William and Mary/Colby

[Anonymous]

I agree. Waterville is a small town, but not a dump. When we visited Colby, I stayed in a nice hotel in town, went to a few casual, but cute restaurants, and saw a movie at the independent movie theater. Not a lot of diversity in town, but the people were friendly. Williamsburg is definitely a bigger town than Waterville, but still not a thriving metropolis. I thought both W & M's and Colby's campuses were beautiful in different ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Waterville is not a dump, by any reasonable measure. It isn't Brunswick but nor is it Lewiston. Nice town, good people, strip malls and wal marts, but not a dump.

Colby grad here. Good people - yes, strip malls - check. Nice town? Beg to differ. It is a small town in the middle of Maine, where Colby is the largest employer. Not much to do, especially in the middle of winter. Please don't confuse 4 years in all seasons with a summer vacation.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is now deciding between Colby and William and Mary. She would like to study Environmental Studies and Films. Which school did your child eventually decide? And how it been so far? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Eh location alone I’d say W&M. Colby is a LONG way from DC in more ways than one.

[Anonymous]

We visited both with our kids, and I was impressed with both schools but did not like Waterville. And the winters are indeed long and cold. Can't go wrong, but I would lean toward W&M.

[Anonymous]

I would choose Colby, if cost is not an issue. W&M is a public school.

[Anonymous]

Not your question, but I would go to Wisconsin with those choices.

[Anonymous]

My dd and other high school age kids I know insist William and Mary has a “weird” vibe. Since none of them have actually visited, I assume that some kids that they find quirky attend. For whatever reason, it seems to be the prevailing view of the school in our community. It did not seem to have a similar reputation when we were high school age.

[Anonymous]

I attended another NESCAC with long winters. Students shouldn't underestimate the impact on mental health for college students in these cold, northern settings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not your question, but I would go to Wisconsin with those choices.

OP's kid will be graduating from college next year. This is an old thread.

[Anonymous]

A friend's daughter went to W&M and did not think it was diverse enough for her. She's black. She transferred to VCU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the OP: It sounds as if you have a great son. I am sure that he will be happy with whatever he chooses.

As a W&M alumnus who has posted earlier in this thread, I have two more thoughts: W&M has more of a national reputation, where as Colby's is more regional. If your son wants to stay in the northeast after graduation, this won't matter. If he wants to move elsewhere, it might. Also, if he likes to ski, Colby would be a great choice due to its proximity to ski country.

I would disagree about the reputation — I hadn’t really heard of W&M and assumed it was a second tier public school until I moved to the east coast. I had heard of Colby, and knew it as a top 50 LAC.

I’m from the West Coast.

Obviously now I know I was wrong about W&M but just saying.

It's funny: I'm from the West Coast too and I had never heard of Colby before I moved to the East Coast (still don't know anything so I can't comment on it except for weather. I lived in Boston for a while and Maine is beautiful and OMG soooo cold).

I knew of W&M in HS and considered applying, but chose Berkeley instead as my in-state option and ended up at Stanford. My DC is now trying to decide between W&M in-state as a Monroe and a couple of Ivies. DC is really interested in a specific major at W&M, loves the vibe there and wants to save the difference for grad school (we would be full pay at the Ivies). One of the Ivies was DC's ED choice but they were initially deferred and the bloom has been a bit off the rose since then for that and a couple of other reasons. Also in at UVA but always preferred W&M size wise, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ I really don't understand this since Princeton Review has W&M at 5th on the list of happiest students.
https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=happiest-students

My spouse is a foreign language teacher at a large NoVA public high school. Spouse says that the students who go to W&M seem to love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would choose Colby, if cost is not an issue. W&M is a public school.

And?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid loves W&M and probably would feel stifled at Colby because of its location and size. One advantage of Colby though is that it's a private SLAC and from my experience with my other child at a private SLAC, they will be deeply invested in making sure your child succeeds. For a public college, though, W&M is very well-run, but it just doesn't have the extra resources (ie: tutoring, career counseling, alumni network) that a private SLAC has. It's a tough choice, OP. I think your DC will be able to decide after his overnight at Colby.

Not sure what you mean. I found the career services st William and Mary to be excellent, and the alumni network to be helpful. YMMV.

When we visited there they really made a big deal about the career services center and how many of the students used it. I remember commenting to spouse that was one of the things I liked about the school. i'd say this is one of its strengths, not a weakness.

They have to emphasize that now because of the number of suicides.

Sigh. Please don't do this. You know this is BS and it's really not funny.