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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My son is strongly considering W&M and likes the size, teacher/student ratio and the good things he has heard about the Business school.  His only concern is that he has heard there is little to do outside of studying and that Williamsburg is very boring for college students. He has heard great things about the school spirit at  UVA and VT.  He wants a good balance of academics/social life.[/quote]
There is indeed very little to do outside of campus in the college town itself, but there is indeed a frat scene with ~35% in frats/sororities. But don't expect anything to be set around the town itself (i.e. no movie theaters/concerts/clubs etc.). Mostly house parties. 
There is school spirit but its a different kind from VT and UVA. It's not based around sports, its more of what you might expect at a private liberal arts school. 
Some kids do seem to outright hate the school initially though; there are a lot of male students that did not get into their first choice of UVA who come to W&M and would much prefer the environment of UVA i.e. large population, big-time sports, huge frat scene, undergrad business school, Charlottesville.

The outright best part of W&M is their humanities, government, and related majors i.e. international relations. The small class size, generally 20-30 students per class in even freshman classes, is very good and necessary for those types of majors because it allows class discussions, and the professors in those majors are generally great and come from great schools. I would say this is a huge advantage that W&M has over UVA, VT and other top public universities.

Majors like Economics are not as good and you don't need small class size for those types of majors. Not much course choice. Computer Science major is extremely mediocre.

UVA business school is probably better than W&M's and certainly has more prestigious employers i.e. investment banks, top management consulting firms recruiting that W&M doesn't have.

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No movie theaters?  There are about 20 screens in Williamsburg.  The Regal alone has 12 screens.  [/quote]
Another person who lacks reading comprehension. I'm talking about the area adjacent to W&M campus. Not an area that's a 30 minutes drive away.[/quote]

According to google maps, it is a 6 minute drive, and 30 minute walk.  Oh, and a 10 minute bicycle ride to Regal New Town.  When I was in college, 30 minute walk was nothing.  I would regularly walk 1 mile to get from class to lunch on campus.  At these large schools with "great college towns", the college town, if across campus from the dorms, could be a long walk.  [/quote]
No one goes to watch the movies at W&M, no one. Simply too far away. The bus comes every hour, it's not like in other college towns where the university provides bussing service throughout the town that comes every 10 minutes.

And Regal New Town is [b]not[/b] part of the 'college town' of Williamsburg. It's not accessible for the vast majority of students that don't have cars. [/quote]

I just reported what google maps said.  And I assume there is Uber in Williamsburg,,,,[/quote]

Yes, although even getting Uber is more difficult in Williamsburg compared to DC Metro area - not many Uber drivers.

Compare with Ann Arbor. University of Michigan has movie theaters literally right as you set foot off the main campus
Compare with GMU. Discount movie theater literally across the road from campus
[b]Compare with Charlottesville. Movie theater a few blocks away from campus in the main area that students congregate.[/b] 
Compare with Chapel Hill. Movie theater a block away from campus

But the point is not about movie theaters specifically. Its that the college town of Williamsburg is very lacking in amenities. It's not necessarily due to impossibility - as I said earlier, there is a great walking space right outside of campus. But that area caters to tourists and wealthy retirees, and therefore is extremely expensive. Ergo, no college student goes to eat/shop there. It's a decision made by the town to cater towards tourists and retirees rather than students. That decision permeates throughout the entire town.

Now there are many SLACs in rural areas that lack in amenities. Sure, but at least the restaurants and shops near those campuses are cheap and cater to students. Williamsburg doesn't even have that.

Furthermore those rural towns have a certain scene beauty being in the middle of nowhere. Williamsburg is a suburb - it doesn't even have that.

Does that take away from attending W&M? Yes, unless your conception of college is being cooped up on campus, eating campus dining, for 4 years aka boarding school.

They need to improve the town massively, but that will never happen because the town's residents - wealthy retirees - are very much anti-college-student. They want to live near a historic college as some sort of museum, not a university.

Result: dead town.

[/quote]

Which one is that in Charlottesville?  Stonefield, the big theater is a ways away.  Same for Alamo Drafthouse.  Violet Crown is closer but that isn't a few blocks.  Probably a 25 minute walk.[/quote]

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