Anonymous wrote:Fake colonial town is exactly right description of Colonial Williamsburg. I mean it's a tourist trap after all.

W&M will have a stronger peer group but that also means stiffer competition. At the same time, Pitt is a large school with 16k+ undergrads, has a well-regarded medical school so I imagine the competition there will be strong as well. She'll have more teacher interaction at W&M but Pitt might have more TA resources and research opportunities

Once upon a time these two schools were multiple tiers apart in terms of undergraduate student body - W&M competed with the likes of Berkeley and top SLACs while Pitt competed with Delaware and Binghamton. Today the schools are more similar in student quality.

Ultimately if she wants Pitt, she should go to Pitt. W&M already has plenty of students that don't want to be there but go due to the rank/"prestige".

This isn't accurate. Read the Common Data Set. WM kids have almost identical stats as UVa, so higher than Pitt. It's still a better school. That being said, if your kid isn't interested you certainly shouldn't push it. What would you do if she got in? Force her to go to a school she doesn't like? That would be a disaster.

Make sure she can understand the profs at Pitt.

Anonymous wrote:Fake colonial town is exactly right description of Colonial Williamsburg. I mean it's a tourist trap after all.

W&M will have a stronger peer group but that also means stiffer competition. At the same time, Pitt is a large school with 16k+ undergrads, has a well-regarded medical school so I imagine the competition there will be strong as well. She'll have more teacher interaction at W&M but Pitt might have more TA resources and research opportunities

Once upon a time these two schools were multiple tiers apart in terms of undergraduate student body - W&M competed with the likes of Berkeley and top SLACs while Pitt competed with Delaware and Binghamton. Today the schools are more similar in student quality.

Ultimately if she wants Pitt, she should go to Pitt. W&M already has plenty of students that don't want to be there but go due to the rank/"prestige".

Um, wut?

Anonymous wrote:We visited both schools. DD preferred Pitt and is admitted. I thought WM is nice too, probably because the test scores/GPA are higher which may suggest stronger peer group. DD is still waiting to hear about Honor college at Pitt. WM sent us texts and email encouraging DD to apply but DD does not like the campus or location (fake colonial town?!). Thoughts?

Pitt has an option which includes direct admit to the medical school. Not sure if that is something you needed to indicate when you apply or how it works.

Anonymous wrote:Pitt is excellent for pre med. it’s right next to some of the best hospitals in the country and probably easier to finish with a 4.0 for med school applications.

I would expect high grades to be easier to get at W&M. It has quite a bit of grade inflation. The average gpa was a 3.3+ a decade ago, probably significantly higher now.

Fake colonial town is exactly right description of Colonial Williamsburg. I mean it's a tourist trap after all.

W&M will have a stronger peer group but that also means stiffer competition. At the same time, Pitt is a large school with 16k+ undergrads, has a well-regarded medical school so I imagine the competition there will be strong as well. She'll have more teacher interaction at W&M but Pitt might have more TA resources and research opportunities

Once upon a time these two schools were multiple tiers apart in terms of undergraduate student body - W&M competed with the likes of Berkeley and top SLACs while Pitt competed with Delaware and Binghamton. Today the schools are more similar in student quality.

Ultimately if she wants Pitt, she should go to Pitt. W&M already has plenty of students that don't want to be there but go due to the rank/"prestige".

Pitt is excellent for pre med. it’s right next to some of the best hospitals in the country and probably easier to finish with a 4.0 for med school applications.

I couldn’t convince my DD to like W&M either for the same reason. Let her go where she wants.

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like your kid has a strong preference for Pitt, which is totally fine, and there’s lots appealing about the school and city, but just to clarify Williamsburg is not a “fake” colonial town!

Yeah, make sure she studies a bit of US history at Pitt. W&M has a stronger student body, but if she likes Pitt, that's a better option for her. Both have good med school preparation/placement.

It sounds like your kid has a strong preference for Pitt, which is totally fine, and there’s lots appealing about the school and city, but just to clarify Williamsburg is not a “fake” colonial town!

Anonymous wrote:Let your child attend Pitt, and be done with it.

+1 This!

Don’t pressure your kid based upon your tastes.

I would not have her apply if she did not like the college, campus, surroundings. No point in applying if she has no intentions of attending or would hate to attend.

Just fill out the survey why she has decided against applying.

For pre-med grades are more important than the peer group.

Let your child attend Pitt, and be done with it.

We visited both schools. DD preferred Pitt and is admitted. I thought WM is nice too, probably because the test scores/GPA are higher which may suggest stronger peer group. DD is still waiting to hear about Honor college at Pitt. WM sent us texts and email encouraging DD to apply but DD does not like the campus or location (fake colonial town?!). Thoughts?