what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?

[Anonymous]

They’re both great! I would encourage your DD to apply to both. Show lots of DI for Wake. visit if you can, and do as many on-line events as they can. And write very specific and thoughtful supplements showing that they dug into the website and understand Wake’s academic priorities and values (small class size, interesting leadership research institute, excellent Wake-specific study abroad programs etc.)

I’ll add that our DC also loved Davidson. It was a surprise - DC wasn’t looking for a small school, but they liked Davidson’s inclusive + athletic vibes, and the abundant out-of-class academic opportunities. Maybe that last part is true of all small schools with strong academics, but it seemed like there were a TON of great opportunities to go around without any of the grindy, competitive culture DC is hoping to avoid.

I’d recommend flying in to Charlotte, seeing Davidson (20 minutes from the airport?) and the surrounding area (cute town, lake/beach property owned by the school). Then drive up to see Wake the next day. Can either fly back from Winston-Salem or come back down to Charlotte.

May also want to see Elon, too, while you’re near Wake. We didn’t visit but have heard good things. It might be more of a safety for a kid who considers Wake and W&M to be targets, but I’m not sure.

[Anonymous]

A difference in students’ everyday routine would be that at W&M there are stores, bars, & restaurants literally right across the street from the campus. Whereas at Wake these things are a short drive away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:W&M leans quirkier. Wake is more of a country club vibe.

Nope - outdated info
Both are great options for what you describe
There are more shops and restaurants within walking distance of W&M campus than Wake.
Yes Greek life more intense at Wake, but it’s def very robust at W&M
Both campuses are really lovely with weather to match

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only way they are similar is that they are both larger liberal arts colleges, over 5,000 students. Wake has very small class sizes and really no large intro classes (a big class may have 75 kids). Other than that, very different. Sports and Greek life a much bigger deal at Wake. All the usual differences between private and public school when it comes to facilities.

For the record…neither are liberal arts colleges. They are smallish but all have PhD programs and are considered National universities.

[Anonymous]

I've learned almost nobody on here know what a liberal arts college cause colleges with a med school and law school (Wake), and law business computing and marine schools (W&M) are clearly not liberal arts colleges. They both have a liberal arts college but that's not their only offerings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A difference in students’ everyday routine would be that at W&M there are stores, bars, & restaurants literally right across the street from the campus. Whereas at Wake these things are a short drive away.

As I said earlier, there is a huge development being built within walking distance from wake with additional housing, restaurants and bars right next to campus, which will be open fall 2027. Students will still have the option of wake downtown, the bars already nears campus like the Filling Station and other amenities of living in a small city with a population of 250,000. Plus ACC sports.

[Anonymous]

Reynolda Village is right across the street from Wake campus and has stores and restaurants. My Deac goes there frequently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reynolda Village is right across the street from Wake campus and has stores and restaurants. My Deac goes there frequently.

It looks nice but... maybe a little more upscale than what the OP had in mind for shops and restaurants. I'm not sure how many college students are going to shop at J. McLaughlin and Monkees...

[Anonymous]

Both great traditional small (attendance wise) universities with R1 research facilities. Can’t go wrong with either one. Visit both see the differences in fit and make a choice based on fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've learned almost nobody on here know what a liberal arts college cause colleges with a med school and law school (Wake), and law business computing and marine schools (W&M) are clearly not liberal arts colleges. They both have a liberal arts college but that's not their only offerings.

I believe the definition of a Liberal Arts college is that they don't have PhD programs. That's why a school like University of Richmond (with a law and business school) is still ranked in the LAC category by US News.

Wake and W&M both have PhD programs which is they they are ranked in the National University category.

[Anonymous]

Wake has lots of rich kids. W&M prob less so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reynolda Village is right across the street from Wake campus and has stores and restaurants. My Deac goes there frequently.

It looks nice but... maybe a little more upscale than what the OP had in mind for shops and restaurants. I'm not sure how many college students are going to shop at J. McLaughlin and Monkees...

My Deac goes there all the time for the Tavern, ice cream and coffee/doughnuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have had kids at both of these schools. Similar in size, but that’s about it. In terms of facilities and buildings, William & Mary is leaps & bounds behind Wake- it’s where you can tell the difference between a public and a private school. Whoever said Wake is more country club is spot on. Lots of wealth on that campus, whereas W&M is more economically balanced as a state school. Campus populations reflect that- not a lot of folks at W&M is wearing Golden Goose and driving Land Rovers, which seems to be the standard at Wake.

Not a lot to do for social scene at W&M with no sports teams that are great and bars in the Burg not liking college kids.

Both academically rigorous.

You can't walk anywhere from the Wake campus to stuff though. W&M has four bars right next to the stadium that are packed full of students every Thurs-Sat.

There is a bar called the Filling Station walking distance from upper classmen housing and of course, Reynolda Village across the street from Wake with a restaurant, doughnut place, coffee, ice cream, etc . And there is a huge development going up right now next to Wake’s stadium called the Grounds which will add more restaurants, bars and apartments within walking distance of campus. It will be complete within the next year or so. Winston Salem is also a small city, there are plenty of bars and restaurant downtown or elsewhere around town that are less than a 10 minute uber ride away.

I looked up the bar and it looks like it closes at 10pm. Not really true nightlife. If you have to Uber to the next city over I feel like that doesn't really scream "hopping college town" which is fine but certainly not the way you described it. Safety wise there are for sure benefits to bars and clubs not requiring a drive to get to.

You sound a bit clueless, Wake is in Winston Salem, a city with a population in excess of 250,000. There are plenty of bars and restaurants in the SAME city. If you are trying to argue that there is a better social life at William and Mary, good luck to you, no one is buying that.

Wake up. Wake is in the middle of a sleepy suburban area. If you have to drive everywhere it doesn't count. Is George Mason a super fun social college because it's in a county of 1 million?

Good college towns have fun things to go within WALKING distance of campus. Do you think UVA would be just as fun if everyone had to go downtown instead of having the corner? You can't even get to the Wake football stadium on foot.

Ah, yes, good old colonial Williamsburg, well known bastion of fun.

You can indeed get to the Wake football stadium on foot.

You're right, there's absolutely nothing other than colonial Williamsburg 🙄.

There's a gazillion cafes and restaurants, a bunch of bars and breweries, a bookstore, ice cream shop, Lululemon, thrift store, boutiques, two art museums, a lake with free kayaking, and miles of hiking trails all within a mile of campus. Don't have to step one foot into colonial town. 15 min bus ride gets you to the outlet mall and Busch Gardens. Does WF even have public transit or are "the poors" without cars stuck in their dorm all day?

You left out all the blacksmiths where the kids can get new horseshoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have had kids at both of these schools. Similar in size, but that’s about it. In terms of facilities and buildings, William & Mary is leaps & bounds behind Wake- it’s where you can tell the difference between a public and a private school. Whoever said Wake is more country club is spot on. Lots of wealth on that campus, whereas W&M is more economically balanced as a state school. Campus populations reflect that- not a lot of folks at W&M is wearing Golden Goose and driving Land Rovers, which seems to be the standard at Wake.

Not a lot to do for social scene at W&M with no sports teams that are great and bars in the Burg not liking college kids.

Both academically rigorous.

You can't walk anywhere from the Wake campus to stuff though. W&M has four bars right next to the stadium that are packed full of students every Thurs-Sat.

There is a bar called the Filling Station walking distance from upper classmen housing and of course, Reynolda Village across the street from Wake with a restaurant, doughnut place, coffee, ice cream, etc . And there is a huge development going up right now next to Wake’s stadium called the Grounds which will add more restaurants, bars and apartments within walking distance of campus. It will be complete within the next year or so. Winston Salem is also a small city, there are plenty of bars and restaurant downtown or elsewhere around town that are less than a 10 minute uber ride away.

I looked up the bar and it looks like it closes at 10pm. Not really true nightlife. If you have to Uber to the next city over I feel like that doesn't really scream "hopping college town" which is fine but certainly not the way you described it. Safety wise there are for sure benefits to bars and clubs not requiring a drive to get to.

You sound a bit clueless, Wake is in Winston Salem, a city with a population in excess of 250,000. There are plenty of bars and restaurants in the SAME city. If you are trying to argue that there is a better social life at William and Mary, good luck to you, no one is buying that.

Wake up. Wake is in the middle of a sleepy suburban area. If you have to drive everywhere it doesn't count. Is George Mason a super fun social college because it's in a county of 1 million?

Good college towns have fun things to go within WALKING distance of campus. Do you think UVA would be just as fun if everyone had to go downtown instead of having the corner? You can't even get to the Wake football stadium on foot.

Ah, yes, good old colonial Williamsburg, well known bastion of fun.

You can indeed get to the Wake football stadium on foot.

You're right, there's absolutely nothing other than colonial Williamsburg 🙄.

There's a gazillion cafes and restaurants, a bunch of bars and breweries, a bookstore, ice cream shop, Lululemon, thrift store, boutiques, two art museums, a lake with free kayaking, and miles of hiking trails all within a mile of campus. Don't have to step one foot into colonial town. 15 min bus ride gets you to the outlet mall and Busch Gardens. Does WF even have public transit or are "the poors" without cars stuck in their dorm all day?

You left out all the blacksmiths where the kids can get new horseshoes.

And all the convenient spots to get freshly churned butter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have had kids at both of these schools. Similar in size, but that’s about it. In terms of facilities and buildings, William & Mary is leaps & bounds behind Wake- it’s where you can tell the difference between a public and a private school. Whoever said Wake is more country club is spot on. Lots of wealth on that campus, whereas W&M is more economically balanced as a state school. Campus populations reflect that- not a lot of folks at W&M is wearing Golden Goose and driving Land Rovers, which seems to be the standard at Wake.

Not a lot to do for social scene at W&M with no sports teams that are great and bars in the Burg not liking college kids.

Both academically rigorous.

You can't walk anywhere from the Wake campus to stuff though. W&M has four bars right next to the stadium that are packed full of students every Thurs-Sat.

There is a bar called the Filling Station walking distance from upper classmen housing and of course, Reynolda Village across the street from Wake with a restaurant, doughnut place, coffee, ice cream, etc . And there is a huge development going up right now next to Wake’s stadium called the Grounds which will add more restaurants, bars and apartments within walking distance of campus. It will be complete within the next year or so. Winston Salem is also a small city, there are plenty of bars and restaurant downtown or elsewhere around town that are less than a 10 minute uber ride away.

I looked up the bar and it looks like it closes at 10pm. Not really true nightlife. If you have to Uber to the next city over I feel like that doesn't really scream "hopping college town" which is fine but certainly not the way you described it. Safety wise there are for sure benefits to bars and clubs not requiring a drive to get to.

You sound a bit clueless, Wake is in Winston Salem, a city with a population in excess of 250,000. There are plenty of bars and restaurants in the SAME city. If you are trying to argue that there is a better social life at William and Mary, good luck to you, no one is buying that.

Wake up. Wake is in the middle of a sleepy suburban area. If you have to drive everywhere it doesn't count. Is George Mason a super fun social college because it's in a county of 1 million?

Good college towns have fun things to go within WALKING distance of campus. Do you think UVA would be just as fun if everyone had to go downtown instead of having the corner? You can't even get to the Wake football stadium on foot.

Ah, yes, good old colonial Williamsburg, well known bastion of fun.

You can indeed get to the Wake football stadium on foot.

You're right, there's absolutely nothing other than colonial Williamsburg 🙄.

There's a gazillion cafes and restaurants, a bunch of bars and breweries, a bookstore, ice cream shop, Lululemon, thrift store, boutiques, two art museums, a lake with free kayaking, and miles of hiking trails all within a mile of campus. Don't have to step one foot into colonial town. 15 min bus ride gets you to the outlet mall and Busch Gardens. Does WF even have public transit or are "the poors" without cars stuck in their dorm all day?

You left out all the blacksmiths where the kids can get new horseshoes.

Sounds like a nice day in Old Salem 🤷‍♂️