William & Mary ED?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, as a Md resident extremely jealous of the instate admissions and tuition bump at either of these schools. Feel the same way about UNC. UMD is a great school but doesn’t seem nearly as good as either UVA or W&M

Totally agree. It's largely why we chose VA over MD when we moved to this area. You'd be crazy not to.

+1. Don't forget VT! Or JMU/GMU/VCU! VA simply has a deeper bench than MD (are UMBC, Towson, Frostburg, and Salisbory comparable to these VA publics?).

UMBC and Towson yes. Not Frostburg or Salisbury. I’d say JMU and Towson are very comparable. GMU and UMBC are so in the fact they are suburban, nothing to do, and kids known to leave on weekends. But UMBC more STEM focused. It’s actually quite a respectable (but sadly boring) school. Actually may be more like VT in that regard.
Am I right? I may not be, I admit it. Posting from My MD point of view. And I’d agree that Virginia has better options.

[Anonymous]

Sorry I got wayyyyy off topic just there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious. For those whose kids top choice is W&M, how would you describe them? What majors are they pursuing?

We're starting to look at colleges for our son, and of all the in state schools, I think W&M would be the best choice for him because it's small and has a reputation for not being a big party school (assuming he could get in).

But I have a friend who went there in the 90s and was the president of her sorority and tells a different story. I didn't really even know W&M HAD sororities!

My husband is a legacy (graduate school as an adult). I don't know if that helps. I'm also a little on the fence because Williamsburg is such a blah town, if you're not really into history. But it definitely seems like the best choice in Virginia if you're looking for a strong and small college.

My DS is a senior at W&M. With the exception of 2020 (Covid) he has absolutely loved everything about W&M. He was looking for a mid sized school - 2000 was too small and over 15,000 was too big so W&M was right in the "sweet spot" size wise.

My DS is social, but he much prefers hanging out with a group of friends, watching sports and having a couple of beers. He is not into the stereotypical "frat house" (Animal House) get plastered drunk party scene. He was not interested in joining a fraternity but once he landed on campus, he realized that at W&M, the fraternities for the most part, are much tamer than he thought. So he joined one and even lived in the fraternity house his sophomore year and was planning on living there junior year (he moved off campus at the last minute due the super strict Covid rules last year.) The houses are owned by the school and are located right next door to several of the freshmen dorms. The fraternities still engage in underage drinking and my DS' fraternity has an official house off campus.

My DS says he does alot of activities on campus. He loves sports and is always on an intramural team. He's involved in a club sport and in addition to the sport, they do service projects and also social events. Just last night, he went to the sport's holiday potluck dinner and Yankee swap. Because it was in one of the campus buildings with freshmen through seniors, it was a "dry" event. But my DS was looking forward to it all week. DS doesn't go into Williamsburg very much at all, because of what the school offers on campus. There are a couple of bars/restaurants by campus where he hangs out (Paul's Deli is one he talks about.)

Yes, there are some super "nerdy" kids at W&M. But there are also a group of students who are serious students during the week and let loose on the weekends. Today (12/10) is the last day of classes on campus and he has talked about how his friends all drink today, during the day (as early as 9:00am) to celebrate the end of the semester. He says they call it "Blow Out."

DS talks about how helpful his professors have been. Several of his professors offer extra review classes before exams. He has found his classmates very supportive. He often will get into study groups with classmates. As a senior, he began his job search this fall and said the career center was invaluable. He also had one professor who did mock interviews with him. And I'm over the moon that he already has a fantastic job offer, starting in late summer of '22.

Go Tribe!

I just posted the above. Major correction - his fraternity house off campus is UNOFFICIAL. W&M does not have any official fraternity houses off campus. Sorry for the typo!

DP. Thanks for your post. Could you give a clue to your child's major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious. For those whose kids top choice is W&M, how would you describe them? What majors are they pursuing?

We're starting to look at colleges for our son, and of all the in state schools, I think W&M would be the best choice for him because it's small and has a reputation for not being a big party school (assuming he could get in).

But I have a friend who went there in the 90s and was the president of her sorority and tells a different story. I didn't really even know W&M HAD sororities!

My husband is a legacy (graduate school as an adult). I don't know if that helps. I'm also a little on the fence because Williamsburg is such a blah town, if you're not really into history. But it definitely seems like the best choice in Virginia if you're looking for a strong and small college.

My kid's top choice was WM, so he did ED for WM and EA for UVA. Got into both, but obviously withdrew the UVA app. He's a senior now and no regrets! He's an international relations major. His main reason was the depth of undergraduate research opportunities and the size--that midsize is rare. He parties quite a bit but I think it would be worse at UVA (and I think he knew that). He's had a lot of opportunities for research that seem like graduate research to me--presenting research with professors at conferences, paid travel opportunities for research (the year before covid hit!). Their Global Research Institute is really impressive and undergraduates are doing major work with complex statistical software etc. Like the other poster, he joined a frat and they do drink quite a bit, but it's not what I think of as the typical frat culture. (The first fraternity was founded at W&M--so there's definitely a history there!)

[Anonymous]

Thank you! PP asking about culture here. Would you say a person has to be into sports to fit in socially there? Or drinking? My son is DEFINITELY not into sports. Outside of school, he plays a lot of video games with friends. He also likes board games a lot. His friends tend to be smart, nerdy, liberal, socially conscious. He has a couple of friends who are identifying as non-binary right now, if that gives you a little bit of a picture. But I also wouldn't say that he is particularly into politics or social issues. He just tends to gravitate toward those kinds of kids.

I guess I'm wondering how W&M compares in terms of culture to some of the well known liberal LACs. I'm a little worried about him ending up a place that is conservative and has a big sports and drinking culture. Honestly, drinking itself doesn't concern me. It's more the culture wrapped around that that tends to be....bro-y?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! PP asking about culture here. Would you say a person has to be into sports to fit in socially there? Or drinking? My son is DEFINITELY not into sports. Outside of school, he plays a lot of video games with friends. He also likes board games a lot. His friends tend to be smart, nerdy, liberal, socially conscious. He has a couple of friends who are identifying as non-binary right now, if that gives you a little bit of a picture. But I also wouldn't say that he is particularly into politics or social issues. He just tends to gravitate toward those kinds of kids.

I guess I'm wondering how W&M compares in terms of culture to some of the well known liberal LACs. I'm a little worried about him ending up a place that is conservative and has a big sports and drinking culture. Honestly, drinking itself doesn't concern me. It's more the culture wrapped around that that tends to be....bro-y?

Your kid would be fine at W&M. The one openly gay law school classmate who I had in my class one hundred years ago was a proud W&M grad. It's not a fratty/bro-y place by a long shot. It's a great alternative to a double the price top-ranked LAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! PP asking about culture here. Would you say a person has to be into sports to fit in socially there? Or drinking? My son is DEFINITELY not into sports. Outside of school, he plays a lot of video games with friends. He also likes board games a lot. His friends tend to be smart, nerdy, liberal, socially conscious. He has a couple of friends who are identifying as non-binary right now, if that gives you a little bit of a picture. But I also wouldn't say that he is particularly into politics or social issues. He just tends to gravitate toward those kinds of kids.

I guess I'm wondering how W&M compares in terms of culture to some of the well known liberal LACs. I'm a little worried about him ending up a place that is conservative and has a big sports and drinking culture. Honestly, drinking itself doesn't concern me. It's more the culture wrapped around that that tends to be....bro-y?

Your kid would be fine at W&M. The one openly gay law school classmate who I had in my class one hundred years ago was a proud W&M grad. It's not a fratty/bro-y place by a long shot. It's a great alternative to a double the price top-ranked LAC.

Thanks! It's definitely our top in state choice--assuming he can get in. Not this year! Congrats to those who applied this year and have been accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! PP asking about culture here. Would you say a person has to be into sports to fit in socially there? Or drinking? My son is DEFINITELY not into sports. Outside of school, he plays a lot of video games with friends. He also likes board games a lot. His friends tend to be smart, nerdy, liberal, socially conscious. He has a couple of friends who are identifying as non-binary right now, if that gives you a little bit of a picture. But I also wouldn't say that he is particularly into politics or social issues. He just tends to gravitate toward those kinds of kids.

I guess I'm wondering how W&M compares in terms of culture to some of the well known liberal LACs. I'm a little worried about him ending up a place that is conservative and has a big sports and drinking culture. Honestly, drinking itself doesn't concern me. It's more the culture wrapped around that that tends to be....bro-y?

I'm the one with the DS in IR above. The nice thing about it being a mid-size school is that there's a good niche for all kinds of kids. So you get the SLAC style education without the smaller school issues of being dominated by one "type." The school trends liberal but not radical. Strong LGTBQ+ culture. Frats and sororities don't dominate--and there are multiple non-traditional frats/sororities. Most kids are not in Greek life and a lot of the kids who are in Greek life are like my kid--weren't interested until they met friends in frats. Tons of interest-based clubs, including gaming ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! PP asking about culture here. Would you say a person has to be into sports to fit in socially there? Or drinking? My son is DEFINITELY not into sports. Outside of school, he plays a lot of video games with friends. He also likes board games a lot. His friends tend to be smart, nerdy, liberal, socially conscious. He has a couple of friends who are identifying as non-binary right now, if that gives you a little bit of a picture. But I also wouldn't say that he is particularly into politics or social issues. He just tends to gravitate toward those kinds of kids.

I guess I'm wondering how W&M compares in terms of culture to some of the well known liberal LACs. I'm a little worried about him ending up a place that is conservative and has a big sports and drinking culture. Honestly, drinking itself doesn't concern me. It's more the culture wrapped around that that tends to be....bro-y?

I'm the one with the DS in IR above. The nice thing about it being a mid-size school is that there's a good niche for all kinds of kids. So you get the SLAC style education without the smaller school issues of being dominated by one "type." The school trends liberal but not radical. Strong LGTBQ+ culture. Frats and sororities don't dominate--and there are multiple non-traditional frats/sororities. Most kids are not in Greek life and a lot of the kids who are in Greek life are like my kid--weren't interested until they met friends in frats. Tons of interest-based clubs, including gaming ones.

It's liberal, period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! PP asking about culture here. Would you say a person has to be into sports to fit in socially there? Or drinking? My son is DEFINITELY not into sports. Outside of school, he plays a lot of video games with friends. He also likes board games a lot. His friends tend to be smart, nerdy, liberal, socially conscious. He has a couple of friends who are identifying as non-binary right now, if that gives you a little bit of a picture. But I also wouldn't say that he is particularly into politics or social issues. He just tends to gravitate toward those kinds of kids.

I guess I'm wondering how W&M compares in terms of culture to some of the well known liberal LACs. I'm a little worried about him ending up a place that is conservative and has a big sports and drinking culture. Honestly, drinking itself doesn't concern me. It's more the culture wrapped around that that tends to be....bro-y?

I'm the one with the DS in IR above. The nice thing about it being a mid-size school is that there's a good niche for all kinds of kids. So you get the SLAC style education without the smaller school issues of being dominated by one "type." The school trends liberal but not radical. Strong LGTBQ+ culture. Frats and sororities don't dominate--and there are multiple non-traditional frats/sororities. Most kids are not in Greek life and a lot of the kids who are in Greek life are like my kid--weren't interested until they met friends in frats. Tons of interest-based clubs, including gaming ones.

It's liberal, period.

Liberal is mainstream for colleges these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! PP asking about culture here. Would you say a person has to be into sports to fit in socially there? Or drinking? My son is DEFINITELY not into sports. Outside of school, he plays a lot of video games with friends. He also likes board games a lot. His friends tend to be smart, nerdy, liberal, socially conscious. He has a couple of friends who are identifying as non-binary right now, if that gives you a little bit of a picture. But I also wouldn't say that he is particularly into politics or social issues. He just tends to gravitate toward those kinds of kids.

I guess I'm wondering how W&M compares in terms of culture to some of the well known liberal LACs. I'm a little worried about him ending up a place that is conservative and has a big sports and drinking culture. Honestly, drinking itself doesn't concern me. It's more the culture wrapped around that that tends to be....bro-y?

I'm the one with the DS in IR above. The nice thing about it being a mid-size school is that there's a good niche for all kinds of kids. So you get the SLAC style education without the smaller school issues of being dominated by one "type." The school trends liberal but not radical. Strong LGTBQ+ culture. Frats and sororities don't dominate--and there are multiple non-traditional frats/sororities. Most kids are not in Greek life and a lot of the kids who are in Greek life are like my kid--weren't interested until they met friends in frats. Tons of interest-based clubs, including gaming ones.

It's liberal, period.

Generally…may be true. Program/major specific…maybe not.

[Anonymous]

DC friend from SE VA got in. Their academy (ca. 120 kids) usually gets 4 into W&M.each year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious. For those whose kids top choice is W&M, how would you describe them? What majors are they pursuing?

We're starting to look at colleges for our son, and of all the in state schools, I think W&M would be the best choice for him because it's small and has a reputation for not being a big party school (assuming he could get in).

But I have a friend who went there in the 90s and was the president of her sorority and tells a different story. I didn't really even know W&M HAD sororities!

My husband is a legacy (graduate school as an adult). I don't know if that helps. I'm also a little on the fence because Williamsburg is such a blah town, if you're not really into history. But it definitely seems like the best choice in Virginia if you're looking for a strong and small college.

My DS is a senior at W&M. With the exception of 2020 (Covid) he has absolutely loved everything about W&M. He was looking for a mid sized school - 2000 was too small and over 15,000 was too big so W&M was right in the "sweet spot" size wise.

My DS is social, but he much prefers hanging out with a group of friends, watching sports and having a couple of beers. He is not into the stereotypical "frat house" (Animal House) get plastered drunk party scene. He was not interested in joining a fraternity but once he landed on campus, he realized that at W&M, the fraternities for the most part, are much tamer than he thought. So he joined one and even lived in the fraternity house his sophomore year and was planning on living there junior year (he moved off campus at the last minute due the super strict Covid rules last year.) The houses are owned by the school and are located right next door to several of the freshmen dorms. The fraternities still engage in underage drinking and my DS' fraternity has an official house off campus.

My DS says he does alot of activities on campus. He loves sports and is always on an intramural team. He's involved in a club sport and in addition to the sport, they do service projects and also social events. Just last night, he went to the sport's holiday potluck dinner and Yankee swap. Because it was in one of the campus buildings with freshmen through seniors, it was a "dry" event. But my DS was looking forward to it all week. DS doesn't go into Williamsburg very much at all, because of what the school offers on campus. There are a couple of bars/restaurants by campus where he hangs out (Paul's Deli is one he talks about.)

Yes, there are some super "nerdy" kids at W&M. But there are also a group of students who are serious students during the week and let loose on the weekends. Today (12/10) is the last day of classes on campus and he has talked about how his friends all drink today, during the day (as early as 9:00am) to celebrate the end of the semester. He says they call it "Blow Out."

DS talks about how helpful his professors have been. Several of his professors offer extra review classes before exams. He has found his classmates very supportive. He often will get into study groups with classmates. As a senior, he began his job search this fall and said the career center was invaluable. He also had one professor who did mock interviews with him. And I'm over the moon that he already has a fantastic job offer, starting in late summer of '22.

Go Tribe!

I just posted the above. Major correction - his fraternity house off campus is UNOFFICIAL. W&M does not have any official fraternity houses off campus. Sorry for the typo!

DP. Thanks for your post. Could you give a clue to your child's major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious. For those whose kids top choice is W&M, how would you describe them? What majors are they pursuing?

We're starting to look at colleges for our son, and of all the in state schools, I think W&M would be the best choice for him because it's small and has a reputation for not being a big party school (assuming he could get in).

But I have a friend who went there in the 90s and was the president of her sorority and tells a different story. I didn't really even know W&M HAD sororities!

My husband is a legacy (graduate school as an adult). I don't know if that helps. I'm also a little on the fence because Williamsburg is such a blah town, if you're not really into history. But it definitely seems like the best choice in Virginia if you're looking for a strong and small college.

My DS is a senior at W&M. With the exception of 2020 (Covid) he has absolutely loved everything about W&M. He was looking for a mid sized school - 2000 was too small and over 15,000 was too big so W&M was right in the "sweet spot" size wise.

My DS is social, but he much prefers hanging out with a group of friends, watching sports and having a couple of beers. He is not into the stereotypical "frat house" (Animal House) get plastered drunk party scene. He was not interested in joining a fraternity but once he landed on campus, he realized that at W&M, the fraternities for the most part, are much tamer than he thought. So he joined one and even lived in the fraternity house his sophomore year and was planning on living there junior year (he moved off campus at the last minute due the super strict Covid rules last year.) The houses are owned by the school and are located right next door to several of the freshmen dorms. The fraternities still engage in underage drinking and my DS' fraternity has an official house off campus.

My DS says he does alot of activities on campus. He loves sports and is always on an intramural team. He's involved in a club sport and in addition to the sport, they do service projects and also social events. Just last night, he went to the sport's holiday potluck dinner and Yankee swap. Because it was in one of the campus buildings with freshmen through seniors, it was a "dry" event. But my DS was looking forward to it all week. DS doesn't go into Williamsburg very much at all, because of what the school offers on campus. There are a couple of bars/restaurants by campus where he hangs out (Paul's Deli is one he talks about.)

Yes, there are some super "nerdy" kids at W&M. But there are also a group of students who are serious students during the week and let loose on the weekends. Today (12/10) is the last day of classes on campus and he has talked about how his friends all drink today, during the day (as early as 9:00am) to celebrate the end of the semester. He says they call it "Blow Out."

DS talks about how helpful his professors have been. Several of his professors offer extra review classes before exams. He has found his classmates very supportive. He often will get into study groups with classmates. As a senior, he began his job search this fall and said the career center was invaluable. He also had one professor who did mock interviews with him. And I'm over the moon that he already has a fantastic job offer, starting in late summer of '22.

Go Tribe!

I just posted the above. Major correction - his fraternity house off campus is UNOFFICIAL. W&M does not have any official fraternity houses off campus. Sorry for the typo!

DP. Thanks for your post. Could you give a clue to your child's major?

DS is in the Business school and is majoring in Data Analytics with a concentration with Finance.

[Anonymous]

Any more acceptances? Looking for stats.