What’s wrong with William & Mary?
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Anonymous
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It seems like PP is arguing that W&M is not UVA or any of the other 10 state schools with beautiful campuses. Never mind the other State schools with un beautiful campuses (of which there are many). Nothing will make W&M that school. It’s more like a SLAC. But if you don’t like that don’t go there. It’s not difficult.
Some students from Virginia are going there because it’s inexpensive for the education and contact with professors. Strange idea I know. |
Anonymous
I agree. All have pros and cons. People make choices based on how they weigh those pros and cons. W&M was my undergraduate school and I have an MBA from UT Austin. I also lived in Charlottesville for quite a few years. I like Austin and Charlottesville, but wouldn't have changed my undergraduate choice based on what I saw there. At UT, like many students including undergraduates, I ended up living several miles from campus. I had bus rides or essentially commutes built into my day. It was like work. I'd go to school and stay for the day until I went home. At my apartment, I was kind of isolated from other students and wasn't a part of campus. At W&M, I lived on campus all four years and that made all the difference in my undergraduate experience. I could easily go to class and back to my dorm in between classes or visit with friends. I felt I was an integral part of the school. I did take buses at W&M to shop, go play intramurals, and yes, go see movies. Perhaps my memory is fading, but I don't ever remember thinking twice about that. It wasn't an issue from my perspective. My appreciation of W&M was from making new friends in dorms each year, of intramural games and other activities, seeing people I knew each time I went out. We would go Paul's, the Green Leafe, the College Delly, (many times to Paul's and Green Leafe) and some other places that probably aren't there any more, and we might have complained about limited choice, but the beer was pretty cheap and cold and it was super convenient. The guys behind the counter at Paul's knew my name and what I liked. We'd also get sandwiches from the Cheese Shop or ice cream in Merchant's square and sit outside and eat when it was nice. I also used to eat at a cheap diner there many days. (I think that is something else now.) There are some other options near there now, like Brickhouse Tavern, Culture Cafe. I think I had beer and pizza and Brickhouse, but can't comment much on them. There are some other places near the Sorority, but I can't comment on them as well. To me, though, none of this was a big deal for my undergraduate experience. If you are strictly evaluating things to do, Austin utterly blows Williamsburg (and Charlottesville) out of the water. There is no doubt about that. They don't call it the Live Music Capital of the World for nothing. There are many more bars on 6th Street and there is a very large downtown population of hip young people. The number of significant tech businesses there is enormous, much larger than anything in Virginia unless perhaps you consider the expanse of NoVa. So I enjoyed that, but it didn't factor that much in my experience an I would not have chosen UT for undergrad over W&M. You can walk to 6th Street area from the UT campus, but I'm pretty sure I always drove. (Even in the evening that could be a hot walk in Texas.) There were places to eat and drink immediately west of campus and I'm sure they were fine but they didn't make the impression 6th Street did. The flip side again on Austin and UT is both the city and the school are very large and you'll have to contend with everything that comes along with that. I've been to Ann Arbor and Austin has it beat as well in a number of ways but it seemed nice. You can imagine big game weekends. It is such a huge school, though, that I would expect the less connected experience I described above at UT would be possible. Plus, you'll freeze your ass of in winter. Charlottesville is nice, but the Downtown area is not as described by the frequent poster here. I drive there and most UVA students would be taking the trolley rather than walking. The Corner has some nice spots and is convenient for many, but isn't like Ann Arbor or 6th Street by any stretch. If you live over past the football stadium, a couple of places there like Durty Nelly's on JPA would be more convenient. My favorite part of Charlottesville wasn't actually Charlottesville. I loved the Blue Ridge area about 20 miles to the West. The scenery is beautiful and there are many wineries there now. Not sure how many undergraduates go there due to cost and age. The thing I liked least about Charlottesville, and I'm sure this isn't unique to me, is 29 North. A lot of the shopping is there, and the biggest movie theater, but you'll be driving and not walking. It is unfortunate from an urban planning perspective. To each his own. I'd go to W&M undergrad again if I had it to do over. |
Anonymous
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I just find it odd none of my son's friends from various high schools in the area had no interest in applying to W&M. Many of them chose in state schools (UVA, VT and JMU).
W&M is such a highly regarded school and it is so surprising to me. |
Anonymous
The school that captured my imagination when I visited and represented the ideal for me was Princeton. I liked the size, history, beauty, the feeling that you were part of this wonderful contained environment. W&M for me was the closest to that among places that would accept me and we could afford. |
Anonymous
W&M is hard, not fun, and doesn't have hot chicks. It's not hard to understand from the viewpoint of a 18 year old boy. And it doesn't have enough sheer national/international preftige to compensate for the above attributes. |
Anonymous
Quite a few kids buy into these perpetuated stereotypes about schools without really doing due diligence on their options. I had a friend who went to JMU but was accepted to W&M (and also UVA which I'm sure will shock people on this board). He loved JMU, but when he visited me at W&M one time (and we'd been drinking a bit), he said essentially "what the hell was I thinking?" about choosing JMU. When he sobered up the next day, we were back to our old school pride joking. On the flip side, I think JMU did fine for him. People make too much of these choices. You can by and large do fine from a number of starting points. In the long run it is much more you than the school. |
Anonymous
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If you're a straight guy who wants to go to med school, W&M is awesome. The gender ratio is heavily tilted toward women, so as long as you keep a decent appearance and are not a weirdo, you will always have a date. The school is strong in hard sciences (chem, bio, physics) and you'll have small classes. Very small labs cohorts, so you'll get plenty of time on the bench. And since you have small classes, you can get really personalized recommendations.
As other have pointed out, W&M sends a ridiculously high percentage of students onward to doctorate and professional programs (MD, JD, MBA). It's a very solid school to prepare you for an Ivy League graduate program. |
Anonymous
The gender ratio isn't just a W&M thing. Most schools have gender ratios tilted toward women. The national average is now close to 58%. Recent entering classes at Virginia schools were: UVA 57% female, VCU 64%, JMU 59%, Longwood 69%, CNU 56%, MWU 66%, Radford 59%, ODU 53%. W&M was 58%. Only male majority were VT at 55% male and VMI at 83% male. GMU was 50/50. UNC-CH was 59% female and Emory was 60%. VMI is obviously male majority due to history and military education. VMI is likely majority male due to large engineering school and other programs like agriculture. Engineering tends to enroll more males. |
Anonymous
| If it isn't a STEM school, it is a garbage collector barista school |
Anonymous
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My DS is a business major and has not decided about grad. school. His main concern is connecting with people who have similar interests to him (sports, activities). He is not looking for a party school but one that offers him a good social life/balance. He has a lot of friends and doesn't have any guy friends that are alumni, currently attend or want to attend. He already knows it is a prestigious school with ideal class sizes and top notch faculty.
Everyone has been telling him he would be bored and happier elsewhere. |
Anonymous
That is actually SMART urban planning. The big box stores that need giant plots of land and parking lots are all relegated to the highway on the north side of town. University Avenue/Main Street is mostly small businesses - the only chains I can think of on Main Street are Starbucks, CVS, and some banks. Everything else is a shop or restaurant owned by a local. It's awesome. What is the with movie theater mentions in this thread? Is there some movie theater ratio akin to the Waffle House Index? |
Anonymous
I am about to make a very important point, so please pay attention: there is a Wawa within close walking distance of campus. |
Anonymous
That's good, at least your post is a contribution to the point of this thread. Others are simply complaining about any criticism of W&M for some reason, as if they aren't in a thread that specifically tries to explain the shortfalls of W&M. |
Anonymous
| It seems so strange to use proximity to chain stores in these college discussions. It's like the people who say they can't go to a college that has Pepsi vending machines. |
Anonymous
The gender ratio isn't just a W&M thing. Most schools have gender ratios tilted toward women. The national average is now close to 58%. Recent entering classes at Virginia schools were: UVA 57% female, VCU 64%, JMU 59%, Longwood 69%, CNU 56%, MWU 66%, Radford 59%, ODU 53%. W&M was 58%. Only male majority were VT at 55% male and VMI at 83% male. GMU was 50/50. UNC-CH was 59% female and Emory was 60%. VMI is obviously male majority due to history and military education. VMI is likely majority male due to large engineering school and other programs like agriculture. Engineering tends to enroll more males. |