For me, it would simply come down to which one is in-state. They're both good schools.

Anonymous wrote:St Mary's is a tiny school. I suspect it was a commuter school. We did a virtual meeting with an admissions counselor and weren't impressed with their offerings at all nor her answers to basic questions, for the ones she could anwser. If you want small, it may be ok but its tiny.

Commute from where? St. Mary's is a rural residential college. OP should ignore the daft PP.

My kid is at SMCM. He definitely does not come home every weekend, nor do his friends. I doubt kids are leaving campus for the weekend more than they do at UMBC or Towson. So friends are around on the weekend. It is rural, though, so weekends are quiet. Lots of hanging out watching movies, playing video games, and pick up basketball.

My son had UMW on his list, too, but we are in Maryland so it was a no brainer.

See my review of UMW on this thread:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/1298311.page

I would pick UMW.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St Mary's is small but not a commuter school. Over 80% of students live on campus.

The majority are from MD, and many go home weekends. That's what I consider a commuter school too.

That would be a suitcase school, not a commuter school.

Anonymous wrote:St Mary's is small but not a commuter school. Over 80% of students live on campus.

The majority are from MD, and many go home weekends. That's what I consider a commuter school too.

SMCM has a beautiful setting on the water.

I’ve had family members go to both (many years ago now). I’d say these are pretty comparable schools in terms of ranking, quality, value, etc. Definitely SMCM is more isolated and rural compared to UMW. UMW is larger but I think has more commuter students (there’s not enough around SMCM to attract a large commuter population).

St Mary's is small but not a commuter school. Over 80% of students live on campus.

I know several St. Mary’s graduates and they love the school and their time there.

I think the thing to consider between the two is fit & cost. Not tiers or rankings.

St. Mary’s is truly in the middle of nowhere.

Do you live in Maryland or Virginia?

St Mary's is a tiny school. I suspect it was a commuter school. We did a virtual meeting with an admissions counselor and weren't impressed with their offerings at all nor her answers to basic questions, for the ones she could anwser. If you want small, it may be ok but its tiny.

Both are public liberal arts colleges. Are they roughly in the same tier? And other than size, any major differences between them? Are they well regarded academically?