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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Large publics have bus service until 4 AM in the morning[/quote]

And William and Mary is not a large public.  It is a smaller public, with more of a SLAC vibe.  If you want to big-college appeal, by self selection, you are not applying to W & M. [/quote]

+1  Why are people arguing about the campus experience for W&M vs. UNC/UVA/Michigan?  It's a totally different kind of school and, of course, will have a different experience, more like a SLAC, many of which are in remote, rural locations.[/quote]

I agree.  All have pros and cons.  People make choices based on how they weigh those pros and cons.  W&M was my undergraduate school and I have an MBA from UT Austin.   I also lived in Charlottesville for quite a few years.  I like Austin and Charlottesville, but wouldn't have changed my undergraduate choice based on what I saw there.

At UT, like many students including undergraduates, I ended up living several miles from campus.  I had bus rides or essentially commutes built into my day.  It was like work.  I'd go to school and stay for the day until I went home.  At my apartment, I was kind of isolated from other students and wasn't a part of campus.  At W&M, I lived on campus all four years and that made all the difference in my undergraduate experience.  I could easily go to class and back to my dorm in between classes or visit with friends.  I felt I was an integral part of the school.  I did take buses at W&M to shop, go play intramurals, and yes, go see movies.  Perhaps my memory is fading, but I don't ever remember thinking twice about that.  It wasn't an issue from my perspective.  My appreciation of W&M was from making new friends in dorms each year, of intramural games and other activities, seeing people I knew each time I went out.  We would go Paul's, the Green Leafe, the College Delly, (many times to Paul's and Green Leafe) and some other places that probably aren't there any more, and we might have complained about limited choice, but the beer was pretty cheap and cold and it was super convenient.  The guys behind the counter at Paul's knew my name and what I liked.  We'd also get sandwiches from the Cheese Shop or ice cream in Merchant's square and sit outside and eat when it was nice.  I also used to eat at a cheap diner there many days.  (I think that is something else now.)  There are some other options near there now, like Brickhouse Tavern, Culture Cafe.  I think I had beer and pizza and Brickhouse, but can't comment much on them.  There are some other places near the Sorority, but I can't comment on them as well.  To me, though, none of this was a big deal for my undergraduate experience.

If you are strictly evaluating things to do, Austin utterly blows Williamsburg (and Charlottesville) out of the water.  There is no doubt about that.   They don't call it the Live Music Capital of the World for nothing.  There are many more bars on 6th Street and there is a very large downtown population of hip young people.  The number of significant tech businesses there is enormous, much larger than anything in Virginia unless perhaps you consider the expanse of NoVa.  So I enjoyed that, but it didn't factor that much in my experience an I would not have chosen UT for undergrad over W&M.  You can walk to 6th Street area from the UT campus, but I'm pretty sure I always drove.    (Even in the evening that could be a hot walk in Texas.)  There were places to eat and drink immediately west of campus and I'm sure they were fine but they didn't make the impression 6th Street did. 
 The flip side again on Austin and UT is both the city and the school are very large and you'll have to contend with everything that comes along with that.

I've been to Ann Arbor and Austin has it beat as well in a number of ways but it seemed nice.  You can imagine big game weekends.  It is such a huge school, though, that I would expect the less connected experience I described above at UT would be possible.  Plus, you'll freeze your ass of in winter.

Charlottesville is nice, but the Downtown area is not as described by the frequent poster here.  I drive there and most UVA students would be taking the trolley rather than walking.  The Corner has some nice spots and is convenient for many, but isn't like Ann Arbor or 6th Street by any stretch.  If you live over past the football stadium, a couple of places there like Durty Nelly's on JPA would be more convenient.   My favorite part of Charlottesville wasn't actually Charlottesville.  I loved the Blue Ridge area about 20 miles to the West.  The scenery is beautiful and there are many wineries there now.  Not sure how many undergraduates go there due to cost and age.  The thing I liked least about Charlottesville, and I'm sure this isn't unique to me, is 29 North.  A lot of the shopping is there, and the biggest movie theater, but you'll be driving and not walking.  It is unfortunate from an urban planning perspective.

To each his own.  I'd go to W&M undergrad again if I had it to do over.  [/quote]

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