Is W&M a prestigious college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s difficult to argue that the school that educated Thomas Jefferson and Jen Psaki doesn’t have some solid claim to prestige.

If you knew Jen Psaki in college, you'd know how hilarious that sounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s difficult to argue that the school that educated Thomas Jefferson and Jen Psaki doesn’t have some solid claim to prestige.

Thomas Jefferson sure, but Jen Psaki? This has to be sarcasm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not. Perhaps within the state of VA.

I'd define "prestigious" as a school that has for a long time viewed as elite not just by the wealthy/well-educated, but also by the vast swathes of the population.

Outside of Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, I don't think any top privates even would be considered prestigious nationally. Doesn't mean that they aren't prestigious regionally.

The median person in this country has never heard of MIT or Princeton. They have heard of Ohio State and Alabama.

Who's talking about "heard of"? Where in the post does it say "heard of"?

It quite explicitly states that the vast swathes o the population views the school as elite. "Heard of" is not the same thing as "elite". No one views University of Alabama or Ohio State as elite, other than in football.

Anonymous wrote:
Exactly. "Prestigious" doesn't mean "good football team".

Again, who is talking about football teams? We are talking about elite academically, not good football teams.

Every Joe in Boston thinks that Hahvahd kids are wicked smaht. Every Joe has heard of the Ivies, even if they don't know some of the smaller schools in it.

The post does not reference football teams in any way.

[Anonymous]

I do not know what y'all think of prestigious. I was thrilled when DD was admitted to W&M. It looked like a perfect match for her, with opportunities for undergrad research and flexibility in curriculum.

She is finishing her first year, received a world class education at an in-state cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not. Perhaps within the state of VA.

I'd define "prestigious" as a school that has for a long time viewed as elite not just by the wealthy/well-educated, but also by the vast swathes of the population.

Outside of Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, I don't think any top privates even would be considered prestigious nationally. Doesn't mean that they aren't prestigious regionally.

Sorry you or your loved one didn’t get it. It’s a great school especially for instate Virginians and it’s students score well in world wide competitive scholarships like Rhodes, Marshall, etc. My DD is at Ixford now for grad work (from UVA) and says there are a lot of W&M students doing grad work at both Oxford and Cambridge

What an idiotic post that does not refute any of what PP said.

Getting Rhodes, Marshall, etc. does not make a school prestigious. That students go on to actually prestigious schools like Oxford also does not make the school prestigious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not. Perhaps within the state of VA.

I'd define "prestigious" as a school that has for a long time viewed as elite not just by the wealthy/well-educated, but also by the vast swathes of the population.

Outside of Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, I don't think any top privates even would be considered prestigious nationally. Doesn't mean that they aren't prestigious regionally.

What you think and reality, are two different things here. There are a lot of "national" schools, particularly private ones. William and Mary isn't one of them, being public and somewhat more regional. But if you don't think Columbia, Penn, Northwestern, Hopkins and so on, aren't "national" schools, I don't know what to tell you.

I agree with Columbia and Penn (Wharton), and perhaps even Dartmouth and Brown solely based on their association with the Ivies.

I don't agree with Northwestern. Most people will have never heard of the school, and those that have would simply think its a very good private school. Certainly its prestigious in the Midwest, but that means it's prestigious regionally. People in the Mid-Atlantic, West and South generally do not care about Northwestern.

Hopkins seems prestigious because this is a DC Metro forum, and yes it is perhaps prestigious regionally (even that I question, again most people do not care for Hopkins undergrad). Beyond its top medical school which is prestigious internationally, I would not say that the rest of the school is prestigious nationally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not. Perhaps within the state of VA.

I'd define "prestigious" as a school that has for a long time viewed as elite not just by the wealthy/well-educated, but also by the vast swathes of the population.

Outside of Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, I don't think any top privates even would be considered prestigious nationally. Doesn't mean that they aren't prestigious regionally.

Wrong take, most people don't even know that their are 8 ivy league schools. Williams, Amherst and others are extremely prestigious. What the working class and poor think of colleges does not matter. I've met many people that have no clue what Princeton is.

The first think people in Boston think when they hear Williams is "what?"

The firs think people in Boston think when they hear Harvard is "Kids from Hahvahd are smaht"

Rest assured, I realized Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore are top schools that provide the best undergraduate education possible for most subjects. I simply don't think they are prestigious nationally. Certainly within the state or regionally perhaps.

Look at Pomona. Do you think it's prestigious nationally? In the state fo California it certainly is. But not so much in the DC Metro, its essentially another very good SLAC to most people if they have heard of it.

[Anonymous]

WM alum here living outside of DC metro area. I think UVA definitely has better name recognition nationally. That said, I had a great experience (small classes, engaged professors). I've had no issues with getting jobs b/c of W&M.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not. Perhaps within the state of VA.

I'd define "prestigious" as a school that has for a long time viewed as elite not just by the wealthy/well-educated, but also by the vast swathes of the population.

Outside of Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, I don't think any top privates even would be considered prestigious nationally. Doesn't mean that they aren't prestigious regionally.

Wrong take, most people don't even know that their are 8 ivy league schools. Williams, Amherst and others are extremely prestigious. What the working class and poor think of colleges does not matter. I've met many people that have no clue what Princeton is.

The first think people in Boston think when they hear Williams is "what?"

The firs think people in Boston think when they hear Harvard is "Kids from Hahvahd are smaht"

Rest assured, I realized Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore are top schools that provide the best undergraduate education possible for most subjects. I simply don't think they are prestigious nationally. Certainly within the state or regionally perhaps.

Look at Pomona. Do you think it's prestigious nationally? In the state fo California it certainly is. But not so much in the DC Metro, its essentially another very good SLAC to most people if they have heard of it.

What does this even mean? People from Boston don't know Williams? I would beg to differ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not. Perhaps within the state of VA.

I'd define "prestigious" as a school that has for a long time viewed as elite not just by the wealthy/well-educated, but also by the vast swathes of the population.

Outside of Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, I don't think any top privates even would be considered prestigious nationally. Doesn't mean that they aren't prestigious regionally.

The median person in this country has never heard of MIT or Princeton. They have heard of Ohio State and Alabama.

Last time I checked, neither Ohio $tate nor Alabama were private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not. Perhaps within the state of VA.

I'd define "prestigious" as a school that has for a long time viewed as elite not just by the wealthy/well-educated, but also by the vast swathes of the population.

Outside of Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, I don't think any top privates even would be considered prestigious nationally. Doesn't mean that they aren't prestigious regionally.

Wrong take, most people don't even know that their are 8 ivy league schools. Williams, Amherst and others are extremely prestigious. What the working class and poor think of colleges does not matter. I've met many people that have no clue what Princeton is.

The first think people in Boston think when they hear Williams is "what?"

The firs think people in Boston think when they hear Harvard is "Kids from Hahvahd are smaht"

Rest assured, I realized Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore are top schools that provide the best undergraduate education possible for most subjects. I simply don't think they are prestigious nationally. Certainly within the state or regionally perhaps.

Look at Pomona. Do you think it's prestigious nationally? In the state fo California it certainly is. But not so much in the DC Metro, its essentially another very good SLAC to most people if they have heard of it.

Probably 500 to 800 outside of grads and their families people have heard of Pomona, outside of campus and the surrounding town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not. Perhaps within the state of VA.

I'd define "prestigious" as a school that has for a long time viewed as elite not just by the wealthy/well-educated, but also by the vast swathes of the population.

Outside of Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, I don't think any top privates even would be considered prestigious nationally. Doesn't mean that they aren't prestigious regionally.

Wrong take, most people don't even know that their are 8 ivy league schools. Williams, Amherst and others are extremely prestigious. What the working class and poor think of colleges does not matter. I've met many people that have no clue what Princeton is.

The first think people in Boston think when they hear Williams is "what?"

The firs think people in Boston think when they hear Harvard is "Kids from Hahvahd are smaht"

Rest assured, I realized Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore are top schools that provide the best undergraduate education possible for most subjects. I simply don't think they are prestigious nationally. Certainly within the state or regionally perhaps.

Look at Pomona. Do you think it's prestigious nationally? In the state fo California it certainly is. But not so much in the DC Metro, its essentially another very good SLAC to most people if they have heard of it.

What does this even mean? People from Boston don't know Williams? I would beg to differ.

Maybe they mistake it for William & Mary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not. Perhaps within the state of VA.

I'd define "prestigious" as a school that has for a long time viewed as elite not just by the wealthy/well-educated, but also by the vast swathes of the population.

Outside of Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, I don't think any top privates even would be considered prestigious nationally. Doesn't mean that they aren't prestigious regionally.

Wrong take, most people don't even know that their are 8 ivy league schools. Williams, Amherst and others are extremely prestigious. What the working class and poor think of colleges does not matter. I've met many people that have no clue what Princeton is.

The first think people in Boston think when they hear Williams is "what?"

The firs think people in Boston think when they hear Harvard is "Kids from Hahvahd are smaht"

Rest assured, I realized Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore are top schools that provide the best undergraduate education possible for most subjects. I simply don't think they are prestigious nationally. Certainly within the state or regionally perhaps.

Look at Pomona. Do you think it's prestigious nationally? In the state fo California it certainly is. But not so much in the DC Metro, its essentially another very good SLAC to most people if they have heard of it.

Yes, it absolutely is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not. Perhaps within the state of VA.

I'd define "prestigious" as a school that has for a long time viewed as elite not just by the wealthy/well-educated, but also by the vast swathes of the population.

Outside of Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, I don't think any top privates even would be considered prestigious nationally. Doesn't mean that they aren't prestigious regionally.

Wrong take, most people don't even know that their are 8 ivy league schools. Williams, Amherst and others are extremely prestigious. What the working class and poor think of colleges does not matter. I've met many people that have no clue what Princeton is.

The first think people in Boston think when they hear Williams is "what?"

The firs think people in Boston think when they hear Harvard is "Kids from Hahvahd are smaht"

Rest assured, I realized Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore are top schools that provide the best undergraduate education possible for most subjects. I simply don't think they are prestigious nationally. Certainly within the state or regionally perhaps.

Look at Pomona. Do you think it's prestigious nationally? In the state fo California it certainly is. But not so much in the DC Metro, its essentially another very good SLAC to most people if they have heard of it.

Yes, it absolutely is.

Very few people have heard of it. It sounds like a fruit or a soap.

[Anonymous]

I know of a few Asians that attended WM and had no bad experiences. One met her future husband there who is African American. I would definitely pick WM over UVA. The one person I know at UVA is from a family with radical white supremacy views.