not accessible for the vast majority of students that don't have cars.

I just reported what google maps said. And I assume there is Uber in Williamsburg,,,,

Yes, although even getting Uber is more difficult in Williamsburg compared to DC Metro area - not many Uber drivers.

Compare with Ann Arbor. University of Michigan has movie theaters literally right as you set foot off the main campus
Compare with GMU. Discount movie theater literally across the road from campus
Compare with Charlottesville. Movie theater a few blocks away from campus in the main area that students congregate.
Compare with Chapel Hill. Movie theater a block away from campus


But the point is not about movie theaters specifically. Its that the college town of Williamsburg is very lacking in amenities. It's not necessarily due to impossibility - as I said earlier, there is a great walking space right outside of campus. But that area caters to tourists and wealthy retirees, and therefore is extremely expensive. Ergo, no college student goes to eat/shop there. It's a decision made by the town to cater towards tourists and retirees rather than students. That decision permeates throughout the entire town.

Now there are many SLACs in rural areas that lack in amenities. Sure, but at least the restaurants and shops near those campuses are cheap and cater to students. Williamsburg doesn't even have that.

Furthermore those rural towns have a certain scene beauty being in the middle of nowhere. Williamsburg is a suburb - it doesn't even have that.

Does that take away from attending W&M? Yes, unless your conception of college is being cooped up on campus, eating campus dining, for 4 years aka boarding school.

They need to improve the town massively, but that will never happen because the town's residents - wealthy retirees - are very much anti-college-student. They want to live near a historic college as some sort of museum, not a university.

Result: dead town.

Which one is that in Charlottesville? Stonefield, the big theater is a ways away. Same for Alamo Drafthouse. Violet Crown is closer but that isn't a few blocks. Probably a 25 minute walk.

Violet Crown. Not only is it 25 minutes away, its in an area that students frequent for food, restaurants, etc., through city blocks.

Meanwhile Regal Theater in Williamsburg is a 45 minute walk away from Williamsburg taking the "short-cut", out in the suburbs where literally no student goes to. You have to literally walk through a jungle and cross two highways to get there.
Again, no one at W&M hangs out where Regal Theater is. The town square developed for and caters to middle-aged families with kids.

The Corner is adjacent to UVA. Violet Crown is on the Downtown Mall, which is a couple of miles away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Which one is that in Charlottesville? Stonefield, the big theater is a ways away. Same for Alamo Drafthouse. Violet Crown is closer but that isn't a few blocks. Probably a 25 minute walk.

Actually, the Alamo Drafthouse is about as far away from the center of UVA as Regal is from W&M : 45-50 minutes walk.

So now you get an idea of this amazing cookie-cutter suburban theater that is supposedly a shining example of the amenities provided by Williamsburg.

[Anonymous]

OP this thread has gone way off topic but. A few years ago DC was considering options between UVA, W&M, Vtech among others. At that time was concerned with W&M as “suicide school” “boring tourist town” “nerds”
UVA is of course the ultimate party school and so on. It’s also very big and spread out. You have to take a bus from dorm to school and the social scene is very competitive. Perfect for a certain kind of person. Admission to the B school VERY competitive.
Vtech is the perfect “college town” but huge. And it was a safety for DC. Didn’t really love it. Just not what had in mind.
Chose W&M. Loved it and so many opportunities. Very busy social life but students are serious about college classes. Very high grades which might not have been possible at UVA. It’s an individual decision.
DC has never been “bored”. Never went to the movies either. They watch on computers. Excellent travel program.
Very happy with it but if it doesn’t feel right ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is strongly considering W&M and likes the size, teacher/student ratio and the good things he has heard about the Business school. His only concern is that he has heard there is little to do outside of studying and that Williamsburg is very boring for college students. He has heard great things about the school spirit at UVA and VT. He wants a good balance of academics/social life.

There is indeed very little to do outside of campus in the college town itself, but there is indeed a frat scene with ~35% in frats/sororities. But don't expect anything to be set around the town itself (i.e. no movie theaters/concerts/clubs etc.). Mostly house parties.
There is school spirit but its a different kind from VT and UVA. It's not based around sports, its more of what you might expect at a private liberal arts school.
Some kids do seem to outright hate the school initially though; there are a lot of male students that did not get into their first choice of UVA who come to W&M and would much prefer the environment of UVA i.e. large population, big-time sports, huge frat scene, undergrad business school, Charlottesville.

The outright best part of W&M is their humanities, government, and related majors i.e. international relations. The small class size, generally 20-30 students per class in even freshman classes, is very good and necessary for those types of majors because it allows class discussions, and the professors in those majors are generally great and come from great schools. I would say this is a huge advantage that W&M has over UVA, VT and other top public universities.

Majors like Economics are not as good and you don't need small class size for those types of majors. Not much course choice. Computer Science major is extremely mediocre.

UVA business school is probably better than W&M's and certainly has more prestigious employers i.e. investment banks, top management consulting firms recruiting that W&M doesn't have.

No movie theaters? There are about 20 screens in Williamsburg. The Regal alone has 12 screens.

Another person who lacks reading comprehension. I'm talking about the area adjacent to W&M campus. Not an area that's a 30 minutes drive away.

According to google maps, it is a 6 minute drive, and 30 minute walk. Oh, and a 10 minute bicycle ride to Regal New Town. When I was in college, 30 minute walk was nothing. I would regularly walk 1 mile to get from class to lunch on campus. At these large schools with "great college towns", the college town, if across campus from the dorms, could be a long walk.

No one goes to watch the movies at W&M, no one. Simply too far away. The bus comes every hour, it's not like in other college towns where the university provides bussing service throughout the town that comes every 10 minutes.

And Regal New Town is not part of the 'college town' of Williamsburg. It's not accessible for the vast majority of students that don't have cars.

I just reported what google maps said. And I assume there is Uber in Williamsburg,,,,

Yes, although even getting Uber is more difficult in Williamsburg compared to DC Metro area - not many Uber drivers.

Compare with Ann Arbor. University of Michigan has movie theaters literally right as you set foot off the main campus
Compare with GMU. Discount movie theater literally across the road from campus
Compare with Charlottesville. Movie theater a few blocks away from campus in the main area that students congregate.
Compare with Chapel Hill. Movie theater a block away from campus


But the point is not about movie theaters specifically. Its that the college town of Williamsburg is very lacking in amenities. It's not necessarily due to impossibility - as I said earlier, there is a great walking space right outside of campus. But that area caters to tourists and wealthy retirees, and therefore is extremely expensive. Ergo, no college student goes to eat/shop there. It's a decision made by the town to cater towards tourists and retirees rather than students. That decision permeates throughout the entire town.

Now there are many SLACs in rural areas that lack in amenities. Sure, but at least the restaurants and shops near those campuses are cheap and cater to students. Williamsburg doesn't even have that.

Furthermore those rural towns have a certain scene beauty being in the middle of nowhere. Williamsburg is a suburb - it doesn't even have that.

Does that take away from attending W&M? Yes, unless your conception of college is being cooped up on campus, eating campus dining, for 4 years aka boarding school.

They need to improve the town massively, but that will never happen because the town's residents - wealthy retirees - are very much anti-college-student. They want to live near a historic college as some sort of museum, not a university.

Result: dead town.

Which one is that in Charlottesville? Stonefield, the big theater is a ways away. Same for Alamo Drafthouse. Violet Crown is closer but that isn't a few blocks. Probably a 25 minute walk.

My UVA kid walks to the Alamo. Loves it.

Alamo Drafthouse in a shopping center with Petsmart, Mattress Warehouse, etc. My point was it isn't right next to campus. That has to be a pretty long walk if we're thinking of the same place. Movie Tavern in Williamsburg would be about a 25 minute walk. It is in a shopping area as well.

[Anonymous]

The know-it-all poster is neglecting the fact that everyone takes the trolley to the Downtown Mall.

Violet Crown is the movie theater on the Downtown Mall. The know-it-all poster is neglecting the fact that everyone takes the free trolley to the Downtown Mall. It takes 5-10 minutes depending on traffic and is no big deal.

Regal Cinema is at Stonefield. People drive there.

Alamo is at 5th Street State. People drive there.

BUT UPC screens movies right in Newcomb (student union), so you don't need to go anywhere. The films they show are sometimes still in the theaters or just left the theaters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is strongly considering W&M and likes the size, teacher/student ratio and the good things he has heard about the Business school. His only concern is that he has heard there is little to do outside of studying and that Williamsburg is very boring for college students. He has heard great things about the school spirit at UVA and VT. He wants a good balance of academics/social life.

There is indeed very little to do outside of campus in the college town itself, but there is indeed a frat scene with ~35% in frats/sororities. But don't expect anything to be set around the town itself (i.e. no movie theaters/concerts/clubs etc.). Mostly house parties.
There is school spirit but its a different kind from VT and UVA. It's not based around sports, its more of what you might expect at a private liberal arts school.
Some kids do seem to outright hate the school initially though; there are a lot of male students that did not get into their first choice of UVA who come to W&M and would much prefer the environment of UVA i.e. large population, big-time sports, huge frat scene, undergrad business school, Charlottesville.

The outright best part of W&M is their humanities, government, and related majors i.e. international relations. The small class size, generally 20-30 students per class in even freshman classes, is very good and necessary for those types of majors because it allows class discussions, and the professors in those majors are generally great and come from great schools. I would say this is a huge advantage that W&M has over UVA, VT and other top public universities.

Majors like Economics are not as good and you don't need small class size for those types of majors. Not much course choice. Computer Science major is extremely mediocre.

UVA business school is probably better than W&M's and certainly has more prestigious employers i.e. investment banks, top management consulting firms recruiting that W&M doesn't have.

No movie theaters? There are about 20 screens in Williamsburg. The Regal alone has 12 screens.

Another person who lacks reading comprehension. I'm talking about the area adjacent to W&M campus. Not an area that's a 30 minutes drive away.

30 minutes? You can be there in about 6 minutes. Same with Movie Tavern. Not sure if Kimball is still showing many movies or just performing arts, but it is a 2 minute walk. Is there anything you don't distort? You make these repeated snarky comments about reading comprehension when there is not a single thing you write that is comprehensible.

At what campuses in Virginia do you walk right off campus to first run movie theaters? Thinking through, not UVA, not VT, not JMU, not GMU, not ODU, not Richmond. Perhaps VCU?

Kimball does not show movies.

Literally all of UVA, VT, JMU, GMU, ODU and VCU have movie theaters right outside or a few walkable blocks away from campus.

And of course, movie theaters is only one example of amenities that Williamsburg lacks for college students.

Movie theaters? Are you posting from 1989?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is strongly considering W&M and likes the size, teacher/student ratio and the good things he has heard about the Business school. His only concern is that he has heard there is little to do outside of studying and that Williamsburg is very boring for college students. He has heard great things about the school spirit at UVA and VT. He wants a good balance of academics/social life.

There is indeed very little to do outside of campus in the college town itself, but there is indeed a frat scene with ~35% in frats/sororities. But don't expect anything to be set around the town itself (i.e. no movie theaters/concerts/clubs etc.). Mostly house parties.
There is school spirit but its a different kind from VT and UVA. It's not based around sports, its more of what you might expect at a private liberal arts school.
Some kids do seem to outright hate the school initially though; there are a lot of male students that did not get into their first choice of UVA who come to W&M and would much prefer the environment of UVA i.e. large population, big-time sports, huge frat scene, undergrad business school, Charlottesville.

The outright best part of W&M is their humanities, government, and related majors i.e. international relations. The small class size, generally 20-30 students per class in even freshman classes, is very good and necessary for those types of majors because it allows class discussions, and the professors in those majors are generally great and come from great schools. I would say this is a huge advantage that W&M has over UVA, VT and other top public universities.

Majors like Economics are not as good and you don't need small class size for those types of majors. Not much course choice. Computer Science major is extremely mediocre.

UVA business school is probably better than W&M's and certainly has more prestigious employers i.e. investment banks, top management consulting firms recruiting that W&M doesn't have.

No movie theaters? There are about 20 screens in Williamsburg. The Regal alone has 12 screens.

Another person who lacks reading comprehension. I'm talking about the area adjacent to W&M campus. Not an area that's a 30 minutes drive away.

30 minutes? You can be there in about 6 minutes. Same with Movie Tavern. Not sure if Kimball is still showing many movies or just performing arts, but it is a 2 minute walk. Is there anything you don't distort? You make these repeated snarky comments about reading comprehension when there is not a single thing you write that is comprehensible.

At what campuses in Virginia do you walk right off campus to first run movie theaters? Thinking through, not UVA, not VT, not JMU, not GMU, not ODU, not Richmond. Perhaps VCU?

Kimball does not show movies.

Literally all of UVA, VT, JMU, GMU, ODU and VCU have movie theaters right outside or a few walkable blocks away from campus.

And of course, movie theaters is only one example of amenities that Williamsburg lacks for college students.

Really? These theaters seem to disappear when I visit these places. Most of the kids stream stuff now. The first run places tend to be in Cineplex-type theaters and they tend to be in shopping areas with plenty of parking. I think most will be taking a bus or trolley or driving.

[Anonymous]

PP you realize driving by is not a good idea to find all the amenities in a town especially when the town has a lot of amenities.
Although you could drive through Williamsburg and see all the amenities due to the very small number that you'd have to keep track of.

[Anonymous]

If your kid is really into partying...heavy drinking, bar hopping, clubs, then W & M is probably not for your child.

W & M is for the more sofisikated kids, those that like Grey Poop-on mustard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP this thread has gone way off topic but. A few years ago DC was considering options between UVA, W&M, Vtech among others. At that time was concerned with W&M as “suicide school” “boring tourist town” “nerds”
UVA is of course the ultimate party school and so on. It’s also very big and spread out. You have to take a bus from dorm to school and the social scene is very competitive. Perfect for a certain kind of person. Admission to the B school VERY competitive.
Vtech is the perfect “college town” but huge. And it was a safety for DC. Didn’t really love it. Just not what had in mind.
Chose W&M. Loved it and so many opportunities. Very busy social life but students are serious about college classes. Very high grades which might not have been possible at UVA. It’s an individual decision.
DC has never been “bored”. Never went to the movies either. They watch on computers. Excellent travel program.
Very happy with it but if it doesn’t feel right ...

It's awesome that your kid likes W&M, but can you stop with the totally wrong info about other schools?

1. If you think UVA is the ultimate party school, you haven't seen a real party school. That's a laughable statement.
2. You don't have to take a bus from the UVA dorms to the buildings where classes are unless you live in Hereford or Gooch. Old Dorms are literally across a street (closed to outside traffic half the time) from a ton of academic buildings. New dorms are further up that road, but still not far. People who rent in the neighborhood use the buses more than people in dorms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP this thread has gone way off topic but. A few years ago DC was considering options between UVA, W&M, Vtech among others. At that time was concerned with W&M as “suicide school” “boring tourist town” “nerds”
UVA is of course the ultimate party school and so on. It’s also very big and spread out. You have to take a bus from dorm to school and the social scene is very competitive. Perfect for a certain kind of person. Admission to the B school VERY competitive.
Vtech is the perfect “college town” but huge. And it was a safety for DC. Didn’t really love it. Just not what had in mind.
Chose W&M. Loved it and so many opportunities. Very busy social life but students are serious about college classes. Very high grades which might not have been possible at UVA. It’s an individual decision.
DC has never been “bored”. Never went to the movies either. They watch on computers. Excellent travel program.
Very happy with it but if it doesn’t feel right ...

It's awesome that your kid likes W&M, but can you stop with the totally wrong info about other schools?

1. If you think UVA is the ultimate party school, you haven't seen a real party school. That's a laughable statement.
2. You don't have to take a bus from the UVA dorms to the buildings where classes are unless you live in Hereford or Gooch. Old Dorms are literally across a street (closed to outside traffic half the time) from a ton of academic buildings. New dorms are further up that road, but still not far. People who rent in the neighborhood use the buses more than people in dorms.

I think they were mixing the stereotypes they heard at the time with the factors they might have actually considered (which makes it confusing). But I'm assuming DC wouldn't have actually chosen "boring/nerd/suicide school" if that's what they really thought.

UVA used to be pretty wild back when they had Easters, etc. But that has been a long time and the school was smart to put an end to it. There used to be rolling frat parties going to different colleges for parties. One of those ended with a terrible crash that put an end to that as well. I think the school is better for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is strongly considering W&M and likes the size, teacher/student ratio and the good things he has heard about the Business school. His only concern is that he has heard there is little to do outside of studying and that Williamsburg is very boring for college students. He has heard great things about the school spirit at UVA and VT. He wants a good balance of academics/social life.

There is indeed very little to do outside of campus in the college town itself, but there is indeed a frat scene with ~35% in frats/sororities. But don't expect anything to be set around the town itself (i.e. no movie theaters/concerts/clubs etc.). Mostly house parties.
There is school spirit but its a different kind from VT and UVA. It's not based around sports, its more of what you might expect at a private liberal arts school.
Some kids do seem to outright hate the school initially though; there are a lot of male students that did not get into their first choice of UVA who come to W&M and would much prefer the environment of UVA i.e. large population, big-time sports, huge frat scene, undergrad business school, Charlottesville.

The outright best part of W&M is their humanities, government, and related majors i.e. international relations. The small class size, generally 20-30 students per class in even freshman classes, is very good and necessary for those types of majors because it allows class discussions, and the professors in those majors are generally great and come from great schools. I would say this is a huge advantage that W&M has over UVA, VT and other top public universities.

Majors like Economics are not as good and you don't need small class size for those types of majors. Not much course choice. Computer Science major is extremely mediocre.

UVA business school is probably better than W&M's and certainly has more prestigious employers i.e. investment banks, top management consulting firms recruiting that W&M doesn't have.

No movie theaters? There are about 20 screens in Williamsburg. The Regal alone has 12 screens.

Another person who lacks reading comprehension. I'm talking about the area adjacent to W&M campus. Not an area that's a 30 minutes drive away.

According to google maps, it is a 6 minute drive, and 30 minute walk. Oh, and a 10 minute bicycle ride to Regal New Town. When I was in college, 30 minute walk was nothing. I would regularly walk 1 mile to get from class to lunch on campus. At these large schools with "great college towns", the college town, if across campus from the dorms, could be a long walk.

For some reason, if it is 2 miles away in Williamsburg it is different from being 2 miles away in any other college town.

I lived near UCLA for a while. Many of the undergraduate kids there lived nowhere near campus. They were on the Big Blue bus and other buses all the time. Characterizing their experience by what is in Westwood doesn't really represent their experience.