^^^ they are not highly rated in the hard sciences.

Anonymous wrote:^^^ but if you are elite in math and tech where do you go in VA?

UVA or VA Tech

^^^ but if you are elite in math and tech where do you go in VA?

Anonymous wrote:Umd is ranked ahead of UVA in all world university rankings but u s news. It is ahead of vt in every world rank . If you want the best science, technology, math, physics. You have to leave va.

this doesn't even pass the laugh test. And as parent contemplating where to send DC, what matters most is the quality of the undergraduate education - not the university overall.

Umd is ranked ahead of UVA in all world university rankings but u s news. It is ahead of vt in every world rank . If you want the best science, technology, math, physics. You have to leave va.

The "what else" list isn't very interesting outside of VA Tech.

If my kid chooses engineering, I'm not averse to VA Tech, but I think he can do better, and he can certainly find a place with better internship opportunities than are available in Blacksburg.

Agree with PP 05:30. My D (rising senior at W & M)'s closest friends from freshman year come from: Harrisonburg, Northern Neck, Manhattan. Virginia has a lot of diversity within the state. Roommates: Richmond, Middleburg. There are loads of study abroad opportunities. Also lots of socioeconomic diversity.
However, we're not in-state, and D was actually the only one from her high school who went there. So, didn't have the factor of moving on with a bunch of fellow hs grads.

Such a small percentage of Northern Virginia college-bound seniors get in to UVA or W & M, I just tire of discussion of those two schools. "What else?" is much more interesting.

Some want a completely different location. DC wants a very different experience and to live somewhere he may never live again. It's a 4 year opportunity. He has lived in VA all his life this is a chance to try something different plus a semester abroad. He doesn't know if the experience will tell him he loves it and wants to move or he loves VA and wants to stay in this area. It's one more way for him to learn about himself in the next 4 years.

Anonymous wrote:We are in MD and DC is seriously considering UVA but the downside is the lack of geographic diversity. With 2/3rds coming from VA it seems a little insular. The private colleges we are looking at are much more balanced geographically.

Please. There is more difference between a student from rural or SW VA than a NOVA than there is between NOVA/MD/DC and Phila and NY area. Bethesda V Mclean V Brymn Marw V Short Hills? UVA is cheaper than most other schools for you. UVA should charge GW or Georgetown prices for out of state. Bus trips to WaWa:
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-01-23/local/35439330_1_freshmen-at-four-year-colleges-college-bound-teenagers-students-land

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the local HS, the kids refer to U VA as 13th grade. So there's that.

No it's NOVA that is referred to as 13th grade, not UVA

Maybe at your kid's school. But an my kid's school, many many more go to UVA rather than NOVA.

I guess I just didn't get it- I thought 13th grade meant easy classes, living at home, couldn't get into college, basically another chance to get it together to transfer - NOVA. There are a lot of kids from my kids FFX school that go to UVA too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the local HS, the kids refer to U VA as 13th grade. So there's that.

No it's NOVA that is referred to as 13th grade, not UVA

Maybe at your kid's school. But an my kid's school, many many more go to UVA rather than NOVA.

Anonymous wrote:At the local HS, the kids refer to U VA as 13th grade. So there's that.

No it's NOVA that is referred to as 13th grade, not UVA

W & M does value residential life. D has lived on campus for 3 years. The large majority of students live on campus. D has also had A/C all 3 years.

College can be a chance for a kid to "reinvent" him/herself to get out of the box they've been in since third grade. But only if they go to a college that isn't full of kids they've known since third grade. When I went away to college, I was excited about being the only one from my high school to go there. No one had any preconceived ideas about who I was or what I was like. I was free to present myself in the way I was most comfortable with, and this allowed me to grow and blossom in college. But if your kid has been happy in high school, with lots of friends, and is generally accepted by his/her peers, this wouldn't be as much of an issue.