What is the real W&M experience/vibe?

[Anonymous]

I understand that everyone’s experience is different, etc. However, I’d like to hear from people with first-hand experience about the students, social life, and education. I’m not interested in the cliches and stereotypes, unless your experience supports them.

[Anonymous]

Well, I just dropped of my kid, so I’ll report back!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, I just dropped of my kid, so I’ll report back!

me too. I know what others told me. I know its reputation. It is not a party school, but parties can be found except this year). The leadership has a lot of faith in the students doing the right thing re covid.
The food is not particularly edible (according to DD).

I can tell you it is hot in August, if that helps.

[Anonymous]

Williamsburg is a quaint town for retirees, but a dreadful college town. That seems to influence the tone and vibe of the college as well. And it feels like an introverted campus because it generally attracts introverted students.

Some schools have energy and momentum. W&M is low on both.

[Anonymous]

The PP above did not attend the school, that is very obvious. I went to school there awhile ago so I can’t speak to what it is now but we never had issues with “low energy and momentum”. I had amazing experiences and lots of fun - yes even in the Burg as we affectionately called it. Is it a super busy place? No but its not like you can afford to do much as a college student anyway. Everything you need is on campus and the bars and housing off campus are cheap and decent quality. Not sure what else a 21 year old could want. You do your socializing and have fun with your peers, just like any other college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Williamsburg is a quaint town for retirees, but a dreadful college town. That seems to influence the tone and vibe of the college as well. And it feels like an introverted campus because it generally attracts introverted students.

Some schools have energy and momentum. W&M is low on both.

This is how my rising sophomore feels. She wishes she had chosen a different school because she feels like everyone else is having more fun. No one seems to care about the sports and there isn’t much of a party culture compared to other va schools.

[Anonymous]

One of the problems with W&M is that it's extremely strict on grading (which would be fine if not for), student codes, and social codes.

It's a very conservative social culture. Not necessarily politically conservative or religious, but conservative as in very judgemental of any freedom/liberties. It's really not a good place to find yourself in as a college kid when you want to be exploring the world. Large part of this is being in the South.

Also there's a self-fulfilling prophecy whereby it has a terrible reputation as a school socially, and only those that don't care about social culture go there, realize that it has a terrible social culture and don't enjoy their time there, tell others that it has a terrible social culture, etc.

A lot of male kids that go their do so because they didn't get into UVA, which worsens resentment towards the already extremely bad school.

Being in Williamsburg, a terrible town by any standard full of retirees and the type of tourists who want to go to Colonial Williamsburg (again, retirees), further worsens the deficits of the school.

The only good part of W&M is that its better to go there than massive 30,000-student public schools for those majoring in certain humanities - English, etc. - because of the small class sizes although the course selection is very limited. STEM and Business education are both terribly weak.

But anyone not majoring in humanities and anyone that can go to private LACs and mid-sized universities should do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the problems with W&M is that it's extremely strict on grading (which would be fine if not for), student codes, and social codes.

It's a very conservative social culture. Not necessarily politically conservative or religious, but conservative as in very judgemental of any freedom/liberties. It's really not a good place to find yourself in as a college kid when you want to be exploring the world. Large part of this is being in the South.

Also there's a self-fulfilling prophecy whereby it has a terrible reputation as a school socially, and only those that don't care about social culture go there, realize that it has a terrible social culture and don't enjoy their time there, tell others that it has a terrible social culture, etc.

A lot of male kids that go their do so because they didn't get into UVA, which worsens resentment towards the already extremely bad school.

Being in Williamsburg, a terrible town by any standard full of retirees and the type of tourists who want to go to Colonial Williamsburg (again, retirees), further worsens the deficits of the school.

The only good part of W&M is that its better to go there than massive 30,000-student public schools for those majoring in certain humanities - English, etc. - because of the small class sizes although the course selection is very limited. STEM and Business education are both terribly weak.

But anyone not majoring in humanities and anyone that can go to private LACs and mid-sized universities should do so.

This is one of the most ignorant assessments of W&M that I have ever seen here. Sounds like someone either didn't get in or has something against the school for other reasons.

I've had one kid graduate from W&M and another is currently there. They are as different as two boys could be, one introverted and intellectual, the other more outgoing and plays a sport. Both of them loved it there. Grades have not been an issue, even though my younger son was never that focused on grades, he's done better there than he did in high school.

I don't know where you come up with conservative culture. WM students are very accepting and the only judgment you might see would be against those who aren't open-minded.

Your comment about UVA is incoherent. It is slightly easier for a male to get into W&M than UVA (I have a third kid there), but neither of my sons applied there. They both preferred the vibe, size, and attributes of W&M.

As for living in a boring town? Isn't half the point of college to learn to make your own fun? Not everyone needs rows of frathouses and bars to have a good time.

[Anonymous]

It's an academically challenging school with a wide variety of students who tend liberal. They have plenty of parties and the full spectrum of kids who enjoy them. Parties tend to be frequent in the beginning of the semester die down a bit in the busy times and then pick up at the end. There's a drinking/drug culture fairly typical of colleges--you can get anything you want and avoid anything you want substance-wise. The majority of students (like the majority of the population) are extroverted, but it is a place where introverted kids can find a niche. It's a fun, hard school. The town is a little too geared towards tourists and doesn't have enough excitement, but that means most of the fun happens on campus, on off-campus frats or in close-by group houses rather than in bars. There are many school-based traditions that nearly everyone participates in which creates a cohesive feel. A lot of student organizations and a campus that really is geared towards undergraduate life. Students develop relationships with professors. It's a fairly balanced, nurturing place in my experience (based on 2 kids and a wide variety of friends). Between the times my two kids were there, they improved their support for mental health/well-being. My first kid partied a bit too much for the academic demands and had to sort that out (and did so successfully), the other seems to be keeping it together better from the start.

[Anonymous]

My DS is a junior (can't believe he's that old already!) and loves it. He's a hardworking, serious kid but also enjoys having fun. He's a huge sports fan. He did not want a binge party scene. He had no intention of joining a fraternity because he thought it was going to be what he's seen on TV - pressure to drink until you pass out. But at W&M, he found a fraternity with guys that enjoy sports and enjoy a beer without getting absolutely blind drunk. His fraternity plays alot of intramural sports, both coed and all male. The coed teams are often with other sororities. He also is a member of a club team and in addition to the practices and competitions, the team does social events and volunteer work.

His biggest complaint is lack of competitive sports. He does go to the football and basketball games but says there isn't alot of student support - although this spring the basketball team was doing well and the students started going to the games.

He says the coursework is challenging but professors and his fellow students are very supportive. He hasn't come across any cut-throat mentality between students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the problems with W&M is that it's extremely strict on grading (which would be fine if not for), student codes, and social codes.

It's a very conservative social culture. Not necessarily politically conservative or religious, but conservative as in very judgemental of any freedom/liberties. It's really not a good place to find yourself in as a college kid when you want to be exploring the world. Large part of this is being in the South.

Also there's a self-fulfilling prophecy whereby it has a terrible reputation as a school socially, and only those that don't care about social culture go there, realize that it has a terrible social culture and don't enjoy their time there, tell others that it has a terrible social culture, etc.

A lot of male kids that go their do so because they didn't get into UVA, which worsens resentment towards the already extremely bad school.

Being in Williamsburg, a terrible town by any standard full of retirees and the type of tourists who want to go to Colonial Williamsburg (again, retirees), further worsens the deficits of the school.

The only good part of W&M is that its better to go there than massive 30,000-student public schools for those majoring in certain humanities - English, etc. - because of the small class sizes although the course selection is very limited. STEM and Business education are both terribly weak.

But anyone not majoring in humanities and anyone that can go to private LACs and mid-sized universities should do so.

I wouldn't say that at all--very open to LGBTQ+, many diverse perspectives. Kids can be athletic, nerdy, middle of the road, outdoorsy, artsy--there's not a strong common type.

And their business school is highly regarded. STEM varies (though obviously marine biology is top-notch). If you're an alum, you're in the minority for your bitterness because W&M regularly gets rated among the top in the country in terms of alum support. If you're not an alum, I'm wondering what's informing your thinking.

[Anonymous]

The comments of the 3 PPs above me reflect my 2019 grad's experience. I think W&M is one of the best college bargains in the country. If the value of your DC's degree is important to you, then I don't think any other public university, and few private ones, offer more value than a W&M degree. My DC is in one of the best grad programs in his field, alongside HYPSM and other Ivy grads. His college friends are all well-employed or going to other top grad, law and medical schools.

The worst things about the school are freshman housing and the cafeteria food.

[Anonymous]

Just dropped off our daughter this week and she seems to be having a blast. She isn’t into partying and wanted to be someplace where she wouldn’t be the odd woman out. She also wanted to double major and the school makes it possible to do that. As parents, we have appreciated the deep thought that has gone into returning to school and the communication from school and logistics. Some folks had difficulty with the lab chosen for the COVID testing, but the school seems to be doing its best to work with affected families from what we can tell. We had no trouble - other than the self swab required for the test. As parents we are deeply relieved and thankful for the all out effort being made to make the school year happen.

[Anonymous]

Parent of rising senior at W&M.

Pros: Academically challenging, plenty of social opportunities but not a big party school, pretty tolerant of all types except maybe political conservatives, smaller classes with lots of professor interaction

Cons: After 4 years, Williamsburg feels small and boring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Williamsburg is a quaint town for retirees, but a dreadful college town. That seems to influence the tone and vibe of the college as well. And it feels like an introverted campus because it generally attracts introverted students.

Some schools have energy and momentum. W&M is low on both.

OP here. This is exactly the type of post that is not helpful - full of stereotypes and no first-hand experience. Canceled.