Please help me find something similar to W&M as backup?

[Anonymous]

Grinnell is a great option but not exactly close to home. You might want to look at Ursinus or Muhlenberg as back ups. They both give merit aid and are very accepting of a wide variety of kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like VCU is quirky

Not sure what your trying to say or imply here; its not quirky at all. VCU is diverse, vibrant and rich.

I like quirky. VCU- emphasis on arts and medicine- gives me a quirky vibe. Plus it is in downtown Richmond.

VCU is very different than WM. They are not similar at all. VCU has a high commuter student population and probably the most tatooed undergraduates I have ever seen and a lot of weed/vaping out in the open especially at night. There is no greek life to speak of, and there is no significant campus that is not separate from city streets. It is not urban-adjacent with many separated spaces and a true campus life, it is fully urban. The intellectual vibe only exists within the BSMD group. Classes are huge unlike WM. Overall the students are simply not close to the same academic level as WM intellectually. UofR would be more similar to WM than VCU. Wake Forest and BC moreso. But not VCU.

While I agree with you that these two schools are different in almost every way, I think they are probably two of the most D&D-type-kid-friendly schools in Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to W&M and met DH there. Our oldest DD does not want to go there because of the perceived "quirky" vibe which I feel is not really accurate. Are there quirky kids there? Sure. But there are lot of other types too. So instead she is targeting UVA, which is totally fine, but I wish W&M didn't have this (untrue) reputation. It's a great place with outstanding faculty that I don't think is fully appreciated.

+1. Same here. DD is targeting UVA even though I think W&M is a better fit. These threads make it seem like everyone at W&M is on the spectrum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to W&M and met DH there. Our oldest DD does not want to go there because of the perceived "quirky" vibe which I feel is not really accurate. Are there quirky kids there? Sure. But there are lot of other types too. So instead she is targeting UVA, which is totally fine, but I wish W&M didn't have this (untrue) reputation. It's a great place with outstanding faculty that I don't think is fully appreciated.

+1. Same here. DD is targeting UVA even though I think W&M is a better fit. These threads make it seem like everyone at W&M is on the spectrum.

Parents of quirky kids—and, no, that doesn’t necessarily mean on the spectrum—feel good about places where they can see their kids finding a community. High school can be rough for kids who are maybe a little shy/awkward/nerdy/dress a little different/whatever. Kids who fit in the mainstream will be comfortable almost anywhere, be it UVA or W&M, but the reverse does not always pan out.

I think W&M has done a good job branding themselves as friendly, welcoming place to all types of people. Which was probably a very strategic move since they had a reputation as a sad, boring place back when I was looking at schools. (I went to UVA and never even considered W&M. Visitors it for the first time recently with my DD and thought, wow, this place doesn’t seem sad at all!)

[Anonymous]

I think quirky is used a lot here for some reason for W&M. And some equate quirky with spectrum. But typically at W&M you get a smart, talented, very involved student whether on the spectrum or not. But the majority are not.

[Anonymous]

We can retire “quirky”. It is not that, definitely not now.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, from what I've seen, "friendly" is far more universally applicable at W&M than anything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, from what I've seen, "friendly" is far more universally applicable at W&M than anything else.

+1

[Anonymous]

W&M is a unicorn, nowhere else like it apply ED.

[Anonymous]

Kenyon. Excellent creative writing and strong Econ dept

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to W&M and met DH there. Our oldest DD does not want to go there because of the perceived "quirky" vibe which I feel is not really accurate. Are there quirky kids there? Sure. But there are lot of other types too. So instead she is targeting UVA, which is totally fine, but I wish W&M didn't have this (untrue) reputation. It's a great place with outstanding faculty that I don't think is fully appreciated.

+1. Same here. DD is targeting UVA even though I think W&M is a better fit. These threads make it seem like everyone at W&M is on the spectrum.

I agree and not sure why. All the kids I know that go to W&M (and I'm talking at least half a dozen) are happy, smart, nice regular kids who I'm sure are enjoying a social life as much as any other typical college kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to W&M and met DH there. Our oldest DD does not want to go there because of the perceived "quirky" vibe which I feel is not really accurate. Are there quirky kids there? Sure. But there are lot of other types too. So instead she is targeting UVA, which is totally fine, but I wish W&M didn't have this (untrue) reputation. It's a great place with outstanding faculty that I don't think is fully appreciated.

+1. Same here. DD is targeting UVA even though I think W&M is a better fit. These threads make it seem like everyone at W&M is on the spectrum.

Parents of quirky kids—and, no, that doesn’t necessarily mean on the spectrum—feel good about places where they can see their kids finding a community. High school can be rough for kids who are maybe a little shy/awkward/nerdy/dress a little different/whatever. Kids who fit in the mainstream will be comfortable almost anywhere, be it UVA or W&M, but the reverse does not always pan out.

I think W&M has done a good job branding themselves as friendly, welcoming place to all types of people. Which was probably a very strategic move since they had a reputation as a sad, boring place back when I was looking at schools. (I went to UVA and never even considered W&M. Visitors it for the first time recently with my DD and thought, wow, this place doesn’t seem sad at all!)

This was what I thought when I was looking at colleges. The sad reputation was enough that when our kid was looking at schools, I was hesitant about visiting. Heading into senior year, our kid has no regrets and neither do we.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, from what I've seen, "friendly" is far more universally applicable at W&M than anything else.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to W&M and met DH there. Our oldest DD does not want to go there because of the perceived "quirky" vibe which I feel is not really accurate. Are there quirky kids there? Sure. But there are lot of other types too. So instead she is targeting UVA, which is totally fine, but I wish W&M didn't have this (untrue) reputation. It's a great place with outstanding faculty that I don't think is fully appreciated.

+1. Same here. DD is targeting UVA even though I think W&M is a better fit. These threads make it seem like everyone at W&M is on the spectrum.

I agree and not sure why. All the kids I know that go to W&M (and I'm talking at least half a dozen) are happy, smart, nice regular kids who I'm sure are enjoying a social life as much as any other typical college kid.

+ 1
The guy who was elected prom king went to W&M, joined a frat, and loved it. I've also seen tik toks of many girls who are in sororities at William and Mary and they seem like smart, normal girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to W&M and met DH there. Our oldest DD does not want to go there because of the perceived "quirky" vibe which I feel is not really accurate. Are there quirky kids there? Sure. But there are lot of other types too. So instead she is targeting UVA, which is totally fine, but I wish W&M didn't have this (untrue) reputation. It's a great place with outstanding faculty that I don't think is fully appreciated.

+1. Same here. DD is targeting UVA even though I think W&M is a better fit. These threads make it seem like everyone at W&M is on the spectrum.

I agree and not sure why. All the kids I know that go to W&M (and I'm talking at least half a dozen) are happy, smart, nice regular kids who I'm sure are enjoying a social life as much as any other typical college kid.

+ 1
The guy who was elected prom king went to W&M, joined a frat, and loved it. I've also seen tik toks of many girls who are in sororities at William and Mary and they seem like smart, normal girls.

If we have to retire “quirky,” we have to retire “normal” as well.