Reply to Which universities have gone DOWN in stature over the years?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]^Also, a lot of people blame W&M's decreasing stature on it's reputation as an all work-no play school for grinds. That was an actually positive thing, because it attracted the studious kids, made sure the dumb ones avoided the place, and increased the degree's value among employers.

Schools like U. Chicago, Hopkins and Swarthmore are known to be far more demanding, filled with grinds and places where fun goes to die. All three of those schools have increased in stature greatly over the past 20 years. Because their reputation brought additional academic prestige, better students, better professors, and better employers to the school.

Meanwhile W&M tried to become more like UVA, putting money into Greek Life and sports stadiums. The result was UVA-lite, at a higher cost than UVA, with a lower ranking, worse job prospects, worse professors, fewer resources, etc. etc. Plain mismanagement by the administration.

Compare the reputation of the school among the older generations now in their 60s to those in their 20s today. The older generation thinks it's one of the best schools in the country for undergraduate rigor. The younger generation thinks it's an oversized middling liberal arts college similar to so many other oversized middling liberal arts colleges in the country today. [/quote]

I think the major contributing factor is that it is a state school so it is stuck relying on and being governed by the commonwealth. My understanding is that the state has been tightening its belt financially since the 90s - and UVA wins in a zero sum game as the state flagship - but the college still relies on state funds too heavily to break away, not to mention the legislature would never let that happen as it would be a real blow to Virginians who live in the only state I know of to have two amazing in-state options.  I wish it could take more OOS.  Would increase available funds and likely improve the caliber of candidate (clearly I am not a Virginian).

Despite all this, it is still an overlooked gem, particularly if you are in-state. Ironically, it is seen as more prestigious elsewhere in the country/outside the DMV where they don’t know Virginians see it as a back up to UVA bc those considering it are looking at schools with comparable size and philosophy and likely are weighing it against Notre Dame, for example.
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