University of Mary Washington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the name. UMW suffers because it doesn’t sound like a school many men would go to. Also it’s small, and we have more selective options in VA.

No, it isn't. If it were a problem, the board would have changed it a long time ago.

They did. Why do you think they called it University of Mary Washington vs. Mary Washington University? It was to take away the prominence of Mary.

The students call it Mary Wash. There’s no calculated attempt to downplay “Mary.”

Yes, there was a calculated attempt to downplay the name Mary. Not by the students, but by leadership. In the 80s and 90s President Anderson pushed to rename the school Washington Monroe. The same thing happened when they were transitioning to a university, and there were protests by the students and alumni, and they landed on UMW as a compromise. They are trying to attract male students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh my goodness, it is not necessarily about the word "Mary" in the university's name. It is about the vibe on campus which is much more progressive than other state universities. Overall, that is. Before you come at me, I do realize I am generalizing but I am not wrong.

It is an excellent school with an amazing campus. But when kids go to visit and tour any school there is a feeling they get and they are looking at fit. OVERALL UMW will appeal to certain students more than others just like every single other university does.

NP here. I'll just come out and say it- there are a lot of pink- and blue-haired quirky kids walking around, or at least that is the impression several of my kids' friends got from visiting.

My senior got in. DH and I really like the school and would have been happy to send her there if she wanted to go. But as her vision of what she wanted in a college evolved, it became very clear that UMW wasn't the place for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the name. UMW suffers because it doesn’t sound like a school many men would go to. Also it’s small, and we have more selective options in VA.

No, it isn't. If it were a problem, the board would have changed it a long time ago.

They did. Why do you think they called it University of Mary Washington vs. Mary Washington University? It was to take away the prominence of Mary.

Thank you for reaching out.
Absolutely false. It was named the Women's College of the University of Virginia. Only after men were admitted and other colleges added, was it decided to be called the University of Mary Washington, and it was done not by the board but by the Virginia Assembly in 2004.

Actually, it was Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia and then MWC until it became a university. Between '70 and '04, it was coed and called Mary Washington College. "University of" is usually followed by a location or specialization. Why not Mary Washington University like JMU, GMU, CNU, GWU? Because they were struggling with male enrollment and were looking at changing the name away from anything referencing Mary Washington. Washington & Monroe University was the number one contender at the time. You did help prove the point that they were struggling with marketing and male enrollment.

UMW is a lot easier to say than MWU.

MWC is the best of all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh my goodness, it is not necessarily about the word "Mary" in the university's name. It is about the vibe on campus which is much more progressive than other state universities. Overall, that is. Before you come at me, I do realize I am generalizing but I am not wrong.

It is an excellent school with an amazing campus. But when kids go to visit and tour any school there is a feeling they get and they are looking at fit. OVERALL UMW will appeal to certain students more than others just like every single other university does.

DP. This is true. And as an alum, I can attest it wasn’t always this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^well, ok, I took a few classes there. I wasn’t enrolled full time. But we all called it GW.

And we called it Mary-Wash, or M-dub. Seems like a silly reason to avoid renaming to MWU. For what it’s worth, the prevailing argument with current students at the time was that it should continue to be MWC, just with university status. Like W&M.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh my goodness, it is not necessarily about the word "Mary" in the university's name. It is about the vibe on campus which is much more progressive than other state universities. Overall, that is. Before you come at me, I do realize I am generalizing but I am not wrong.

It is an excellent school with an amazing campus. But when kids go to visit and tour any school there is a feeling they get and they are looking at fit. OVERALL UMW will appeal to certain students more than others just like every single other university does.

DP. This is true. And as an alum, I can attest it wasn’t always this way.

I agree, it was much more of an average kid trying to get a good education type of place, not a quirky edgy oberlin-esque place in the early 2000s. Not sure why that changed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh my goodness, it is not necessarily about the word "Mary" in the university's name. It is about the vibe on campus which is much more progressive than other state universities. Overall, that is. Before you come at me, I do realize I am generalizing but I am not wrong.

It is an excellent school with an amazing campus. But when kids go to visit and tour any school there is a feeling they get and they are looking at fit. OVERALL UMW will appeal to certain students more than others just like every single other university does.

NP here. I'll just come out and say it- there are a lot of pink- and blue-haired quirky kids walking around, or at least that is the impression several of my kids' friends got from visiting.

My senior got in. DH and I really like the school and would have been happy to send her there if she wanted to go. But as her vision of what she wanted in a college evolved, it became very clear that UMW wasn't the place for her.

+1
Our DS's experience as well. A great school for the right student but just not for him.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, if the name Mary Washington keeps the bros away, I think that's a good thing.

[Anonymous]

I don’t have any ties to the school, but I go to Fredericksburg quite often. UMW doesn’t seem like it has a very strong social scene compared to other universities in the state. No big sporting events, no Greek Life, and I wouldn’t describe Fredericksburg as having a lively nightlife scene. That doesn’t make it a bad school and I am sure it works for the right student, but it probably turns some kids off from it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t have any ties to the school, but I go to Fredericksburg quite often. UMW doesn’t seem like it has a very strong social scene compared to other universities in the state. No big sporting events, no Greek Life, and I wouldn’t describe Fredericksburg as having a lively nightlife scene. That doesn’t make it a bad school and I am sure it works for the right student, but it probably turns some kids off from it.

Maybe. However, it also attracts certain students for those very reasons. I was one of them. I wanted no Greek life and no big sports scene. There were still sports and parties, but it was so much smaller and more intimate, which is exactly what I wanted.

My own kids, however, wanted large schools with all the opportunities that come along with them, and I can’t say I blame them. It’s nice that VA has something for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t have any ties to the school, but I go to Fredericksburg quite often. UMW doesn’t seem like it has a very strong social scene compared to other universities in the state. No big sporting events, no Greek Life, and I wouldn’t describe Fredericksburg as having a lively nightlife scene. That doesn’t make it a bad school and I am sure it works for the right student, but it probably turns some kids off from it.

Maybe. However, it also attracts certain students for those very reasons. I was one of them. I wanted no Greek life and no big sports scene. There were still sports and parties, but it was so much smaller and more intimate, which is exactly what I wanted.

My own kids, however, wanted large schools with all the opportunities that come along with them, and I can’t say I blame them. It’s nice that VA has something for everyone.

100% this. I have one kid that I think will be a great fit here and another that will be a better fit at a big, social, sports school. Thank goodness we have so many options here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the name. UMW suffers because it doesn’t sound like a school many men would go to. Also it’s small, and we have more selective options in VA.

Agree with this. If you are a straight 17 or 18 yr old male, you are more likely to be drawn to a school named "Christopher..." than "Mary..." That is just a fact. My DD is finishing up a double major at UMW. It was a good fit for her. But, I can see why the brand wouldn't be a big draw for teenage guys. It's more about the caché or name when you are applying as a high school student. "Mary..." isn't really giving a "guy" vibe.

And just generally, liberal arts have been rejected as everyone flooded the computer science programs at larger universities. That is changing now for data analytics.

My son goes to GMU. I would say that the teaching is much more personal and much smaller classes at UMW. Also, pretty much every prof at UMW speaks clear English -- which we are finding not to be the case at all at GMU. Not sure why the state opened CNU, but it definitely competes against UMW.

I get this, but I also think it's incredibly poor parenting if your son is offended by the name. Also, who says "guy" other than teen boys? You sound like a teen "guy" yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the name. UMW suffers because it doesn’t sound like a school many men would go to. Also it’s small, and we have more selective options in VA.

Agree with this. If you are a straight 17 or 18 yr old male, you are more likely to be drawn to a school named "Christopher..." than "Mary..." That is just a fact. My DD is finishing up a double major at UMW. It was a good fit for her. But, I can see why the brand wouldn't be a big draw for teenage guys. It's more about the caché or name when you are applying as a high school student. "Mary..." isn't really giving a "guy" vibe.

And just generally, liberal arts have been rejected as everyone flooded the computer science programs at larger universities. That is changing now for data analytics.

My son goes to GMU. I would say that the teaching is much more personal and much smaller classes at UMW. Also, pretty much every prof at UMW speaks clear English -- which we are finding not to be the case at all at GMU. Not sure why the state opened CNU, but it definitely competes against UMW.

I get this, but I also think it's incredibly poor parenting if your son is offended by the name. Also, who says "guy" other than teen boys? You sound like a teen "guy" yourself.

HAHA.... 57 yr old female you are suggesting is a "guy."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the name. UMW suffers because it doesn’t sound like a school many men would go to. Also it’s small, and we have more selective options in VA.

Agree with this. If you are a straight 17 or 18 yr old male, you are more likely to be drawn to a school named "Christopher..." than "Mary..." That is just a fact. My DD is finishing up a double major at UMW. It was a good fit for her. But, I can see why the brand wouldn't be a big draw for teenage guys. It's more about the caché or name when you are applying as a high school student. "Mary..." isn't really giving a "guy" vibe.

And just generally, liberal arts have been rejected as everyone flooded the computer science programs at larger universities. That is changing now for data analytics.

My son goes to GMU. I would say that the teaching is much more personal and much smaller classes at UMW. Also, pretty much every prof at UMW speaks clear English -- which we are finding not to be the case at all at GMU. Not sure why the state opened CNU, but it definitely competes against UMW.

I get this, but I also think it's incredibly poor parenting if your son is offended by the name. Also, who says "guy" other than teen boys? You sound like a teen "guy" yourself.

Late 40s female here. I say "guy" all the time. Maybe it's regional? Definitely does not register as teen speak to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, if the name Mary Washington keeps the bros away, I think that's a good thing.

Exactly!